Blackburn with Darwen dad's champ on a mission to show fathers matter (From Blackburn Citizen)

Blackburn with Darwen dad's champ on a mission to show fathers matter

10:00am Sunday 5th July 2009

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By Caroline Taylor »

DAD'S Champion sounds a bit like the type of job that would involve wearing a cape and scaling tall buildings.

But according to Tom Stannard, the man who holds the title, it's all about showing dads how they can make a big impact on their children's lives by making just a few small changes.

"Something as simple as reading to your child every night can make a difference," said Tom, Blackburn with Darwen Council's director of policy and communications.

"In the same time it takes you to have a shave in the morning you could read a book with your child and they would get more out of that than you realise.

"We deliberately set out to avoid taking the typical government approach where you produce a strategy, wave a document around, and then everybody goes to sleep," continued Tom.

"We want to promote the impact a father can have in a very real-world way."

So why are dads so important to kids?

"Two reasons really," said Tom.

"There's the economic side. Research proves that positive male role models, particularly dads, have a really good impact on how bright a children is, on their behaviour, and on whether or not they get in trouble with the police.

"The second reason is more important for me, and that's the personal side.

“Being a dad can be tiring, but the emotional reward you reap is unbeatable.

“The time you invest communicating with your child pays massive dividends and I want to make sure as many people as possible understand how important it is to their kids to have a balanced family life."

Tom, 32, is well-qualified for the job, having a two-year-old daughter Anya with wife Usha, and another child the way, due in October.

"I'm a dad myself so I'm trying to practice what I preach, holding down a busy job, but still playing a big role in my daughter's life," he said.

"I work long hours, but I make a point of decorating my office with my daughter's paintings and scan pictures of the new baby because it reminds me of what life is all about really."

Tom says becoming a father has had a huge impact on his life.

"Before Anya was born I was a social animal. I used to see live music concerts a couple of times a week, travelling around and staying up all night.

"But when you have a little kid you just can't do that. Suddenly you have to spend all your waking hours, and half your sleeping hours, caring for them.

“When I became a father I was introduced to a whole new world."

Another side of Tom's job is to ensure the council is working to promote father-friendly policies. "When staff in my department work late at meetings one night I think it's perfectly reasonable for them to be in late the next day because they want to spend the morning with their son or daughter that they didn't see the night before," he said.

"It's important for us to be flexible with dads.

“If kids grow up achieving more at school they're more likely to be economically productive, get better jobs and be of much more benefit to our society in the long run, so it's a worthwhile investment."

Tom hopes he can help people in Blackburn and Darwen understand the demands on working fathers and help them to realise their worth.

"Stand up and be counted," he said. "Just because you're a dad in a sea of mums at the nursery or the children's centre, don't think you're not just as important to your child as their mother is, because you are."

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