Not all Dads are Deadbeats is on the move again

Equal parenting advocate offering more resources

Posted 1 day ago

Dave Flook is taking his website www.notalldadsaredeadbeats.comto a new level thanks to social networking over the Internet.

The Chatham resident said he is re-launching the website on Sunday as an online magazine, which will feature guest columnists and submissions from prominent figures in the equal parenting movement, as well as a parent of the week feature.

The website will also retain such features as user forums and social networking, he added.
Flook is also introducing an online live support system, which includes him and four other people
"If people have any immediate questions, they will be able to click on the live support and talk to a live support agent," he said.

Flook cautioned that they are not lawyers, so they can't give legal advice.

But he noted they can help with answering questions and providing emotional support and directing them to resources.

Flook credits the expansion of the website to social networking online.

"I got on Facebook and started promoting it very heavily and now we have members from Australia, we have members from the (United) States," he said, adding people from the United Kingdom have also signed up.

Flook said it is exciting to see how the website has grown to the point people are contacting him from other countries who want to start chapters.

Plans are in the works to set up new chapters in Australia, the United Kingdom, and across the border in Minnesota and Pittsburgh in the next month or so, he said.

Flook said Not All Dads are Deadbeats has more than 4,500 Facebook members, which is growing by about a few hundred members daily.

Most of the members on the website are guests, so the real number can't be determined, he said, adding the website hits are growing.

"Our make up of our organization is over 50 per cent women," he said, noting the group also deals with grandparent issues. "So we're not just talking about single dads."

Flook said he hasn't seen a single website that is free, which caters to divorce and equal parenting with a live support group.

"We're starting something that is pretty unprecedented," he said.

In explaining the growth of his website, Flook said, "I think at the end of the day people need to know that they're not alone."

The issue is not as taboo as it once was and people can talk about issues that are affecting their lives, he said.
"We're talking about proud parents who just want to have that relationship with their children and not have it compromised," Flook said.

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