Katie Couric Gets Double Scoop from NYC Dads Group

She’s didn’t ask us about our favorite Supreme Court rulings and we didn’t claim to see Russia from our homes.

Those were among the many successes NYC Dads Group had when journalist/talk show host Katie Couric recently interviewed some of our members on what we know best -- being a modern father.

The first video segment looks at our New Dad Boot Camp classes and is up right now on her “Katie’s Take” section of Yahoo! News.

The second segment, in which we talk about being at-home dads with a breadwinning wives, airs tomorrow, Wednesday, June 19, on her syndicated talk show Katie. The show airs at 3 p.m. on WABC, Ch. 7, in the NYC area. If you live elsewhere, go to her website to find the show time and channel.

Katie Couric peers from behind NYC Dads Group members Joe McLaughlin, Kevin McKeever and Lance Somerfeld in the guests’ green room of her ‘Katie’ syndicated talk show.

NYC Dads Group co-founder Lance Somerfeld poses with the real Katie Couric.

NYC Dads Care: The Promise Walk for Preeclampsia

As part of our NYC Dads Care program of volunteer activities that promote our core beliefs and values, we're excited to announce we have a team of NYC Dads Group members and their families that will participate in The Promise Walk for Preeclampsia in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Saturday, June 22. 

This collaborative effort will be sponsored by BRITAX / BOB.  We hope you cheer us on as we stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge with our families for such a wonderful cause.

Never heard of preeclampsia before? 

Read this excerpt from their site:

We walk to raise awareness …

Too few know the reality and impact of preeclampsia, a life-threatening disorder of pregnancy that affects both the mother and the unborn baby. Yet preeclampsia is not rare: It happens in as many as one in 12 pregnancies.  And any woman can be affected, regardless of her race, ethnic background, skin color, size, hometown, or whether she is rich, poor, or somewhere in the middle. Even good health and healthy habits aren't a guarantee of protection against this disorder.

We walk to find a cause and a cure … 

No one knows yet what causes preeclampsia.  There are no definite ways to prevent it.  Nor is there a cure.  But through research and the efforts of families and those affected, we are making progress.  We have a better understanding today than we had even 10 years ago.

Those of us who have survived or lost a loved one to preeclampsia have promised not to remain unchanged by the experience, but to do all we can to make a difference for others. The Preeclampsia Foundation is making strides and delivering hope—and the Promise Walk is a big part of that.

NYC Dads Meetups: Author Bruce Linton, Promise Walk

Week of June 17, 2013: Father’s Day may have passed by the NYC Dads Group is just getting started with a summer of great meetup programs, with and without the kids.

Bruce Linton, author of Becoming a Dad, How Fatherhood Changes Men, will talk Wednesday night exclusively to our members about his book, and whatever other parenting topic is on your mind. His book is an inspirational call to action for every man to understand how he may change when he becomes a father.

We also looking for members to join us for the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia to help us raise awareness of this life-threatening disorder of pregnancy that affects the mother and the unborn baby.

Check out those and other NYC Dads Meetup Group events going on this week after the jump …

Jumping Into Fatherhood HEART First

"The first day of fatherhood is a humbling experience -- not to mention a blow to the ego." 

Save the Children released their State of the World's Mothers Report, in part focusing on the first 24 hours of a newborn's life.  Wondering about the first 24 hours as a father?  The #Globalmotherhood Program asked our own, Lance Somerfeld, to share his first 24 hours of fatherhood on the Huffington Post this weekend.

My wife jolted me out of a deep sleep at 5 a.m. She mumbled something didn't "feel right." The fear in her voice scared me.

I slowly followed her into the bathroom.

"Something feels wet," she replied. My wife wondered aloud, "Did my water break? I thought there's supposed to be a pool of water on the floor? That's what it's always like on TV." Within minutes we were in a taxi headed to the hospital.

Read the full article here to see how it "became a comedy of errors" for him and lessons learned from the experience of being "thrust into fatherhood heart first."

P&G's Dad is the #WorldsGreatest Campaign

As you know from their tear-jerking ads during the 2012 Summer Olympics, P&G loves moms. Many in the dad blogosphere have been critical of the fact that P&G makes it look like dads aren't part of the success that the celebrated Olympic athletes have achieved. 

We won't wage that debate today though, because we're very happy to report that P&G is sponsoring* us to share the latest Thank You Mom campaign that recognizes dads with their Dad is the #WorldsGreatest campaign!

Click on their their Facebook (http://facebook.com/thankyoumom) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/thankyoumom) Thank you, Mom wants you to fill in the blank and share what makes the dad in your life the #WorldsGreatest ____.

They are selecting of their favorite responses and create custom illustrations to help these users honor their Dads. Check it out here: http://pinterest.com/thankyoumom/dad-is-the-worldsgreatest/

Here are some of our favorites:

*This is a sponsored post. We are happy to work with brands that are supporting a new definition of fatherhood and we are happy to partner with P&G and the Thank You Mom team to share this great campaign.

Father’s Day Gifts for the Modern Family Man

Editor’s Note: I don’t just redline our contributors’ work. I actually write, too. Here’s a piece I did today for my blog Always Home and Uncool and my local newspaper column on Father’s Day gifts that I – an involved, at-home dad – want this Sunday. KMcK.

Father's Day is Sunday and, speaking on behalf of my fellow sperm donors, it’s time you stopped shortchanging us on the gifts.

We deserve better because studies on modern parenting, such as the recent Pew Research Center report on “breadwinning moms,” show a growing conspiracy against dads’ well-being.

Moms “leaning in” to advance their careers and decades of badgering dads to be more involved parents have heaped unprecedented amounts of housework and child-rearing duties on fathers everywhere.

No longer can we come home from a hard day’s corporate dronery and Ward-Cleaver-it in our cardigan and easy chair, answering Junior’s inquiries about life with clichés or a deft “go ask your mother.” Now we cook meals, participate in PTAs and iron sharp creases into our wives’ business suits to help them shatter glass ceilings. Fatherhood has evolved into a high-stress, guilt-ridden occupation with longer hours and less pay.

Holy Betty Friedan! We dads have become our mothers!

Moms Contribute to Dads’ Parenting Success, Part 2

Editor's Note: For Father’s Day, we sought assistance from some local and/or out-of-this-world moms. We asked them this: “Some say moms are the No. 1 factor contributing to a dad's success as a parent? Do you agree? What can moms do to support dads in being the best parents they can be?”  The first responses ran Tuesday. Here’s the second and final batch. Enjoy! -- KMcK.

Don’t sweat the small stuff
I think we moms contribute to the success of dads in parenting less than we think. Let's just say the dads I know don't sweat the small stuff!

By and large, they are much better at both tolerating mom's approach to parenting (even if different from their own) and, at the end of the day, knowing what is truly important. But even though dads have this type of confidence, it doesn't mean they still don't need to hear what a good job they are doing, or appreciate being asked for parenting advice every now and then. They are pretty good at it, after all!

– Rosie Pope
entrepreneur, Rosie Pope Maternity
TV personality, Bravo’s Pregnant in Heels

A Gay Father’s Pride

Editor’s Note: Father’s Day is only one notable day in June. The entire 30 days makes up Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. NYC Dads Group member Marty Forth discusses what the converging of these two occasions mean to him as a gay father. -- KMcK.

One of two things that I know, unequivocally, is that I am a good dad. Some days I am a very good dad, even the “greatest daddy in the whole wide world.”

My 3-year-old son tells me these things and he does not lie. And what 3-year-old would embellish the truth?

The other thing I absolutely know is that I am gay.

With Father’s Day upon us, I think often about what these two facts mean together. I think especially of the pioneering men and women who fought before me to be allowed – permitted – to be parents and openly gay.