Dear Dads
NCT is not just for mums, we are there for you too! We know that at the time of birth a lot
of attention is given to mum and we hope that some of the information here is useful for
you too.
Dads social meet up: We would love to run a social event for dads - either a one-off or
regular meet-up. If you are a dad who is interested in meeting some other dads in
Enfield please do get in touch and we can help organise something that suits you!
Please email [email protected] for a further chat.
A new community for local dads
Errol Murray has been running Leeds Dads for around 4 years now and has built up a
fantastic community of fathers in the city. Leeds Dads meets on the third Sunday of
every month and Errol worked hard to find the perfect venue. There's a fun and informal
structure to each meeting, which both the fathers and children enjoy. The group has
ventured out and about on several excursions, including to a nearby urban farm and to
take part in bush craft activities! The dads also enjoy a monthly child-free night out once
a month!
Here Errol tells us more about the group and how he went about creating it:
What motivated you to get the Leeds Dads group up and running in the first place?
My wife, Veena, loved being a new mum. She started meeting other new mums at
various groups, and forged several firm friendships. I prided myself from the start on
being a hands-on dad, but there were plenty of challenges. We had moved from London
to Leeds and were still building up our own social network when our daughter Rayya was
born in 2010. We had no family nearby, so our support was pretty much down to
ourselves and close friends. At the same time I was on the road, working across the
country. I’d come home on a Friday night and have to start from scratch on my
relationship with our daughter. She’d finally warm to me, then I’d be gone on the Sunday
night. So by the following Friday I’d again get the cold shoulder. It was pretty
demoralising, and I wanted to get more quality time with her, but didn’t know what
to do. Dads are still a bit of a rarity at playgroups, so I felt slightly awkward and
out of place there. There was a story I’d
seen on Twitter about dads in the States
getting together to talk about their kids,
So I decided to try to do the same and I
launched Leeds Dads MeetUp.