What is HealthyDads about?

Preparing you emotionally to be a dad by equipping you with information and tools to help you feel as ready as you can be.

Empowering you with information, tools and resources to help promote your mental health!

The Information and tools provided are based on facts (research!) and interventions that have been proven to work.

We provide you with links to other useful sites, books and resources in your community which are tailored or have services targeting new dads.

What’s different about HealthyDads?

It has been developed by a team of Canadian researchers and practicing health professionals who are experts in the field of parental well-being, men’s health, lifestyle factors and website development in the context of health promotion.

Expectant and new dads across Canada contributed to the development of healthydads. We asked almost 200 expectant and new dads to tell us what they needed to prepare them emotionally for becoming a dad and what topics they wanted us to target to promote their mental health!

Preparing To Be A Dad

Becoming a father will mean something a little different for everyone, and no two fathers are identical. Your role as father will be largely shaped by…

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Emotional Wellness

Having a baby can be one of the most exciting and challenging things you will ever do.
Some experiences will fill you with pleasure, happiness and delight, while at other times you may feel overwhelmed, stressed and afraid. With all these different and often contradictory emotions happening, it is very important to keep track of your mental wellness during this time.

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Healthy Living

It is important that men maintain some connection to physical activity or sport. Some of the benefits that research has shown to be associated with physical activity include the following…

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Toolkit

Imagine that you are trying to put your son to sleep, but he won’t stop crying. You could think to yourself “This is just a rough night but not all nights will be like this” (realistic self-talk) or you could think “This is hopeless; I’ll never get the hang of this” (negative self-talk).

These two thoughts will lead to very different feelings and very different reactions or behaviours.

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