Fathers of Young Children Weekend Workshop

Fathers of Young Children Weekend Workshop

The Workshop for Fathers of Young Children has filled. However, if you are still interested please contact Christian Gauna to discuss possibilities.

What is the Fathers of Young Children Weekend Workshop?

The Workshop for Fathers of Young Children (October 20-21, 2023) is for men who are in one of the great stages of life: fatherhood. The workshop will begin Friday evening at 6pm and conclude on Saturday at 4pm. It will take place at a lake house in Bristol, WI (approximately 55 miles from downtown Chicago). The weekend is designed for fathers with children aged 10 and under. It will combine excellent content from authorities on marriage and child rearing with healthy camaraderie among men committed to their marriage and family. The speakers will provide instruction and guidance on how to navigate major transitions in marriage that come with young children, such as:

Being intentional and effective in establishing a family culture
Learning to work better as a team with your wife
Persevering joyfully in fatherhood when challenges mount
Navigating how to utilize technology with young children
And a panel discussion with experienced parents sharing acquired wisdom

The lake house has a private chapel for Mass, a basketball court, and there will be time to enjoy Fall on a lake with like-minded fathers who are seeking to build and fortify their respective domestic churches. We hope you can join us!

Session 1: Family Culture and Spiritual Formation

Doug Hinderer

Every family has its own culture – those traditions, behaviors and habits that define it. Family cultures often develop on their own without conscious intent. That is a mistake. Fathers should play a defining role in shaping the culture of their families. Working in cooperation with their wives, husbands should intentionally decide the values, virtues and traditions that will define and shape the homelife of their families. In this presentation Doug will help fathers think about the family life they want to create for their children.

Session 2: Raising Strong Children: Protecting Them Without Insulating Them

Niall Fagan

How do we protect first the innocence and later the morals of our children, while not sheltering them from society? In the end parents want to raise young men and women who approach the world with an optimistic outlook, confident social skills and who are comfortable engaging the world with solid principles and faith-beliefs that are well understood and firmly held. Based on his experience as a guide and mentor for young people, Niall will discuss the importance of – from an early age – both honoring innocence and strengthening morals to raise men and women who are prepared to engage the world.

Session 3: Perseverance in Fatherhood

Doug Hinderer

Life gets tough when you have young children. Nothing disrupts normal life functioning more than having small children. A man quickly learns that he is no longer in charge – the baby now becomes the center of family life and it is easy for the father to feel he has been pushed to the periphery of his own family. The virtue of perseverance takes on greater importance at this time as the father needs to learn how to keep pushing forward even though the immediate emotional and psychological rewards have all but disappeared. In this session Doug will focus on helping fathers of young children hang in there when the going gets tough.

Session 4: Parent Panel on Discipline

Joe & Angela Flood and Tom & Maggie Brown

When it comes to raising a family few topics challenge a couple more than discipline. Every family needs rules. Every couple must come to agreement on what is permitted and what is not. How and when do you punish? How do you balance compassion with being consistent and being tough when necessary? Phones, screens, and video games have made the task all the more challenging. To address these and other questions we have two seasoned couples ready to share their experiences and wisdom. Joe and Angela Flood have been married for 40 years and been blessed with seven kids and 10 grandkids. Tom and Maggie Brown are at 41 years and counting, and have 10 kids and nine grandchildren.

About the Speakers

Doug Hinderer is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has a private practice, providing tele-therapy throughout Illinois. In addition to seeing couples and individuals, he conducts workshops for married couples and couples contemplating marriage. Doug is a regular guest on Relevant Radio’s Morning Air® with John Morales. You can learn more about Doug and his private practice by visiting his website – happymarriageforlife.com. Doug has been married to his wife Shirley for 43 years. They have nine children and eight grandchildren. Prior to marriage counseling, Doug worked for 36 years in senior roles in human resources.

Niall Fagan has been the Headmaster for Northridge prep since the fall of 2016. Niall grew up in Washington DC, the oldest of eight children, and attended The Heights School. In 2003 he graduated cum laude from Princeton University in Classics. He then went on to teach Latin and Religion at Cardinal Hayes, a large all-boys school in the Bronx, NY. After earning his MBA from Notre Dame, Niall held various leadership positions at Harley-Davidson. In 2015, he returned to education where he has focused his time on the formation and development of young men.

Schedule

Friday, October 20

6:00pm - Arrival and simple dinner

7:30 – Introductions

8:00 - Session 1

9:00 – Social

Saturday, October 21

7:00 am - Encouraged wake-up time

8:00 - Holy Mass

8:45 - Breakfast

10:00 - Session 2

11:00 - Break

11:15 - Session 3

12:30pm - Lunch

2:15 - Get-together

3:00 - Session 4

4:00 - Clean up and departure

Additional Details

Logistics

Cost: $55 for the weekend. Fee includes lodging, Friday dinner, and breakfast and lunch on Saturday.

Location

Lake house in Bristol, Wisconsin, approximately 55 miles from Downtown Chicago.

Address will be provided upon registration.

Available Activities

Basketball, bonfires, reading

For more information

Registration

Space is limited, so register now for this event. If you have any questions, please contact us at fathersofyoungchildren@midtownculturalcenter.org.