Being a parent is one of the most difficult jobs you will ever have and unfortunately it does not come with a handbook.  Fortunately there are many resources to help young mothers through online support networks, blogs and websites, community groups and programs.  There are resources out there for fathers too, but certainly not in the same numbers and definitely not as easy to find. Of course as men we often don't even look for them, and if we do our searches are not always successful.

Since Mohammad does not always go to the mountain we have decided to create this article and share some good fatherhood resources we have found on the web. 

General Fatherhood Resources - National Fatherhood Initiative

If you need to know everything about fatherhood you can and don't know where to start, the National Fatherhood Initiative might be a good place to go.  There are lots of good articles and a directory to some general resources that will provide some insights as well as direct assistance to being the best fther you can be.  Below is a message from the President, Roland Warren.

 [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8EN8_YCNlGQ 320x240]

For New and Expectant Fathers - Great Dad

More and more sites specifically geared at fathers are popping up all over the web, but Great Dad is one that has been around a little while and is very good.  There is a large community of men (and women) commenters and bloggers, which gives you a broad variety of opinions on all topics from sex to picking baby names.  One of the other cool things about the site is that it breaks things down by age group so it makes it easy to zone in on the area you're looking for.

For Stay-at-Home Dads - Daddy's Home

Although not in large numbers, there is a growing population of fathers who stay at home with their kids, either because they have a work from home job, they work at night while the wife works days, or simply because their wife is the breadwinner of the family.  Whatever the case may be the challenges of stay at home dads (SAHD) are many and Daddy's Home is a website that discusses these issues.  Definitely a "pro-men" site, the first thing you notice is that there is a national list of support groups for stay-at home fathers on the left side of the home page.  Although this site is clearly focused on creating and growing the SAHD community, just reading the blog and other site resources will help you work through some of the issues (and frustrations) of fatherhood in the home 24-7.

Help with Divorce - Dads Divorce

We all know divorce is hell on a number of levels, but while you go through the emotional angst of it you need to take care of your financial situation, custody issues, visitation rights and other legal matters.  Paying a lawyer thousands to help you through this adds to the misery, but free advice from sites like Dads Divorce can ease the pain. 

The menu is easy to follow and there are lots of topics addressed on the site.  It is a guarantee you will find something you didn't think of and it will probably save you a ton of money, not to mention agony and frustration.

Federal Programs and Grants - Promoting Fatherhood HHS

Promoting Fatherhood HHS is a federal website that provides information on federal and local programs to help fathers and promote fatherhood.  The site deals with many topics not addressed on othe sites to include incarceration, job programs, and responsible fatherhood grants.  If you're looking for government assistance, or just want to understand the law,  your rights as a father and public options available to you this is a good site to visit.

As we build out our Fatherhood section at AfroDaddy.com we have incorporated these and more resources for Black fathers that cover multiple areas to include single fatherhood, teen parenting, taking care of babies and the unfortunate handling of divorce.  Please feel free to add other resources or blogs in the comments and check out our Fatherhood section for other valuable resources for fathers.

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