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Forget The Socks And Undies – Give Dad The Gift Of Time This Father’s Day

Friday, 31st August 2012

Forget The Socks And Undies – Give Dad The Gift Of Time This Father’s Day

This Father’s Day, the YMCA wants families to spend time, not money, and give the gift of quality, active time together, not socks and undies, to celebrate the important role of dads today.

The annual celebration, which takes place across Australia on Sunday September 2, was actually founded by the YMCA in the USA in 1910 but is just as important a celebration for the Y today as it was 102 years ago as it remains dedicated to bringing families together.

But Phillip Hare, CEO, YMCA NSW, said 2012 signals the “third evolution” of the annual celebration, which had its origins as a small-town event which recognised the efforts of local fathers and, by the 1980s, had evolved into a “second Christmas” due to its commercial success.

“This year, we want families to forget about the socks and undies and give a much more important gift – time,” Hare said.

“Families today have never been more time poor and struggle more than ever to have quality time together. We know that anecdotally, families spend significantly more time watching TV than they do having meaningful conversations, and that’s scary.

“Dads need and want to spend more time with their children and families so we’re asking kids to get off the Xbox, turn off the TV, shut down the computer and spend some quality time with dad this Father’s Day.”

It is a reality that parents spend significantly less time with their children in active play as they get older. According to the Institute of Family Studies, when asked how many times in the past week parents had played with their child, 30% of those with 10 to 11-year-olds said “none”, with just 7% saying they did so on 6 to 7 days of the week.

The Y is dedicated to creating opportunities that bring families together, which it says is key to keeping the family unit strong and healthy, as well as the family members themselves. This is true every day of the week, with programs including Dads and Kids Camps held at the Y’s Camp Yarramundi being a great way for fathers to spend meaningful time with their children.

“The Y is serious about giving families access to programs and services that promote spending time together and living happier, healthier lives and, on Father’s Day, over 35 Ys across NSW will be encouraging family participation by offering free family access to programs including recreational swimming, health and fitness and casual court use,” Hare said.

Father’s Day is also an exciting time for the Y this year, signaling the launch of the organisation’s new family-focused Centre Timetable across more than 35 YMCA-owned and managed health & fitness centres in NSW. The new Timetable encourages family participation by including more programs the

whole family can do together, while also making it easy to identify separate programs that family members can do at the same time.

“Our new family-friendly Timetable is proof of the Y’s commitment to breaking down the barriers to family fitness and making participation a reality for more people in local communities,” Hare said.

YMCA’s top 10 tips for spending quality time as a family:

  1. Enjoy the great outdoors together – go down to the park and kick the ball around or head out to the beach as the weather gets warmer.
  2. Find activities everyone can do together, whether this is sitting around the table and playing a board game, walking the dog or visiting a theme park.
  3. Make dinner time family time and use dinner as a chance to sit down together and share the day’s highlights and experiences. Make sure the TV is switched off.
  4. Take an active interest in your child’s hobbies and sports and make an effort to attend Saturday sport (keeping the phone switched off) or talk to them about the book they’re reading.
  5. Don’t just watch, do. Go down to the local aquatic centre and have a swim with your children instead of watching from the side.
  6. Create and maintain family rituals around meal times, reading together and celebrating milestones.
  7. Take advantage of car trips as an opportunity to talk to one another and have that “catch up” time.
  8. Try and leave work at work and switch off the phone and computer, even for a short period, to spend time with the kids in the evening.
  9. Get out of your normal routine with special family outings and holidays planned throughout the year. The Y’s Dads and Kids Camps, held at the Y’s Camp Yarramundi, is a great way for fathers to spend meaningful time with their children.
  10. Make mundane tasks such as cooking or cleaning, something the whole family can do together.

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