DADS UNLIMITED(TM) LAUNCHES WITH MISSION TO EXPAND AND DEEPEN DEFINITION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FATHER. Parenting Support Organization Provides Practical Guidance and Resources to Help Fathers Embody Qualities Kids Say Make Excellent" Dads

Parenting organization, DADS Unlimited, launches on Father's Day to provide practical guidance and resources to fathers to help them learn the art and craft of being a lifelong dad.

Washington, DC – June 9, 2003 – This Fathers Day, one dad will give birth to not only a different kind of parenting organization, but also to an expanded and deeper definition of what it means to be a father. On June 15, career educator, child and family consultant and advocate, lifelong dad, granddad, and son Allan Shedlin, Jr., will officially launch DADS UnlimitedTM LLC (www.daddying.com), an organization dedicated to developing and providing a comprehensive range of hands-on services and resources that support parenting.

The organization will help fathers learn the practical art and craft of daddying" and enable them to become the lifelong dads they want to be, and that kids want and need them to be. An important component of DADS Unlimited will be its nonprofit arm, which will provide parenting consulting services to local clinics and assist struggling grassroots fatherhood initiatives nationwide.

Fathers are perhaps America's – indeed, the world's – most underutilized resource," said Allan Shedlin, Jr., president and CEO of DADS Unlimited. Many dads are clamoring for a little practical, accessible guidance to make their lifelong role as parents fulfilling to both themselves and their kids. DADS Unlimited will help one dad, one child, and one family at a time."

Driven by the particular needs of men, based on the latest research, and responsive to the ways in which men learn and how they prefer to get their information, DADS Unlimited will develop a unique combination of practical tools, services, and products that can demystify daddying. It will provide fathers of all backgrounds easy-to-follow ideas and consultations, exercises, games, and activities. In addition, DADS Unlimited will exchange information and collaborate when appropriate, with a variety of other parenting organizations.

During the past year, the ‘Fatherhood Movement has struggled to sustain momentum, without getting drowned out or distracted by other issues and political agendas," said Randell Turner, Ph.D., president, The Fathers Workshop International. DADS Unlimited introduces a much-needed, fresh voice to the cause of effective parenting, and a boost of strength and encouragement to grassroots fatherhood organizations everywhere."

Lifelong Daddying – Expanding What it Means to be a Father
In 1994, Shedlin coined the term daddying" to distinguish the active, ongoing process of male parenting from the one-time, biological act of fathering. Daddying is a fathers (or surrogate fathers) lifelong commitment to his childs physical, emotional, social, intellectual/creative, and moral/spiritual well being.

Over the past six years, Shedlin has conducted thousands of hours of daddying interviews with kids, dads, and granddads. He has crisscrossed the United States and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to speak with and listen to a broad socioeconomic and ethnic spectrum of kids (5-21 years old) and dads and granddads (16-87 years old) in three countries (the U.S., England, and Switzerland). Shedlins ongoing discussions about daddying with kids and adults have yielded several significant findings:

·   There is an overwhelming consensus about the qualities that kids want most in their dads, the very same ones dads want to cultivate. They are the same qualities that child development experts agree kids (and adults) need in order to lead fulfilled and fulfilling lives.
·   There is an almost universal yearning by kids for dads to be more present in their lives. That craving compounds over the years and remains into adult life. The feeling is echoed by dads and granddads, whose longing for greater involvement with their own dads generated lingering sadness and resignation.
·   There is an under-appreciated reciprocity of benefits to children and men alike when dads and their kids are more positively involved in each other's lives. Likewise, although it is generally agreed that there are not enough men in the lives of children, it is rarely noted that there are not enough children in the lives of men.
·   Parenting does not take place in a vacuum – it is dramatically influenced by multiple family players" as well as a range of outside forces and policies.
·   Most dads are eager to become the best fathers they can be.
·   Many men feel the presence of a glass ceiling at home just as many women feel it at work.

An analysis of dads and kids responses, coupled with current research on responsible fatherhood, led Shedlin to conclude that becoming the dad children want and need their fathers to be is not as daunting as many men believe.

Meeting an Urgent Need
Today, its no surprise to encounter fathers who are primary caretakers of their children and who are responsible for the visits to the doctor. Yet, pediatricians sense all is not well with this new role and arrangement men have undertaken," said George D. Comerci, M.D., former president, American Academy of Pediatrics. Often, one senses a level of discomfort in many of these fathers – feelings of inadequacy in their new role and discomfort with caretaker responsibilities. Its clear men need help in their new role as nurturing, loving fathers. Shedlins Lifelong DADDYING concept will go a long way in filling this urgent need."

Research indicates that when fathers are engaged in their childrens lives, their children evidence greater self-esteem, higher educational achievement, a more secure gender identity, and greater success in life. Furthermore, recent research documents the wide range of physical, emotional, social, and work-related benefits for dads who are actively involved in their children's lives.

Many active dads need support, information, and resources for their new involvement. A 2000 Harris Poll found that Today's dads want more direction...and more information. In fact, 92 percent said knowing more up-to-date information would make them better dads."

DADS Unlimited Services
DADS Unlimited will provide families ready access to a variety of practical, research-based Lifelong Daddying" services, resources, and products. Based upon current research and guided by a panel of experts drawn from a wide variety of disciplines in both child and adult development, DADS Unlimiteds products and services will have special appeal to men, but be useful to women and men alike.

Shedlin has the ability to put common sense ideas into language that reaches a wide audience and provokes people to examine long held beliefs and change them when necessary," said Ruth W. Wooden, past president, National Parenting Association. The services provided by DADS Unlimited and Shedlins Lifelong Daddying" concept are a practical, sensible, and powerfully persuasive call to fathers everywhere."

Shedlins first available services will be parenting consulting and school-home liaison services, which will focus on helping parents across the lifespan – particularly dads – address common, everyday parenting challenges that benefit from short-term consulting (1- 6 months). Parenting consulting provides an opportunity to explore, understand, and develop practical strategies to address the day-to-day issues of parenting before they become crises. In addition, Shedlin will offer regular pro bono services at local family clinics. Other products and informational resources, such as a Lifelong Daddying" book series, presentations to organizations and corporations, and Daddying" merchandise, are in development and will be available in the future to parents and grandparents nationwide.

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About DADS Unlimited and Allan Shedlin, Jr.
DADS UnlimitedTM LLC is dedicated to demystifying parenting and developing a comprehensive range of services and resources that support parenting. Its focus is on enabling fathers to become the lifelong dads they want to be, and that kids want and need them to be. Based in suburban Maryland, DADS Unlimited teaches dads the art and craft of daddying" – a fathers (or surrogate fathers) active, lifelong commitment to his childs physical, emotional, social, intellectual/creative, and moral/spiritual well being. DADS Unlimited provides practical, support services and products, enhanced by ongoing research into the needs and perceptions of dads and children of all ages and walks of life. DADS Unlimiteds products and parenting consulting services also benefit community-based organizations, corporations, government agencies and other third-party partners who would like to make them available to their members, employees or constituents. For more information, please visit us at www.daddying.com.

Before launching DADS Unlimited, Allan Shedlin, Jr., founded and served for a decade as Executive Director of the New York-based National Elementary School Center (NESC) – an organization dedicated to the optimal development and learning of every child and to helping professionals, parents, and the public address childrens needs. Prior to that, Shedlin was principal of New York Citys Ethical Culture School for eight years. He has taught in graduate school (Bank Street College of Education) through nursery school, and worked in a range of urban and suburban institutions, both public and private. Through his national consulting, frequent broadcast interviews, speaking engagements, and published commentary, he has steadily established a broad national platform as an authority on parenting, education, and child-focused public policy.