Man Up

A Meeting Group for Dads

Parenting is f*cking hard.

Let’s do this together.

Parenting is one of the hardest jobs people undertake.

It’s easy to feel alone, wondering if what you’re doing and how you’re feeling is ‘normal’.

Everyone is just trying their best to work it out day by day.

Maybe you’ve been told (or told yourself) to just “Man Up!” and get on with it.

And maybe it’s helped you get through tough times—but how intact were you when you came out the other side?

What is Man Up?

Man Up is an informal meeting group for Dads of young children.

The goal of Man Up is to redefine what it means to ‘man up’ by providing a safe, supportive space for Dads to get together to have the opportunity to:

  • Be heard if they want to speak

  • To listen, learn, and support their fellow Dads

  • To share the ups and downs of our unique parenting journeys

  • Start a bikie gang (time permitting)

Why is it called Man Up?

To quote Will Ferrell from Blades of Glory—“Because it’s provocative, it gets the people going!”

But seriously, whether someone has said it to us, or we’ve felt compelled to say it to ourselves, many men have come to loath the phrase ‘just man up’.

Essentially it’s taught us to set aside what we are feeling and get through what we need to get through, regardless of the toll it takes on us mentally or physically.

What can I expect at a Man Up meeting?

To help balance family and work obligations, meetings will take place on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 8pm, and run for no longer than 90 minutes.

Initially, Man Up meetings will be semi-structured with different sections which allow people to speak if they want to, to participate in group discussions, and ask for, or offer help.

There will be a rotating moderator to run the sections and help keep the meeting running to time.

Typical Meeting Format:

  • Nice to meet me - Brief introduction of each attendee

  • I got something to say (s2s) - 2-3 people each talking for up to 5 minutes about their experience with parenting, something they are struggling with (or winning against!), or anything else they need to say in front of a supportive group.

  • s2s Discussion - 5 minute group discussion after each s2s speaker

  • Open-ended Question - Moderator-led question of the day related to parenting, manhood, or the world at large

  • Off The Dome - Opportunity for anyone to bring up something they wanted to discuss (e.g. ‘does anyone else kid go crazy if you cut their sandwich wrong?!’)

  • Help is on the way! - Chance to offer help to anyone in need (e.g. if you’ve nailed sleep training and want to help others. It’s also a chance to ask for help if there’s an aspect of parenting that is particularly hard.

Why should I come?

Over time you may have found that close friends start to be not-so-close—maybe you’ve moved cities, or simply grown in different directions.

Or maybe you have a friends circle but friends’ partners are now friends and are afraid that something you say may get around, or your friends will start to see you in a different light.

You could also have been listening to a great podcast like ‘The Imperfects’ and in the hope of having similarly enlightening conversations thought, “I should really start a podcast” (forgetting that un-recorded, in-person conversations are still a thing!)

Whatever the reason, you are most welcome to come along provided:

1) You are not, nor never have been known to be, a d*ckhead

2) Agree that by attending you will be part of the Tree of Trust (see cool tree image above/right) and will keep what you hear in meetings confidential

3) You acknowledge that no one is an expert, and this is an informal group offering support

This is not an open group; initially all participants will be friends or friends-of-friends of the initial moderator (i.e. no randos, so everyone feels comfortable).

Interested in joining?

Join the Whatsapp Community Group by clicking the link icon below, or feel free to send me an email if you have questions.