When fathers meet, family life changes - why more fathers' groups are needed

Fathers’ Groups may sound like a simple initiative. A few meetings, a few conversations, a few shared experiences. But the impact is greater than that. When fathers are given a space to reflect on responsibility, norms, and relationships, something happens. Perspectives shift. Priorities are reconsidered. And this has shown positive consequences—not only for the fathers themselves, but for the entire family.

– Fathers want to be present and engaged, but many have never had the opportunity to talk about what that actually means. When they meet and share experiences, a movement is created that changes both self-image and behavior, says Jens Karberg, Head of Operations at MÄN.

A clear example comes from a child health center (BVC) in Malmö, where a fathers’ group was started together with MÄN.

Many participants describe how the meetings led to increased self-confidence and new perspectives. They began to reflect on their role in the family and how responsibility is distributed. It is rarely a matter of drastic changes, but about small shifts that together make a big difference; picking up the kids from childcare more often, taking greater responsibility for bedtime routines, daring to talk about insecurities, and prioritizing the relationship with the child in a new way.

What is also noteworthy, is how the conversations quickly go deeper than expected. Questions about norms, relationships, mental health, and expectations of men and fathers often take place in the meetings. These are topics that are rarely given time in the logistics of everyday life, but that strongly influence how parenting is actually experienced.

– When men are given the opportunity to talk openly about parenting and responsibility, old norms are broken. It also creates better conditions for finding support and daring to talk about mental illness, says Jens Karberg.

The sense of community among the fathers in the groups is often highlighted as the strongest effect. Hearing that others feel the same insecurities, pressures, and joy makes it easier to let go of the idea that you have to have all the answers. In that sense of safety, new conversations emerge and have led to reduced loneliness.

There also lies an importance in the fact that the groups consist solely of fathers. For many, this creates a particular openness. At the same time, reflections from participants show that there is room to further develop the format. What matters is not exactly what the forum looks like, but that it exists—and that fathers are given the opportunity to meet.

In a time when parenting is often reduced to practical checklists, Fathers’ Groups show something else; that presence, reflection, and community are just as important. And that change does not always begin with major reforms, but with conversations between people who share the same everyday life.

When fathers meet, something happens. Responsibility is redistributed, relationships deepen and gender equality takes a step forward—not in theory, but in the kitchen, at bedtime, and in daily life. That is why more Fathers’ Groups are needed. Not as a complement, but as a natural part of the work toward more gender-equal parenting.