In 2011 Douglas Newman-Valentine, a 28-year-old nursing lecturer, and his husband, Marlow, adopted a baby girl — and, as is usual for any new parent, needed to take time off work to care for her. Douglas’s employer, the University of Cape Town (UCT), took the progressive step of offering him four months’ paid paternity leave. …
There is a substantial body of research showing that corporal punishment of children increases the risk of broad and enduring negative developmental outcomes. Corporal punishment from parents and teachers does not teach children respect; it teaches fear, engenders anger and resentment, and produces ongoing cycles of violence. Instead, parents must be supported in learning nonviolent, effective …
In Brazil, Father’s Day is celebrated each year on the second Sunday of August. This year, Equimundo and other MenCare partners in Brazil used the month of August to raise awareness about the importance of men’s positive involvement in fatherhood and caregiving. Throughout the month, Você é meu Pai, which is the Brazilian adaptation of the global MenCare campaign …
In Bulgaria, MenCare partner Association Roditeli is leading an effort to engage fathers in their children’s education. As part of this initiative, a guidebook entitled Invite Fathers to Kindergarten has been distributed to more than 200 kindergartens in the capital city of Sofia and to five kindergartens in the Samokov municipality. The guidebook was created …
MenCare partner Parteciparte is using theater to transform fatherhood in Italy. Its TranSparent festival, held on October 1-2 in Rome, will use interactive performances to dismantle patriarchal ideas about parenthood and to promote inclusion and equality in parenting. Organizations from across Italy will participate in the festival, which aims to feature plays and performances, stories …
In the Netherlands, fathers are entitled to only two days of paid paternity leave. While this will increase to five days in 2019, the country is still far behind the European average of eight weeks of paid leave for new fathers. Providing different amounts of leave for new mothers and fathers perpetuates the inequitable notion …
