Fatherhood was not something that Erik Binnie imagined for himself. “Growing up, I never saw myself as somebody who was going to be a father,” said Binnie. “I intentionally just ignored things, thinking I’m not going to need this information.”  Now raising his 6-year-old son in Jefferson County, he is trying to learn as much as possible. “It’s this mad dash of trying to bring myself up to speed with where I need to be as a father, of meeting my child where he needs me to be.”

For Binnie, finding other fathers to talk to and learn from has been difficult. “I went to a PTO meeting, and there’s not a single other father there. I’ve tried to connect with other fathers through friendships my son has, and we’ve met some of the mothers, but the fathers are busy,” said Binnie. “It can be a challenge finding other men to discuss parenting issues with.”

When he heard about UW-Madison Extension’s Fathers in Focus Conference, he signed up. “Now that I am a father, I want to be as actively engaged as possible. I want to be the best father possible, recognizing that there’s room for growth within myself. I’m trying to find different avenues for that, whether it’s informal- talking to friends who happen to be fathers- or formal, listening to people, talking, and having discussions like I’m having here,” said Binnie.

Providing space to learn and share 

Binnie’s experience is representative of the fathers interviewed for the 2022 Statewide Fatherhood Needs Assessment (Fatherhood report), a report by the Human Development and Relationships Institute at UW-Madison Division of Extension. “One recurring theme that we hear from fathers is that they want to discuss their experiences as parents with other fathers. They want more opportunities to learn from other fathers, but they have trouble finding spaces to do that,” said Patricia Carroll, Associate Professor and Human Development & Relationships Extension Educator in Dodge County. 

The 2024 Fathers in Focus Conference, hosted by the Division of Extension with support from the School of Human Ecology as a major sponsor, was a direct result of findings in the Fatherhood report. “During the whole planning process, we said the conference would be for fathers, by fathers. We made sure that fathers were on every committee. We asked fathers for input every step of the way,” said Carroll. The result was a daylong gathering, deliberately designed to provide space for fathers to learn and share. “We addressed topics that fathers identified as things they want to learn about, and we made sure the structure of the whole day centered around fathers learning from each other and sharing their parenting experiences,” said Carroll. 

Adapting parenting classes for fathers

Knowing that fathers wanted more time to connect with one another, Carroll worked with other Extension educators to adapt their “Raising Caring Kids” curriculum for fathers. In addition to using father-centered language and father-centered examples, Focus on Fathers focuses on skill-building and peer support. Specifically, they discuss how fathers can support their child’s social and emotional learning, something that fathers identified as a topic they wanted to better understand. 

The structure of sessions gives fathers more time to share with each other and provide support. Dedicating half of each class to facilitated dialogue where dads talk with other dads has been impactful for the dads involved. Sharing tips and tricks about parenting and offering support to each other has given participants a chance to connect with other fathers and start to open up about the mental, social, and emotional challenges they experience. 

Classes tackle topics such as how fathers can teach children perspective taking and help children make good choices. “There’s no parenting role that’s more important, but in Focus on Fathers, we’re emphasizing the unique contributions that fathers make and why it’s important for children to have active, involved fathers. We focus on why dads are so critical in child development and how kids benefit from a father’s active involvement,” said Carroll. 

Reaching non-custodial fathers

Extension is also working to support fathers who may face extra challenges in being involved with their children. Margaret Kerr, associate professor at the School of Human Ecology and Extension specialist, conducted focus groups to help understand what and how noncustodial fathers most want to receive support. Based on those discussions, Kerr developed and tested a new curriculum specifically for fathers who do not live with their children full-time.

The program was designed to meet the specific needs of noncustodial fathers, and fathers were included in the design and evaluation of the curriculum and format. “Fathers in our initial focus groups were shown a draft of the curriculum that included topics based on the Fatherhood report. During those focus groups, fathers really emphasized wanting to discuss their emotions and mental health,” said Kerr. In addition to mental health, the curriculum included the role of fathers, navigating child support and custody, and collaborating with the child’s other parent. 

The initial pilot showed that fathers felt more comfortable connecting with their children after the program. Targeted education on topics such as child support led to a significant increase in attitudes and beliefs about child support services and increased participants’ confidence in navigating child support and custody systems. Including peer support in the curriculum allowed participants to connect with other fathers, which they identified as important for their mental health.

Going through it together

Providing spaces for fathers is something that Terron Edwards has been working toward for 20 years through Fathers Making Progress (FMP), an organization that he founded in Milwaukee to encourage fathers to be community leaders. “I just think that those spaces of support, those spaces of camaraderie, those spaces of just being able to come and kind of pour into each other and just talk about, like, what are you all doing over there? This is what we’re doing over here,” said Edwards.

As a father of four and a practitioner working with fathers, he has experienced the benefits of providing spaces where fathers can support each other and discuss mental and emotional health. “Just not feeling alone, not feeling isolated, not feeling like I’m going through it by myself,” said Edwards, “To have those spaces has been so important and just so effective and so good for my mental and physical well-being and health.” 

For Carroll, the focus on fatherhood has been meaningful to the fathers involved. “Giving fathers the space to support each other and learn together may seem basic, but it hasn’t happened in the past. Having that space has implications for individual mental health. It also impacts how our communities think about fatherhood. By giving it more space, we are saying it is important,” said Carroll.

Extension’s Human Development and Relationships Institute offers ongoing parenting resources and programs that support fathers. In addition, the 2025 Fathers in Focus Conference will be held October 18, 2025 in Madison, WI. Registration opens June 13, 2025.

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