Find Fellow Stay-at-Home Dads

Fellow stay-at-home dads aren’t hiding around every corner. You’d be lucky to find one at the local park. Unlike stay-at-home moms, there probably aren’t a few SAHDs living down the street. But with a little effort, it’s possible to meet stay-at-home dads.

The stay-at-home dad role can be an isolating one, and not every SAHD is comfortable connecting with stay-at-home moms. Meeting up with other stay-at-home dads can be a natural desire. If anything just having someone to talk to who knows the daily trials and tribulations can be liberating.

But how does one stay-at-home dad connect with another?

Virtual Community

There is a huge resource right at your finger tips: The computer. There are message boards and blogs galore on stay-at-home dads. Dig deeper into a few of those and you’re likely to find stay-at-home dads in your area in a matter of seconds.

Dig a littler deeper and you might find a play group or two for dads and their kids as well.

Websites like Athomedad.org and Dadstayshome.com have forums and resources that help connect dads all over the country. Blogs like Rebel Dad have opinions, stats and other helpful links on stay-at-home dads.

Start slowly, soak in one of the sites and introduce yourself or share your story if you’d like and get a conversation rolling. It won’t take long until new relationships have been established.

If spending time sharing your own details on message boards isn’t your thing, look around at what others are talking about. Many posters have questions or experiences that will help any SAHD out, and they often have links to their own groups or blogs, which can help in finding and connecting with local dads.

All it takes is a good search engine and a few minutes of surfing.

Out and About

You may be surprised how often you bump into another stay-at-home dad and don’t even realize it. Be observant when out on errands or taking part in activities with the kids.

Go to the zoo or a museum on a weekday morning. While having fun with the kids, see if any other dads are with their kids sans mom. If any dads are around, it won’t be hard to find one or two amongst all the stay-at-home moms touring the site. And likely if you find another dad at your zoo, they also are local.

If you see any, chat them up. A casual conversation could quickly reveal if they are in the same shoes. Maybe they know of a play group in town or they need a connection with other stay-at-home dads as well. Don’t press too hard if a fellow dad doesn’t seem interested, move on and see if any others are around. And don’t be shy if another full-time dad finds you first.

Keep Searching

You also might be surprised that many bigger cities have stay-at-home dad organizations (DC Metro Dads is a good example). There also has been a national at-home dad convention taking place since 1996, where dads get together, have a few educational sessions, but more importantly just hang out and network with their peers.

Keep your eyes open for those kinds of gatherings. Also throw feelers out there to other parents you know – someone is bound to know another SAHD or two. You could even try your hand at starting your own play group.

Be patient and active and meeting other stay-at-home dads will happen. Other stay-at-home dads might not be hanging out at the local park, but chances are there is one not too far away.