April 3, 2024 Dads & Fatherhood Fatherhood & Fatigue SIGNS & SURVIVAL TIPS READ MORE ..read more

Louie Dads & Fatherhood Stress in Dads SIGNS & SURVIVAL TIPS Listen in to Matt Stanton, Clinical Psychologist and father of three talking about his ideas and insights into stress in dads. “It is sometimes messy and overwhelming being a dad.”   In this clip Matt talks about stress in early fatherhood: what to look out for (signs and symptoms of stress) what are the causes of stress the impacts of sleep deprivation survival tips reaching out for help SMS4dads includes MoodChecker messages and an additional message set to support dads who are doing it ..read more

Louie Dads & Fatherhood Dads & Leave Find out the latest about dads and paternal leave. The articles below are designed to provide information about important topics that help dads navigate things like:   Planning Your Leave Implications of Taking Leave – costs, timing and tax Returning to Work Child Care Options    SMS4dads is proudly working in collaboration with Parents at Work to ensure dads know the latest information about paternity leave and factors that may influence their decisions around taking leave, childcare and returning to work.&nbs ..read more

TAKING LEAVE Costs, Timing and Tax The information on this page is a guide to advice found on publically available websites. It is not professional financial advice.   What does it cost to have a baby in their first year?  This question is relative to how lavish or resourceful you want to be on the subject.   The Australian Institute of Family Studies estimate that a first child can cost between $3,000 and $13,000 in the first year.   Some people go all out and buy the most expensive of everything that is available and others simply stick to the essentials. Fo ..read more

CHILDCARE What to expect Finding quality and affordable child care remains one of the key barriers for parents’ return to work plans. It’s important to figure out what’s right for you and your children. The most common types of child care: Private arrangements such as family members / friends Family Day Care Centre based child care or long day care Occasional care Pre-school Nannies, au-pairs and babysitters In-home care   Finding the right child care Finding good child care is a process that can take time so start researching your options early. The Starting Blocks i ..read more

PLANNING YOUR LEAVE What’s in it for dads? Here are two dads who took extended parental leave when their children were born and the difference it made to the relationships with their partners, their children, their work mates and work in general. Employer Paid Parental Leave Options   Some employers offer above and beyond the Government allowance. Here are some ways you can find out what you have access to:   Review your company’s parental leave policy – many companies now provide gender neutral parental leave in addition to the standard Government support. That means parenta ..read more

WHEN THINGS DON’T GO TO PLAN Following feedback from mums and dads and clinicians working in the perinatal space, SMS4dads partnered with PANDA, Red Nose, Life’s Little Treasures and Miracle Babies to develop new sets of targeted messages to support fathers when things don’t go to plan.   LAUNCH OF MESSAGE SETS We are hosting a breakfast at Melbourne Zoo on Thursday 4 May for Clinicians, Health Workers, parents with lived experience and others interested in perinatal services for dads and dads-to-be are welcome to join us. 7.30am-9.30am Thursday 4 MAY 2023 MELBOURNE ZO ..read more

DOWNLOAD BROCHURE VIEW PRESENTATION ..read more

Fathers’ Leave is on the agenda at the upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit – Parliament House 1-2 September Key themes at the summit are gender equality, raising women’s income at work and father’s share of caring at home. The ACTU is arguing for tripling paid parental leave. According to ACTU President Michele O’Neil “In 2022, women shouldn’t have to give up on having a family and men shouldn’t miss out on being involved in raising their kids because paid parental leave is insufficient,” We know that when a dad takes leave after the birth it can strengthen his bond with hi ..read more

SMS4Dads May 16, 2022 Research SMS4dads goes International The SMS4dads messages are sent to fathers in a brief text. This makes them easy to translate into other languages.   It also means that distance is not a barrier. The information and links to online resources can be provided anywhere that data can be sent. SMS4dads goes global  In Nairobi, Kenya parenting a new baby comes with the real challenge of earning enough to feed the family The shanty towns are home to more than 1 million people – many of whom do not have reliable water, electricity and se ..read more