Fathers online: learning about fatherhood through the internet

Title: Fathers online: learning about fatherhood through the internet
Creator: St George, Jennifer M.; Fletcher, Richard
Relation: Journal of Perinatal Education Vol. 20, Issue 3, p. 154-162
Publisher Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/1058-1243.20.3.154
Publisher: Journal of Perinatal Education
Resource Type: journal article
Date: 2011
Description: In the transition to fatherhood, men face numerous challenges. Opportunities to learn new practices and gain support are limited, although the provisions of father-specific spaces such as fathers’ antenatal classes or “responsible fathering” programs are important advances. This article explores how men use the social space of a father-specific Internet chat room to learn about fathering. Messages to an Australian-hosted, father-specific chat room (for fathers of infants or young children) were examined, and three overlapping themes illustrated men’s perceptions of their transition to fatherhood. The themes concerned recognition of and response to a lack of social space, services, and support for new fathers. The implications for fathers’ perinatal education are discussed.
Subject: fathers; perinatal education; internet; father specific programs
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/940899
Identifier: uon:13125
Identifier: ISSN:1058-1243
Language: eng
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