Creative Use of NFI's Resources for Moms Creates Powerful Program

Last week I wrote about how NFI's resources for moms help organizations address what dads say is the biggest barrier to being involved with their child: a poor relationship with their child's mom.

I highlighted NFI's Understanding Dad™ program and Mom as Gateway™ FatherTopics™ Booster Session and noted how they're often used in combination.

As luck would have it, I had the opportunity to learn how and why one organization combines these two resources to create a powerful program.

A few weeks ago, I interviewed Denise Herrington, Community Resource Specialist for Children and Families of Iowa (Fort Doge, IA). Denise told me that she combines Understanding Dad™ and Mom as Gateway™ to create a 12-week program for moms that addresses moms' gatekeeping behavior in a more comprehensive way than either resource does alone. She uses the optional opening session in Understanding Dad™ as the first session and follows it with the eight core sessions of Understanding Dad™. She ends the program with the three sessions of Mom as Gateway™. 

Denise says moms go through Understanding Dad™ before Mom as Gateway™ because the former helps moms to be more receptive of the latter's laser focus on their gatekeeping behavior. While Understanding Dad™ addresses gatekeeping behavior, it does so in a more subtle way than Mom as Gateway™. After Understanding Dad™ helps moms reflect on how their upbringing affects how they relate to dad, the importance of fathers to child well-being, and learn practical communication skills to help them more effectively interact with dad, they're more open to addressing their gatekeeping behavior head on during the Mom as Gateway™ sessions. 

I encourage you to consider this combination of resources to help the moms you serve address gatekeeping behavior. 

Does your organization use Understanding Dad™?

Does your organization use Mom as Gateway™?

Have you thought of combining the two to create a more powerful program?

Are you a dad looking for help? Please visit our Fatherhood Program Locator™ and enter your city and state on the map to find programs and resources in your community.