Bonding Steps: The Impact of Dad Walks on Fathers and Their Children

Dadvengers is a community interest organisation founded by TV presenter Nigel Clarke that inspires and champions fathers throughout their journeys of parenthood. It is their mission to grow an inclusive community of parents and provide engaging aspirational resources to support and educate dads and create positive fatherhood experience for families. 

The organisation facilitates regular ‘dad walks’ in which dads and their children meet up, go to a short walk, and play with their children on a playground. It is the aim of these walks to provide support for dads to have the confidence to be inspiring parents while also promoting positive mental health for men. 

To evaluate the impact of dad walks on participating fathers, the organisation would like to create a report that answers the following questions:  

• How do dads interact with the service? 

• What is the experience of fathers who participate in dad walks and how do they feel about it? 

• Do dad walks promote mental health outcomes for dads and their children? 

• What additional benefits do dad walks have for fathers, their children and their partners? 

• Does the participation of dad walks influence the attitudes of fathers in view of parenthood? 

• Do participating dads also seek support and resources from elsewhere? 

• How can the service be improved and what else can the organisation do to enhance the experience for dads? 

To generate this report, the organisation would like to recruit volunteers over a 12-month period. The organisation already holds some data about the dad walks but additionally data collection will be required through surveys (quantitative) and interviews (qualitative) with facilitators and dads.