Advocacy

Purpose, Mission, and Core Values

OUR MISSION:

To provide advocacy, community, education and support for families where the fathers are primary caregivers for their children.

OUR CORE VALUES:

Inclusion Statement

"The National At-Home Dad Network is an inclusive community committed to equality, education, esteem, and empowerment. We know that a great community includes a diversity of individuals, ideas, inputs, ideologies, and inspirations. It is not surprising then that we are strongly committed to inclusion. We value respectful discourse and a free flow of ideas. We welcome, facilitate, and respect a diversity of ideas, experiences, cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds. In fact, we demand it. We will defend all members against hatred and bigotry. As a result, The National At-Home Dad Network is made up of individuals of all abilities, backgrounds, religions, races, cultures, ethnicities, sexual orientations, genders, ages, and expressions. This commitment to diversity and inclusion not only makes us who we are, but it also makes us better, more creative, more innovative, more understanding and more outstanding. Above all and including all, we will continue to work to create a safe space for everyone to contribute, to grow, to learn and to redefine fatherhood.*"

Civility and Respect

We believe in civility and respect. As we strive against the low expectations much of society has for men as competent caregivers, we commit to a higher bar in regards to how we treat others. Disrespect, discrimination, lewd or inappropriate comments and personal attacks against any person, without regard to gender, age, religion, race, sexual orientation, political affiliation, disability, marital status, employment status, or income level, have no place in our organization and are counter to our values.

Masculinity

We believe a father’s masculinity is not diminished by caring for his children. Rather, we believe he is never more of a man than when he is being an involved father. Furthermore, we believe that being an at-home dad is not an abdication of a man’s role as provider for his family. In fact, we believe that stepping away from the full-time workforce to raise one’s children can be the most valuable and meaningful way a father can provide for his family.

Gender and Parenting

We believe men and women are equally capable of being reliable, competent and confident caregivers, and value both genders’ unique contributions to child rearing.**

Distribution of Parental Duties

We believe that distribution of family duties should be open for negotiation, based on each contributor’s talents, temperament, desires, and economic opportunities, not determined by gender. We believe families are free to determine what works best for themselves.

Needs of At-Home Dads

We believe that at-home dads are trailblazers in today’s society who often face isolation and stigma in a culture which does not yet fully accept men in the role of primary caregiver. We believe that the best way to combat isolation and empower at-home dads to be confident in their identity and role is to provide the camaraderie found in connection with other at-home dads through local groups, online communities and national gatherings.

Contributions of At-Home Dads

We believe at-home dads are an asset to their families and their communities. We believe they are role models shaping the future of fatherhood and are playing an important part in helping women reach their full potential in the workplace.

Cultural Acceptance

We believe that our culture is in the process of coming to terms with the increasingly common but relatively new role of the at-home dad. We believe that the media, academia, the government and the corporate world can and should act to accelerate the acceptance and affirmation of at-home dads.

* Respectfully adapted from Mom 2.0’s Inclusion Statement

** The issue of father’s custody rights and the family court system is complex and controversial. We believe engagement with these issues is outside of the scope of our organization’s mission.