After his first daughter was born, James Brims took five months of paternity leave and recommends the experience to any new dad.
His wife took the first nine months off work, then he took care of Isabella until past her first birthday.
鈥淚 suggest taking the last three months. The amount of confidence you will gain is great,鈥� said Brims, who tries to regularly take his daughters, aged three and one, to Strong Start, a drop-in program in 麻豆社国产for children and their caregivers. 鈥淭he idea for me is to play a really positive role in my daughters鈥� lives, as much as possible.鈥�
Like Brims, more dads in 麻豆社国产are taking time off work to care for their children, especially in the past decade, said Suzie Soman, early child development services director with Sea to Sky Community Services.聽
The cost of child care and the lack of spots available are changing how mothers and fathers go back to work. On average, daycare costs nearly $60 a day or $1,200 for full-time care per month, according to statistics kept by Sea to Sky Community Services. This number often climbs between $1,400 and $1,500 for children under three years old because it鈥檚 more expensive to run these programs.聽
Finding care for children aged 12 to 36 months is extremely challenging, said Lisa McIntosh, a child care resource and referral consultant in Squamish.
Parents are searching for creative childcare solutions. For instance, some partners work opposing schedules so one of them is home at all times, or mothers work from home to earn extra money. And, like the Brims family, some moms go back to work while the dads stay at home with the children. 鈥淭here are a lot of shared roles,鈥� said Soman.聽
She is seeing an increase in fathers taking part in early childhood programs such as Strong Start; Health Pregnancy Outreach, a weekly drop-in discussion group; Mother Goose, a 10-week class that introduces rhyming, songs and storytelling; and Nobody鈥檚 Perfect, a program for parents who are isolated to explore how to meet their child鈥檚 needs.聽
Last year, 200 fathers in the corridor attended a program through Sea to Sky Community Services.聽
鈥淔or a while, I鈥檝e noticed more dads dropping off and picking up their children than in the past. In the last eight to 10 years, I鈥檝e noticed they鈥檙e playing a much bigger role,鈥� said Soman.聽
When his first-born daughter was younger and he was on paternity leave, Brims brought her to Mother Goose and, although he was often the only dad there, he quickly felt welcomed by all the moms.聽
鈥淎t first it felt a bit awkward being the only male out of so many women, but I began integrating with them and soon I was asking questions about parenting 鈥� about diapers, naps or that I hadn鈥檛 slept 鈥� things that don鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e a man or a woman.聽
鈥淭hey really took me under their wing and soon I got an email saying a bunch of them were meeting at a park.鈥�
Soman had one dad as a client who took the whole, year-long paternity leave while his wife worked from home. He attended the Healthy Pregnancy Outreach program to discuss infant development.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 walk down the street and not see a dad walking with a stroller,鈥� Soman said.
She is also seeing more grandfathers bring their grandchildren to the programs. The goal, she said, is to make parenting programs at Sea to Sky Community Services inclusive of both dads and moms so men feel comfortable taking part.聽
For the preschool鈥檚 Mother鈥檚 Day Tea, for instance, the number of dads participating has gone up because more moms are busy working during the day. 聽
Fathers will play an integral role in bringing Squamish鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Charter to life, said Julia Black, program coordinator of Sea to Sky Putting Children First.
Elementary students and other children in 麻豆社国产are coming up with a list of children鈥檚 rights that will be formed into the charter. Once completed, it will serve as a document that guides local businesses, organizations and the District of 麻豆社国产in applying an early childhood and family-focused lens on policies.聽
So far, children have listed to 鈥渇eel safe,鈥� 鈥渢o love who I want to,鈥� 鈥減lay outdoors,鈥� 鈥渁 good education,鈥� and 鈥渟pend time with mom and dad鈥� as some of the rights they hold most dear.
鈥淚f a child says, for instance, that they have 鈥榯he right to play,鈥� fathers will be engaged with this, and the charter will help find ways to support this,鈥� said Black, who points to the website www.thedadvibe.com, written by a dad from Kelowna, as a good resource for fathers.聽
Like Brims, Patrick Wilson, a father in Squamish, alternates with his wife to care for his two young daughters. They go to daycare two days a week when both parents are at work.聽
鈥淒aycare is expensive, so we hand off the girls when the other one isn鈥檛 working,鈥� said Wilson, who tries different activities regularly, including going to the library and the park and participating in Strong Start and Home Depot鈥檚 children鈥檚 workshops.
鈥淲e moved here from Whistler and got on the daycare waitlist while my wife was still pregnant 鈥� the waitlists are that long.鈥�
While Wilson does see other dads at early childhood programs in Squamish, he said he would like to see more participate with their kids.聽
鈥淭he more dads, the better.鈥�
