Fathers’ Day celebration

"We wanted dads to know what a great job they are doing, how important they are, and to provide them with a forum for sharing valuable parenting information" says SKIP co-ordinator Sarah Deering.

About 100 people (40 dads, and their pre-school children) took part in the event.

The morning included a talk by former All Black Norm Hewitt who entertained the dads for 40 minutes with his insights to parenting.

"Norm was fabulous, very down to earth and great with the dads and the kids. He spoke about how he has got quite stressed out with his own children, but has learnt to take a moment to calm down before attempting to handle the situation and how essential it is to spend quality time with your kids", Sarah says.

"Next was a building competition so the dads and kids could have fun together. Groups built creations out of a pile of cardboard boxes, polystyrene, and cardboard cylinders. Then we went into the Hotel Restaurant for a buffet breakfast. As they left the event, the dads were each handed a SKIP pack."

"All the dads said how much they had enjoyed themselves, and you could see that the kids did by the smiles on their faces!"

"The day was awesome and achieved at no cost to the dads because of SKIP funding, terrific local sponsors, and local businesses".