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Updates, announcements and stories from Fathercraft — covering modern fatherhood, parental leave policy and the future of work.
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Fathercraft for Employers is live
We've opened the doors on Fathercraft for Employers — a benefits-stack offer for UK workplaces that want to actually retain new dads, not just send them a card. Our first-cohort pilot is running with a UK PE firm; a second cohort opens in the autumn.
The Labour government's paternity-leave review: what changed, what didn't
On: GOV.UK · The Department for Business and Trade has published its long-trailed review of parental leave. The headline (two weeks at £184.03) is unchanged; what moved is the framing — for the first time, dads are named as a primary user of the system. Our take: useful symbolism, no money. If your employer doesn't top up statutory pay, ask them to. We've published a template ask in the Employers section.
The Five Fundamentals — why we built them in this order
Sleep, Soothe & Sanitise, Supporting, Systemise, Self-Care. Our take on the foundational skills every new dad needs, written as a stack rather than a list — each one assumes the one before it. Read the Sleep guide first.
Pregnant Then Screwed: 4 in 10 dads denied flexible work
On: Pregnant Then Screwed · New polling from PTS finds 42% of fathers who asked for flexible working were turned down, and a third were told it would damage their career. Our take: the cultural barrier is now the binding constraint, not the legal one. If you're a manager, default to yes and write down the reason if you say no.
The AAP's updated screen-time guidance, in plain English
On: American Academy of Pediatrics · The AAP has quietly walked back the famous "no screens under 2" line and replaced it with something more useful: focus on what the screen is replacing, not the screen itself. Our take: this matches the Sapien Labs data. We've written a long-read on what the research actually says.
The Newborn Survival Kit ships from the Fathercraft shop
Curated, tested, and dad-approved — the things we wish someone had handed us in week one. Restocked this month with two additions readers asked for: the swaddle that actually fits, and the bottle that the dishwasher doesn't hate.
ONS: UK fathers taking Shared Parental Leave still under 2%
On: Office for National Statistics · Ten years after SPL launched, take-up is still rounding to nothing. Our take: the policy isn't broken — the design is. Fathers won't carve leave off the mother's entitlement; they take what's ringfenced for them. The fix is a separate, well-paid dad block, which is what every country with high take-up has done.
Sapien Labs: the bit about smartphone age that actually matters
On: Sapien Labs · The Global Mind Project's 2026 update finds the strongest signal isn't total screen time — it's the age the first personal smartphone arrives. Our take: the practical implication for new dads is small and clear. The decision you're actually making now is what device you're modelling at the dinner table.