Alex & ruaridh
Alex & Ruaridh’s Story…
Alex found it really difficult to find activities to do with his baby son Ruaridh during the pandemic, especially on his own without Mum. When Ruaridh was 8-9 months old he found out about the Dads Buggy Walks in Edinburgh and went along. It was there he learned about Dads in the Wood and thought it was a great idea to get outside and give it a go. He said;
“I was generally quite tentative about going out because I felt like he (Ruaridh) was going to pick up things and put them in his mouth, or trip up on tree roots and all the rest of it. I was definitely lacking in confidence when it came to taking him out on my own. At Dads in the Wood we use kettles and lots of other things I wouldn’t have anticipated doing with little children because there’s far too much risk! Greg (from Dads Rock) just does it so easily with so many kids around, and in such a controlled environment it feels safe. I’ve actually thought I could go and do that – I could buy one of those and go out to the woods and I’d have absolutely no problem doing that now. Little things like that give me the confidence to take him out - I want to go camping and things like that”.
Alex feels the sessions have helped both his and Ruaridh’s confidence.
“It’s helped my relationship with my son. The buggy walk was fine because it was very controlled with him in his pushchair and I might get him out at the play park. Bringing him here (to Dads in the Wood) has given me the confidence to regularly take him out now. Ruaridh’s confidence has improved too. I can see the difference from the first time when he just sat there and played with some cars but now he wants to get involved and joins in playing with the other kids and it’s great to see”.
Alex really feels the Dads in the Wood sessions have helped his mental health too.
“So many other classes just involve mums and it's really difficult there when you’re a Dad. Mums often know each other or when a new Mum comes they can just ask if they want to go for a coffee or something which has weird connotations when you’re a Dad. Something like Dads in the Wood it’s so much easier because it doesn’t feel like there’s any external pressure or people wondering what's going on or that sort of weird thing. So 100% because just meeting new dads with kids the same age is absolutely brilliant so you can just have a chat and we talk about all sorts of things”.
Alex continues to come along to the groups with Ruaridh because it’s an easy way to meet other Dads and chat about kids' things.
“It’s good seeing how their kids are getting on and we’ve got that common interest - just meeting people of a similar age and a lot of similar interests is really good for me. Bringing him (Ruaridh) out is really nice and gives mum a chance to have some alone time at home. He's starting to explore. I think he likes being able to get out of the house, walking about and doing what we're doing”.
To find out more about our groups click here: DadGroups