TRIBECA — Diaper changing and sleep deprivation are challenges for all new parents, but dads are often left out of the conversation. Not any more.
The New Dad Boot Camp program — which kicks off Oct. 29 — aims to get recent or soon-to-be fathers talking about the many challenges a new baby brings. Three three-hour classes at locations in TriBeCa, the Upper East Side and Park Slope will offer tips on everything from how to swaddle to how to soothe a child who won't stop crying.
"Dads are often at work, not learning those skills, which creates a cycle of dad being the assistant parent," said Matt Schneider, co-founder of the NYC Dads Group, which is running the boot camp.
"The idea behind the class is to help dads jump right in at the beginning. We want dads to feel comfortable with the fact that they can be just as nurturing and capable a parent as moms are."
Schneider, 36, a stay-at-home dad who lives in Battery Park City with his wife and two sons, got the idea for the boot camp when he saw that TriBeCa Parenting offered classes for new moms but none specifically for new dads.
Men need to learn how to handle a new baby just as much as women do, Schneider said. The boot camp will address issues that new dads may be more comfortable speaking about in an all-male environment, including their relationship with the baby's mother and how to handle the influx of relatives who often show up after the birth to help.
"Our intention is to get dads talking to each other about parenting [and] to create opportunities for dads to be the best dads they can be," Schneider said.
Schneider and other NYC Dads Group members will teach the class based on training they received from Boot Camp for New Dads, a national group that has taught parenting basics to more than 300,000 new fathers across the country over the past 21 years.
But while those boot camps usually take place in hospitals, Schneider is taking his message out to some of New York's most child-friendly neighborhoods, with sessions at TriBeCa Parenting's locations in TriBeCa, the Upper East Side and Park Slope.
The boot camps will target working dads, but Schneider originally focused on resources for stay-at-home dads when he co-founded the NYC Dads Group in 2008.
Schneider had left his job as a teacher at P.S. 86 in the Bronx several years earlier, when his first son, Max, was born.
Schneider intended only to take a leave of absence, but he soon decided that he wanted to be a full-time parent and now stays home with Max, 6, and Sam, 3, while his wife works in real estate.
But while Schneider enjoyed staying home with his children, he and fellow stay-at-home dad Lance Somerfeld noticed a shortage of other dads in the playground and at local children's museums.
They started the NYC Dads Group as a way for fathers with flexible schedules to connect for play dates, field trips and even guys' nights out — without kids in tow. The group, which is free to join, now has more than 450 members and holds get-togethers almost every day of the week from Brooklyn to Jersey City.
"A lot of moms' groups do not allow dads to join," Schneiderman said.
"We wanted to be part of a parenting group, [so] we started our own."
The New Dad Boot Camp costs $55 plus $10 for take-home materials and will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Park Slope Oct. 29, on the Upper East Side Nov. 5 and in TriBeCa Nov. 12. For more information, visit the NYC Dads Group's website.
