Dads Support Group – West Midlands and UK

We are pretty open. Dads in our group tend to be one or some of the following... 

• Bio dads 
• Foster dads 
• Carer dads 
• Adoptive dads 
• Divorced / single parenting dads 
• Displaced / resettling / refugee dads 
• Dads of autistic kids 
• Dads of kids exhibiting challenging, violent and aggressive behaviour (CCVAB) 
• Dads of families facing separation or loss, or other trauma 

If you’re struggling with parenting challenges, you are welcome to join our supportive and non-judgmental group. 

Sessions are pretty open-ended. That means they’re shaped around what the dads actually want to talk about that month. 

If someone has a particular problem they want to air, other dads are on hand to offer perspectives and strategies that could help. 

The support on hand reflects the issues that are cropping up for dads in the group. 

If you don’t turn up for the online meetup every month, that’s fine. Dads often show up when they’ve got something specific on their minds they want to ask or talk about. 

If you don’t want to share your experiences straight away, that’s fine. You can just listen in and reflect on what the other dads are saying and how it can relate to you too. 

If you do have something to get off your chest, this group is a space for you to do that. 

Every dad gets something personal and unique out of chatting through the struggles they’re facing with other dads who have been there too.

Why is it so important for you to get recognised and validated? You have a vital role in the family. And it’s often not an easy one. Sometimes it’s tough to see a way forward in hard situations, especially if you feel that you should be acting like some kind of impossible Ideal Dad and leading the way, even if you’re out of ideas for what to do and how to cope.

Being heard out and acknowledged by other dads can feel like a weight has been lifted. And that’s an important start to help you keep moving forward and looking for an improved family situation.

No-one said it would be easy to share some tough personal stuff with other dads.

And it’s okay not to share if you don’t want to, if you’re not ready. Listening to other dads share their stuff can also help you with your own issues.

Our approach is really supportive, but that doesn’t mean it’s always soft and fluffy. Are you ready to put the work in to explore some stuff that could really help you with what you’re going through?

When our dads get together, we explore solutions that work. And you know what they say – getting out of your comfort zone (in a safe place where you get heard, of course) can broaden your horizons.

Getting out of your comfort zone can lead to hope, relief, a fresh approach, and an improved family situation.

It’s too common for dads to feel isolated as we suffer in silence and deal with things privately.

When we’re bringing up kids with additional needs – especially with added challenges like divorce, moving home, or bereavement - we want to protect our family, and don’t always know what to say or who to say it to. It's hard to break the stigma.

When you join our support group, you can feel, say and explore anything you need to. You are in the company of dads with lived experience who understand what you’re going through.

We say what we need to when we need to. We share coping tips and explore solutions, and we support each other.

On top of everything you’re struggling with, it can feel really good – and useful – to ditch that heavy added burden of feeling alone. You can lessen the sense of isolation, so you'll get more fuel in your tank to focus on large or small tweaks that can change your family’s life for the better.

Parent Community:

Al is an adoptive father of six. He's also a qualified Social Worker, Social Work Practice Educator, NVR Practitioner, and Podcaster.

He’s worked with adoptive families and with foster carers for over 20 years and trains and advises parents and carers who struggle to manage challenging behaviour in their children. As well as being able to draw on personal and professional experience, he is a qualified Advanced Non Violent Resistance practitioner.

If you’re an adoptive dad or foster dad, you can check out the Adoption and Fostering podcast he co-hosts with Scott Casson-Rennie. It covers a lot of ground.

In his Dads Matter blog post, adoptive dad and Beacon Service team member Pete Brindley reflects on the role and experience of dads who can be feeling the weight of responsibility and expectations.

Research indicates that Dads really do matter, but in a different way to Mums.

Both mums and dads can feel the weight of gender norms in parenting. Mums might feel they're handling too much of the organisational and emotional labour, while dads might feel left out due to demanding responsibilities and being unsure of what they have to offer their child in terms of emotional or educational development. Dads can even feel wary of getting involved, when father figures actually play a vital role in their children's lives.

When just trying to connect with your child on a deeper level is so hard to achieve, what can you do as a dad to stride on with greater confidence and direction on their journey? How a challenging parenting role impact you as a dad, and what unique skills and perspectives can you bring to it?

To read more about father figures playing a vital role in their children’s lives, click the link below.