Parenting scheme helps dads to learn coping skills while getting fit

MELBOURNE gyms are helping new dads get a workout with a difference, combining fitness training with counselling to help them become better fathers.

MELBOURNE gyms are helping new dads get a workout with a difference.

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Not only do they get a personal training session, but they’re given counselling to help them become better fathers.

The Working Out Dads scheme is a parenting, relationship and health program run by Tweddle, which desperately needs funds to run in 10 locations in Melbourne’s west.

Facilitator Scott Hall said the program was helping those who had identified they needed more confidence and skills as they transitioned to being a new parent. “They want to be more kind and more thoughtful and this helps them listen and develop their patience,” he said.

Nic Castle works out with his 17-month-old daughter, Eve, at RecWest fitness centre in Footscray. Picture: Jay Town

One of the participants was Seddon dad Nic Castle, father of Eve, 17 months.

“In just six weeks, I gained confidence from realising I wasn’t the only one — most new dads are going through the same thing,” he said. “The gym is the perfect place for this because some of the guys said they wouldn’t have come if it was at a clinic or community centre.”

Tweddle has secured funding from the Centre for Excellence in Child & Family Welfare, the Seddon Bendigo Bank and the CWA of Footscray.

The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute showed the program significantly improved dads’ mental health and confidence.

tweddle.org.au