We Are Dads Helping Other Men Get a Good Start as New Fathers
Sixteen years ago, several of us sat down at the local hospital to “show the ropes” to men with their first child on the way and we brought our own babies along. For three hours they smiled, slept, cried and did what babies do, and the “rookie” fathers watched us care for them without a mother in sight. Some rookies said they had never even held a baby before, so we handed them our own.
We “veterans” talked about our experiences and offered advice, and we all got to know and trust each other. With everything said in the room staying in the room, nothing was left off the table. The rookies were relieved to find their many concerns and even fears were common among dads-to-be, such as their hormone driven mates sometimes using them as a punching bag. By the end, each man came to realize “I can do this” and went home with a new sense of confidence. They did, too, and months later returned as veterans with their own babies to orient the next group of dads-to-be.
Since we were located next to the El Toro U.S. Marine Base in California, Boot Camp benefited from a diverse group of fathers, a strength that was very apparent when a man of one race handed his baby to a man of another. The Marines also helped by suggesting a change to a more respectful name from the original “Bootee Camp”, which would not work today.
We Expanded Across the U.S over the Past Decade
In the mid 90’s, a fledging "fatherhood movement", responding to absent, apathetic or abusive fathers in far too many families, took notice. Characterized as a “nursery in a locker room with no women over 2’ tall allowed”, the media also discovered Boot Camp, and requests for the program from other hospitals started arriving. We successfully replicated it in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1996, and then offered it to other communities throughout the nation.
 As we expanded, Boot Camp proved successful in a wide variety of communities and settings, since the “instructors” (the veterans with their babies), the rookies and the Coach/facilitator represent the community itself. This includes hospitals in low income communities with high rates of absent fathers to those in affluent communities with fathers who are too busy for their kids, as well as Family Resource Centers, health clinics, Black churches, Jewish Synagogues, Head Start programs and U.S. Navy, Army and Air Force bases. In 2001, Boot Camp was offered in Spanish, still the nation’s only curriculum geared to Hispanic new fathers. Over 150,000 men have graduated to date.
We Would Like To Do a Lot More
Our mission is to help assure every child a father they can count on, no matter what. We only reach 2% of new fathers directly in the U.S., so we have a long way to go.
We get a lot of help, though. Each graduate adds a new role model to his family and community, and today’s generation of young men is highly receptive to the example they set. Our programs also spawn the development of other programs for fathers, so there is an expansive impact in each community we serve. We are also receiving requests for our support from around the world, indicating even greater potential than we imagined.
Given the enormous problems resulting from men who do not meet their responsibilities to their children, we believe a community can make no better investment than to provide necessary support to their fathers. Please join us in helping fathers get a good start on doing their best.
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