Daughters and Dads Active and Empowered is a multi-award-winning, community-based program, that engages fathers/father figures in positive lifestyle role modelling and effective parenting strategies to improve the physical activity behaviours, physical confidence, sport skills and social-emotional wellbeing of their daughters
During the program, dads spend quality time with their daughters, having fun and working together in practical sessions involving rough and tumble play, sport skills, and health-related fitness games. Both fathers and daughters gain the knowledge and skills necessary to promote lifelong physical activity. Dads also learn evidence-based parenting strategies to enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of their daughters. Daughters are given opportunities to practise key social-emotional skills including self-control, persistence, critical thinking, resilience and self-reliance and spend quality time with their dads working together in fun practical sessions involving sport skills (eg kicking, catching, throwing), rough and tumble play and health-related fitness games. Formerly known as DADEE (Dads And Daughters Exercising and Empowered), the program name was changed to Daughters and Dads Active and Empowered in mid-2019. In addition to our Daughters & Dads Active and Empowered 'Classic' program, a four-year partnership with the NSW Office of Sport will see the University of Newcastle team work with a number of state sporting bodies to develop sport specific variants of the Daughters & Dads program (2019-2023). Daughters & Dads Cricket was piloted in early 2020 in consultation with Cricket-NSW and Cricket Australia and continues to roll out in 2021-2023. Daughters & Dads Basketball is planned for delivery in 2022 in consultation with Basketball NSW, to co-ordinate with the 2022 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney, NSW. Daughters & Dads Football is planned for delivery in 2022-2023 in consultation with Football NSW and NNSW Football, to c-ordinate with the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
