Today I had a conversation that further confirmed to me the need for a space like this. I was speaking with a my brother-in-law again to get his support for the new Facebook Group where I am looking to bring people together, when he told me a story. He told me that when he sat down for lunch with a friend recently, he had a very similar conversation to the one I had with him not long after my daughter was born. His friend, who has recently become a father himself was telling him of how it has taken time for him to bond with his son. It has taken a couple of months, waiting for his son to start to smile and interact more, before he has been able to form a strong bond. It has got me wondering how many men go through this? How many have this same feeling of taking time to form a bond? How much courage does it take to speak to even the closest of friends about these sorts of worries?
What would it take for men to speak about these things more?
On another slightly different note, my wife took our son to a baby sensory meet up at the Church this morning. Not that we are religious people ourselves, but she saw it as another place that she could meet other parents in a similar position. She said there was probably about 50 children there and not a dad in sight. I appreciate that many of these mums might be on maternity leave, but for there not to be a single dad there is still crazy. Is there something that we can do to promote and normalise men getting together for play groups, or even just getting together for a drink to have a chat about things in an open and honest environment. The importance of mental health has been more in people’s minds in recent times and understanding your feelings at a time of so much change in your life should be prioritised by men more.