research
Want to speak to Dads?
We have built up a network of Dads, Mums and Parents across Scotland. Dads Rock work hard to encourage Dads to be the best they can be, connect with their little one, and ultimately improve outcomes for children through confidence, parenting workshops and mental health support.
As of July 2024, our WhatsApp groups have over 631 Dads and Mums in them. They chat about all sorts, from whatever is worrying them, asking ‘is this normal’ (usually the answer is yes!), giving advice to other parents and also general chat. We think it’s really important to build community as a parent, especially when your whole life suddenly revolves around a tiny human - having others to lean on for support and advice is key, which is why we created our groups.
Each year we engage with nearly 3000 people - this includes Mums, Dads and children. We run weekly playgroups, Dads and Babies groups, workshops and training (including First Aid training, Raising Children and Teens with Confidence courses, Antenatal for Dads, and more). You can find our what’s going on each month here.
Research
We love to help with research and understand the value and importance of it. We always encourage research to be done by universities, the government and parenting charities to help them understand the value of Dads. We want to help encourage them to take part in this research, and ensure their voices are heard when making vital decisions that affect families across the country.
We receive many requests each year to share information online, to help encourage Dads and men to take part in the research, and to ensure their voices are heard. Although we are able to do this through our social media, the return rate can be low and it can be tricky to get Dads to engage. Often Dads (just like mums) are time poor, and this can make it difficult to do things like focus groups or surveys.
If you’d like to get involvement from Dads, we encourage you to come to one of our groups or events. We host a huge variety of events that bring in Dads from across Edinburgh, Glasgow and North Ayrshire, as well as online events that help Dads across the UK and further afield! This allows you to ask questions and get the information you need in a relaxed environment that Dads can come to, whilst still doing something fun with their children. We can even organise a bespoke event for you - however we do encourage this to be an event that involves their children (such as an extra playgroup, sensory experience etc).
Because we are a small charity, we really appreciate a wee donation if you can manage. This helps us continue the vital work we do, helps us engage with more families and improve outcomes for children.
If you would like to engage with our Dads, please get in touch to discuss it with us: Hello@dadsrock.org.uk If you’d like us to send on a leaflet or poster, please ensure you send us Jpg or Png files.
Other resources
For Scottish Dads groups, we recommend checking out our Dads Resources page. Here you’ll find some of our favourite local and national Dads groups, all who are doing fantastic work to support Dads and their families.
Fathers Network Scotland also have a fantastic Research page which includes links to their annual survey and other research they’ve done.
If you are based in England, we recommend Dad Matters, who were developed by Home Start. We also recommend Leeds Dads.