{"id":25085,"date":"2026-06-02T16:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oudersenonderwijs.nl\/nieuws\/symposium-about-fatherhood\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:44:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:44:23","slug":"symposium-about-fatherhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oudersenonderwijs.nl\/en\/nieuws\/symposium-about-fatherhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Symposium about fatherhood"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is what we can learn about the symposium on fatherhood.","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":25084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[328,317],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-relationship-parents-and-school"],"acf":{"samenvatting":"This is what we can learn about the symposium on fatherhood.","banner_afbeelding":false,"banner_subtitel":"","inhoud":[{"acf_fc_layout":"inhoud_blok","afbeelding_of_video":"geen","afbeelding":false,"video":null,"intro":"\"Fathers are too important to ignore.\" With this message, the ChristenUnie organized a symposium on fatherhood on 11 May 2026 in Nieuwspoort, during the week of the family. Director of Ouders & Onderwijs Lobke Vlaming looks back: 'We need to involve fathers much more actively, because that is very good for children.'","inhoud":"

Why fatherhood was central<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The reason for the symposium was the motto ‘Involved fathers, thriving society’. The ChristenUnie pleads for more attention to the role of fathers.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the meeting, scientists, caregivers, parents and social organizations came together to discuss what the impact of involved fatherhood is, what happens if fathers are absent, and how we can better support fathers.<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","quote_tekst":"It is important that fathers get a full role"},{"acf_fc_layout":"extra_inhoud_blok","inhoud":"

Lobke Vlaming, director of Ouders & Onderwijs says: ‘In many places the mother is still automatically looked at and the father is sometimes forgotten. For example, schools often routinely call the mother when a child is sick or when something has happened. And fathers sometimes experience at the consultation office that mainly the mother is spoken to. It is important that fathers get a full role and that we become more aware of how we can do this.’<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Valuable small moments<\/h3>\n

An important part of the symposium was the contribution of educators and researchers. For example, professor Louis Tavecchio showed that fathers make a unique contribution to the development of children.<\/p>\n

Children of involved fathers<\/a> develop better and are more resilient to stress, father involvement has a proven positive effect on school performance and self-confidence and even small moments together (such as reading or playing) can already make a difference.<\/p>\n

Still, the reality is that fathers are not involved enough in upbringing and education, while they often want to be.<\/p>\n

Fathers face obstacles<\/h3>\n

During the symposium, attention was also paid to the obstacles fathers face. For example, conversations with fathers (for example with a migration background) show that:<\/p>\n