CAPC activity night aims to get dads involved

The Community Action Planning Council's annual activities night for all of its Head Start and Universal Pre-K families will emphasize the importance of staying involved in children's lives.

The free event will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Jan. 7 in CAPC's gymnasium at 518 Davidson St.

"It's kind of a special dads' night, but moms are welcome to come," said Cindy L. Dumas, CAPC family service specialist. "Typically, mothers play the nurturing role and they're the parent most involved in the child's education, but we want to change that. We want the dads to see they're equally important and valued."

The local program is a spin-off of the National Head Start Fatherhood Initiative, and typically the precursor to at least two other events that encourage fathers to participate in their children's classrooms.

Children and their fathers, or other role models, will watch a presentation on fire safety from the Watertown Fire Department, see a presentation from the New York State Zoo at Thompson Park, make craft projects and do physical activities together. The entire night isn't just about fun, but also education, Mrs. Dumas said.

"We're going to have a resource table set up with a lot of literature about appropriate childhood development, and how they should take a part of their child's reading and storytelling," she said. "We're trying to get them to be active parents and understand realistic expectations of their children and for them to realize how much fun they can have spending quality time with their little ones."

She said there is great parent involvement this year, so she's confident there will be many more than the 15 families that had signed up for the event as of Wednesday. Head Start and Universal Pre-K families have until Jan. 1 to call CAPC at 782-4900 to sign up.

The snow date is Jan. 14.