Dad Matters Kirklees

04/09/2026

🧡🖤 DAD FACT FRIDAY 🧡🖤

Psychologists talk about parents being a child's "secure base." Picture it like this: your little one heads off to explore the world, then circles back to you for a reassurance top-up before heading off again. You're home base.

Dads are every bit as much that secure base as mums. And here's why it matters right now: a child who feels securely bonded to their dad tends to find it easier to venture into new situations, like nursery, because they carry that sense of security with them.

So all those cuddles, all that showing up, all that being there is exactly what gives them the confidence to walk through the nursery door.

02/09/2026

Back to school week - and it's a big week, for the little ones and for you.

If you've got a child starting school or nursery, you might be feeling a whole mix of things: proud, nervous, a bit emotional, maybe wondering where the time went. All of it's normal.

A few things that help dads and little ones through the first days:

🎒 Practise the routine - getting dressed, shoes on, bag packed
🗣 Talk about it positively, but don't dodge the nervous bits, name them
👋 Keep goodbyes short and confident; a long lingering one is harder for everyone
💬 Ask about their day in specifics ("who did you sit with?") rather than "was it good?"

And go easy on yourself too. Watching them walk in on their own is a strange, proud, gut-punch of a moment. You're allowed to feel it.

02/09/2026

Our trained staff and volunteers work alongside local families to h...

31/08/2026

Some good news about what's ahead for Dad Matters Kirklees.

As we move into our second year, we're building on what we've learned - and one of the biggest things dads have told us is that they want more chances to connect with other dads.

So that's exactly what's coming. We're developing new group activities designed specifically for fathers - think walking-and-talking groups, informal meetups, and relaxed practical sessions. Spaces with no pressure and no agenda, where dads can share what's going on and support each other.

For a lot of dads, a walk and a chat feels a lot more doable than anything formal, and that's the whole point.

Keep an eye out because there's more to come soon. If you'd like to be first to know, get in touch.

28/08/2026

Well, actually it isn't!

Because we've just found out that the deadline to pledge to the Home-Start Kirklees Big Give Christmas Campaign has been extended to Sunday 6 September 2026 at 11pm 💜🧡

However, now's not the time to rest on our laurels when we're so close to target. Can you help get us over the £3,000 target line?

Here's why it matters so much: every pound pledged helps unlock match funding. It means a £3,000 pledge total could help us raise up to £12,000 for children and families across Kirklees because, during the campaign in December, every public donation gets doubled.

One donation, twice the impact.

💷 Pledges start from £100, and you don't pay anything now - pledges are only fulfilled after the campaign ends in December.
⏰ Deadline: 11pm Sunday 6 September 2026

To pledge, see the link in our bio, or comment PLEDGE and we'll send it over.

Dad Matters is part of Home-Start Kirklees, and the Big Give Christmas campaign that helps keep this work going.

26/08/2026

DAD FACT WEDNESDAY (yes, we're a couple of days early this week!)

With little ones heading off to school and nursery soon, here's a good one:

Research shows that reading with your child is one of the most powerful things you can do for their development, more strongly linked to their early learning and school readiness than play or affection alone.

And, yes, you can absolutely do the silly voices, you can read the same book for the 400th time, you can let them turn the pages too early and skip to the bit with the dog. It all counts.

Ten minutes and a picture book. That's a proper head start.

24/08/2026

Got a little one starting school or nursery soon?

It's a big moment, and not just for them! Plenty of dads feel that lump in the throat on the first morning too.

If your little one (or you) is feeling a bit anxious about it, BBC CBeebies Parenting has pulled together some excellent free resources to help ease the way. Their 'Skills for Starting School' collection covers the real stuff - separation anxiety, sharing and taking turns, toilet independence, and those first-day nerves - with familiar faces like Hey Duggee along for the ride.

A few worth a look with your little one:

📺 Dodge's Pup School: First Day - a reassuring story about first-day nerves
🎵 Hey Duggee: The Getting Ready Song - for nailing the morning routine
💛 Vida the Vet: Shake Off Your Worries - a gentle one about talking through worries

It's all free and available on the CBeebies Parenting website and BBC iPlayer.

21/08/2026

🖤🧡DAD FACT FRIDAY🧡🖤

A major UK study followed thousands of families over many years. It found that when dads were warm and emotionally responsive with their babies early on, those children were less likely to show signs of depression as they approached their teenage years.

Read that again. How you are with your baby now can still be making a difference more than a decade later.

You won't always get it right, and you don't need to. But the warmth, the attention, the tuning in lays down foundations that last.

19/08/2026

This is worth a watch.

Joe Swash has been changing the conversation around young dads, and - refreshingly - not in the usual way. Instead of the tired "absent dad" stereotype, he celebrates the young fathers who show up, take responsibility, and want to do right by their kids.

He also makes a really important point: a lot of dads haven't had a positive father figure of their own to learn from. When you've never been shown how to be a dad, you're working it out from scratch, and that's not a failing, it's just a reason support matters.

That's a big part of what Dad Matters Kirklees is here for. Not to judge, but to walk alongside dads figuring it out, whatever their age, whatever their starting point.

If that's you, we'd love to hear from you.

https://youtu.be/DtBzHfAXPKU?si=tpm-Aa0dxDuiSGHH

(Video credit: BBC One Show & Joe Swash)

Joe on the hard learning curve bringing up kids, for more go to ———...

17/08/2026

Dad Matters Kirklees is part of Home-Start Kirklees, and this year, Home-Start Kirklees is again taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge to raise vital funds for local families.

To show what that support can mean for a dad, here's Adrian's story.

When Adrian became a father figure to his partner's child, he was terrified. He hadn't had the best upbringing himself, and he worried he'd end up repeating what he'd known. He was sure he'd fail.

With support from Home-Start Kirklees, that changed.

"It felt good having someone who isn't family, who isn't biased… praising me and telling me what a good job I was doing as a dad. This had a huge impact on my self-esteem, my confidence and my mental health. I now feel that I am good at something, I am a good dad."

Adrian was supported with his mental health, with parenting through the tough phases, and with realising he was nothing like the father he'd feared becoming.

Pledges to the Big Give unlock match funding, so every donation in December is doubled, helping us be there for more dads like Adrian.

💷 Pledges start from £100 and close at 5pm on 28 August 2026 - find the link in our bio.