What's involved in the sessions?

'Dads-Only' workshop 

Fathers and father-figures attend a 'Dads-Only' workshop at the start of the program which shares proven parenting strategies to improve their daughters’ social-emotional well-being, sports skills and physical activity levels. Dads learn about the unique and powerful influence they have on their daughters' lives. Key messages are shared around gender equity and empowering daughters to combat gender prejudice, particularly regarding sport and physical activity.

Daughters and Dads Sessions (8 x 90-minutes) 

Daughters and dads spend quality time together over 8 consecutive weekly sessions. Each week there is an 'empowerment session' and an 'active session'.

Empowerment session (30 minutes)

• Each week has a different theme, introduced in a 30-minute empowerment session (e.g. Sport Skills, Female Role Models etc.).
• These sessions also focus on developing key social-emotional skills for girls including persistence, resilience, and bravery. 

Active session (60 minutes)

The 60-minute active session each week focusses on 3 key areas - Rough and Tumble Play, Sport Skills and Fitness.  Each of these 3 components have a strong evidence base for optimising the physical and mental health of girls... but dads also benefit!

1. ROUGH AND TUMBLE PLAY involves fun wrestling-based activities. Rough and tumble play allows girls to be physically active with their dad, take safe risks and use their strength and fitness to develop physical confidence and social-emotional regulation. 
   
   Pellis, S.M., & Pellis, V.C. (2007) Rough-and- Tumble Play and the Development of the Social Brain, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(2), 95-98.
   
   
2. SPORTS SKILLS are the building blocks required to participate in most forms of physical activity. The Daughters and Dads program focusses on key skills including kicking, catching, bouncing, striking and throwing. These are foundational skills for a wide range of sporting activities. Research shows that children who are proficient in these basic fundamental movement skills are much more likely to be active, fit and have higher levels of self-esteem throughout adolescence and adulthood. 
   
   Morgan, P.J. et al. (2013) Fundamental movement skill interventions in youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pediatrics, 132(5), e1361-83
   
   
3. FITNESS based games and activities involve dads and daughters working together to increase their physical activity levels and develop both aerobic and muscular fitness. 
   
   Lubans, et al. (2010) Fundamental Movement Skills in Children and Adolescents: Review of Associated Health Benefits. Sports Medicine 40(12): 1019-1035.

Home Program 

A home-based program provides additional opportunities for daughters and dads to be active together and reinforces key skills learnt during sessions. Daughters develop autonomy and leadership skills by driving the home-program.

Participant pack

As part of the program, all participants receive an Activity Handbook containing the home program as well as program t-shirts.

Weekender Program Structure 

The Weekender format of the Daughters and Dads program includes all theory and practical components delivered in the Daughters and Dads Active and Empowered program plus fun outdoor adventure activities, compressed into a single weekend.