Fathers today are busy working long days and raising their families.

Head Start is encouraging them to slow down and enjoy time with their children by offering a free program.

Once a month, fathers and their little ones can enjoy a family-style meal prepared by Head Staff before doing a craft together.

“We like to have them both doing things, so we try to go for crafts that are a little out of the children’s range so they can have that help from dad, uncle, grandpa, or whatever father figure decides to come with them,” said program facilitator Jeremy Kimball.

Any father figure in a child’s life, like uncles, grandfathers and stepfathers, is welcome to attend, Kimball said.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be their child. If a dad wants to bring his child to a fatherhood night and the next-door neighbor doesn’t have a father figure, we encourage them to bring along anybody else that they can,” he said.

The program will be free, but does require an RSVP at least a week in advance to make sure there is enough food and activities for everyone.

The after-school program, designed to help strengthen relationships between fathers and their kids, has been offered by Human Services Inc., which operates the Head Start preschool, for years, but it just started this year in Nashville.

Head Start’s fatherhood initiative also gives men a support group to spend time with and learn from other dads. Kimball facilitates those discussions as Head Start staff look after the children.

“We have a manly discussion at the end of the night, talking about things from showing and handling feelings to family history. It’s just a good time for us to talk,” he said.

While attending a conference in Indianapolis, Kimball said he met a man who had recently started a fatherhood program in his area.

“I got to talking with him and decided that we needed it in our areas. We do six counties here for Head Start, and in none of those counties we could find a fatherhood program, so we just decided to run with it,” he said.

The program officially kicked off in Nashville in January. So far four fathers have attended with four children.

The next program is at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 9 at the Brown County YMCA, where Head Start recently moved.

In other counties, attendance ranges from five to 20 fathers. Kimball said he would like to see at least five fathers attend the program here in Nashville.

“With time constraints for the guys, a lot of them are working at this time. The other ones that are not working just got off and don’t want to come in for another two hours to take more time out of their day. But some of them do, and bless their hearts, because it’s not about them; it’s about the little ones,” he said.

Kimball wants to encourage fathers to cherish time with their children.

“It’s great that we’re supporting our families, but we only get a precious few years with our little ones, and we can’t get them back, so we have to make the best of it,” he said.

The decision was made recently open up the fatherhood initiative to children up to the age of 12 and their fathers even if they are not Head Start students.

The program usually runs until about 7:30 or 8 p.m. depending on how many people attend and how the father group discussion goes, Kimball said.

“It really is amazing to see this go on. It could be a guy that’s just closed off to the world and all of a sudden, boom, he feels comfortable and can talk about that one thing he couldn’t talk to anyone else about,” Kimball said.

“It’s important to the little ones to have their dads involved, but it is quite important to the dads to have someone to talk to and relate to.”

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What: Head Start fatherhood initiative

Who: For fathers or father-figures in the life of a child younger than 12, with their children.

Where: Head Start preschool, in the Brown County YMCA, 105 Willow St., Nashville.

When: 5:30 to 7:30 or 8 p.m. on April 9, May 7, June 4, July 9, Sept. 10, Oct. 8 and Nov. 5. There will be no fatherhood night in August or December.

What happens: The program offers a free family-style meal along with a craft for the father and child do together before the fathers meet for discussion at the end of the night.

RSVP: By calling the number below at least a week in advance to make sure there’s enough food and activity materials for everyone.

Information: Head Start, 812-988-6630; or program facilitator Jeremy Kimball, 812-372-8407 ext. 241, or [email protected].

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