News

Dads' class: Offering information, expertise to new fathers

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  It's pretty fair to say that after having five children, ranging in age from 10 years- to 6 weeks-old, Capt. Roy Louque, 48th Medical Operations Squadron Pediatrics Clinic nurse, is an experienced dad.

And it's that experience that led him to teach the "Dads' Class," held monthly at the 48th MDOS Family Advocacy conference room in the RAF Lakenheath Hospital Annex.

"I figured I had as much experience as anybody," said Captain Louque. "I enjoy teaching, I have a wealth of experience with my medical background, as well as fatherhood, and I just thought this is one way I can give of myself to help others.

"I know we have a lot of first-term Airmen here, and we have a high birth-rate, and I figured there are a lot of people out there who have little or no experience, and little or no support," he said. "The more support they get, such as this class and the family advocacy classes, the better off they'll be in the long run. I just want to give them my time."

The captain said he feels good knowing he's helping the future of not only the military, but also helping new dads grow to be the best they can possibly be.

"I didn't take advantage of the resources that were available to me, so I think it's important that I now give as much of my experience as I can to these other people. It gives me a warm fuzzy," Captain Louque said, after he finished teaching his very first Dads' class.

Topics include breast feeding, changing diapers, bringing baby home from hospital, learning what to keep in diaper bags, and the different types of diaper bags. Students also learn about using cloth versus disposable diapers, and how to avoid shaken baby syndrome. Short videos are shown on most of the subjects, and everyone is encouraged to share their personal experiences.

One of the students, Senior Airman Joshua Haynes, 48th Component Maintenance Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, is expecting his first child in December.

He said he attended the class to find out more about being a dad.

"I wanted to learn everything I can and be as prepared as I can, to step up to the plate," he said. "I know there are a lot of little things you learn along the way, like how to change a baby, how to do things and what's right and what's wrong.

"For the delivery, I wanted to know what I can do to be there for my wife and the best things I can do for her. (This class has taught me) all that and more, and I learned that my role is very important as a father," Airman Haynes said.

During the class, a New Parent Support Program nurse is on hand to advise the new dads, but she plays a minimal role and lets the instructor parent take the lead.

"The idea is 'iron sharpens iron'," said Barbara Wright, 48th MDOS NPSP nurse. "This class is about men teaching other men about what it is to be a dad and a father.

"I'm a mother of five sons - I can teach them and I can raise them, but I can't teach them to be men. It's other men that teach them that. Men really do listen to other men about 'men's stuff,' so what better way to teach them about being dads, than to hear it from an experienced dad," she said.

'They're overseas and in the military, and sometimes men aren't around - so where do they pull examples and role models from about being a dad and a father? So with a class like this, no matter what kind of fathering parenting they had, they can have an experience and talk to somebody about what it is to be a dad, and get good, solid information about what that is," Mrs. Wright said.

"It's the personal experiences from dads that make it real; they can see that from listening to everybody, and the different kinds of experiences they hear about, people do things differently. There isn't just one way to do something - there can be a number of ways. As long as you get the job accomplished, it doesn't matter exactly how you do it."

The next Dads' Class is Nov. 30 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and sign-up is required.

For more information, or to sign-up, call 226-8070.