Backyard Blitz: dads and kids activity program
BACKYARD BLITZ - the activity program for Dads and their kids.
“It was so good to get up in the morning and know I was taking the kids on a great day out – rafting, rock climbing, going to new parks, the ropes course – they did it all, my daughter was awesome …now we want to do more active things on the weekend and we know where we can do it-as they kept saying there is so much in our own Backyard – and it doesn’t have to be expensive- last weekend we road our bikes along the Yarra and had a picnic, No more Macca’s -and they loved it”
-Andy 42 years, Coburg.
This program teaches fathers and their children about healthy eating and encourages physical exercise and positive parenting. The 27 family groups (84 participants) took part in 5 full Sundays of activities including Rafting, Ropes Course, Games Day in the park, Indoor Rockclimbing and finished with a Family Olympic Games Day. Great quality fresh healthy food was provided and the Dads made a new lunch each week including healthy pita pockets, crunchy wraps, low fat BBQ and ordered in a healthy way from an Asian Restaurant.
What are the main aims of this program?
- Increase fathers and children’s knowledge of healthy eating and give them a range of experiences to broaden their tastes (eg: only bottled water is provided on the days and healthy fresh food which every participant ate)
- Increase father’s commitment to looking after their own health and passing on healthy habits to their children
- Encourage more regular exercise and family outings which include active participation , especially in the outdoors
- Introduce families to a range of natural spaces and recreation venues around their home and encourage them to autonomously increase their access to these
- Empower fathers with simple positive parenting techniques which are taught via informal contact with the Mentor Fathers on the program
Why Target Dads?
Our programs tend to focus on those with high needs – however prevention and early intervention can also play a part. They were often grappling with divorce and separation or unemployment but were still open to improving their diet, parenting and fitness levels. By harnessing their role as parents (about which they already felt positive) we were able to engage them in an intervention to reduce unhealthy eating and increase activity that they would not normally have committed to. We targeted fathers particularly as their eating and exercise levels have a large impact on how their children eat. It is often Dad who is driving and thus makes the decision to get take away, fathers who love chocolates and fried food often provide these as regular treats for kids, even in families where the other parent is trying to promote healthy eating, it is almost considered the Australian way for Dad to provide the treats. We know the involvement of fathers generally in the hands on raising of their children has far reaching positive effects in areas including academic success, social skills and good mental health. Interestingly obesity studies have shown that a warm and nurturing relationship with fathers decreasing the risk of weight problems in children, comfort eating tends to be a factor in homes where Dad is distant or in conflict with others.
Those fathers who were not working were particularly interested in low cost healthy food and free entertainment outdoors on weekends. We were able to link many of them up with local soccer clubs and increase their access to community activities they had not been aware of.
Who runs Backyard Blitz?
This program is coordinated and managed by drummond street services. The facilitation of the activity days is managed by two trained and experienced adventure training professionals; Mel and Adrian Allen. They have their own business Relationship Maintenance (see www.relationshipmaintenance.com.au or ring Mel on 0417 160 862).
By contracting Mel and Adrian to run the activities we can be sure that all participants are covered by appropriate insurance, safety plans have been developed for each day and that the days will run smoothly and be a SUCCESS.
We know that fathers often say they want and in terms of mental health actually need more one on one time with their kids. They are keen to try new activities but are not sure what is available locally and are concerned about cost. Mothers usually request some time to themselves, so where there was a mum in the family – the feedback was “We love hearing about what they have cooked and eaten and what they achieved on their special day with Dad”.
A total of 84 participants have taken part in Backyard Blitz so far and we have a waiting list for future programs. However the initial funding from the Department of Health and Ageing’s Healthy Active Australia initiative has come to an end and we are seeking future funding for this important project.
A Range of Venues for our activity days have included:
- Bayswater High Ropes Course
- Nunawading Indoor Rockclimbing
- Hayes Paddock Recreational Park in Kew
- Jells Park in Wheelers Hill
- Carlton Gardens , inner Melbourne
We are keen to train other organizations and local government partners in all states and territories to run this program and play to the strengths of what their local neighborhood’s have to offer
Why it works- what our evaluation showed
drummond street has an ongoing commitment to quality research and these 3 Backyard Blitz programs have been independently evaluated by Anita Pryor under the supervision of Deakin University, in association with the Centre for Family Research and Evaluation. The full evaluation report is enclosed and shows findings such as:
After participation:
- All dads agreed teaching their kids about physical activity and good eating was a major part of their role as a Dad
- The amount of meals Dads and their children prepared together increased
- Dads were more likely to use outdoor spaces and initiate active outings such as rock-climbing
- Dads identified the enjoyment of good healthy food as one of the most useful aspects of the program
- Dads felt better connected to other Dads and the community as a whole
After the completion of our formal evaluation we invited fathers back to a focus group to explore the specific changes in their own physical activity and eating habits. 7 of the 9 that attended reported significant changes in their levels of exercise particularly on the weekends, and 4 had lost weight as a result. One overwhelming message emerged “It’s about what I was passing on to the kids, that helped me change, I probably wouldn’t have done anything otherwise”. This harnessing of the parenting role has been used in the addictions field. Working with people with a focus on a positive part of their identity resulted in a reduction in drug use.
If you would like more information on backyard blitz please contact the program manager and director of the family wellbeing unit, Helen Rimington at drummond street services on (03) 9639 2576
