Saturday, June 14, 2008

Father Knows Business - FOXBusiness.com

re: "When Greg Bishop dreamed up the idea for a father-to-be boot camp in 1990, the fatherhood industry was uncharted territory. /"One of the fundamental problems at that point and still today is that there's no media channel directed at fathers," Bishop says. "The entire world of babies is fully directed toward mothers." /...[snip].../ That question prompted Bishop, 57, to begin conducting boot camp workshops at a local hospital. Six years later, he transformed his hobby into a nationwide organization, now known as Boot Camp for New Dads. /The goal of boot camp is to help new dads become comfortable caring for their babies, supporting their spouses and making the transition into fatherhood. So far, Boot Camp for New Dads, based in Irvine, California, has expanded into 43 states and England and Australia, graduating some 200,000 fathers in about 18 years. /To support this program, Bishop founded the nonprofit New Fathers Foundation and a for-profit company, Dads Adventure Inc., in 1995. Through Dads Adventure, Bishop, a father of four, writes and publishes books and a magazine for dads-to-be. He also maintains a website offering new dads advice and resources... /...[snip]... / "I think what you're seeing is a fatherhood movement that's mostly based in guys' hearts, who want to be closer to their kids than their own father was with them," Bishop says. /Diaper Dude founder Chris Pegula, 36, is part of that movement... /...[snip].../ "A lot of the guys I know and hang out with are participatory dads. They're all really involved in the burping process and changing diapers," Mike Barclay, 36, says. /By day, Barclay is a full-time dean of students at a private school in Providence, Rhode Island. By night, he's a husband, father of two and co-founder ofBurp Armor, a twist on the traditional burp cloth. Unlike regular burp cloths, Burp Armor has a kidney bean shape and shoulder flap design that protects a parent's shoulder and upper arm from baby's many messes.... /.../ "...

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