Dads the focus of families day

Media Release
13 May 2008
For immediate release

Dads the focus of families day

Families Day (May 15th) is a great opportunity to take some time out of our busy lives and spend that time with our families. This year the theme focuses on 'Fathers and Families - responsibilities and challenges'.

"Being a dad is an enormous responsibility," says Jason Cadwallader, father of two Plunket babies, Jet, 3 years and Scout, 2 years. "It is fun, challenging and possibly the best job I've ever had."

In many families and cultures, the roles and responsibilities of fathers is changing where many parents are both working and share the responsibilities of raising children, either with one another or with the extended family unit of grandparents, foster parents, whanau, family members and organisations.

Plunket Parenting Education Programme (PEPE) facilitator, Erin Downs has seen an increase of dads attending parenting education classes over the last few years.

"It is great to see more and more dads attend our parenting education classes and becoming more involved with raising their children and working together as a family unit," says Mrs Downs.

The International Families Day began in 1993 by the United Nations as 'an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to the family as the basic unit of society as we as to promote appropriate action to recognise and promote the importance of families'.
ENDS

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