Dad La Soul (Brighton) Playdates for Dads and Kids

Dad La Soul is a revolutionary, grassroots movement that uses arts, tech, and music to battle the social isolation or loneliness in dads.

We run a network of dad/child only playdates producing everything from stand-up comedy and rap workshops in old folks homes to silent disco, beach cleaning raves that sit nicely alongside Lego, soft-play and crafting.

Dads need something of their own to make friends, talk honestly and let off steam with their kids in a safe space. - This is what we do.

We work with national social housing providers, leisure centre groups, and brands to produce kick-ass dad-friendly playdates that feature everything from DJ/film-making/circus skills/special FX make-up/science workshops, soft play, dress up, sensory play and crafting.

We want to create a place for dads to be the modern version that they want to be instead of setting them up for failure.

These activities bring strangers together, challenges conventions, spark conversations and starts friendships in dads that perhaps can otherwise struggle in silence or isolation.

With 96 men, aged under 45, being lost to suicide in the UK every week, the more we can do to get men talking the better.

THIS IS WHO WE ARE:

We are the dad that commutes all week long – he doesn’t see his kids during the week and hates it,We are the dad whose only social life revolved around the friends their partners had made on the playground,We are the stepdad that finds himself struggling as he tries to build relationships with his new family,We are the dad that is adopting and trying to get to grips challenges that, that brings,We are the separated dad who only sees his kids at weekends, and chokes back the feelings that he doesn’t feel allowed to talk about, because ‘real men’ don’t,We are the dad who isn’t afraid to change a nappy yet finds it hard to take his kids out because all the changing facilities are in women’s toilets,We are the stay-at-home dad who yearns for time with ‘the lads,We are the dads that are coming to terms with how to handle our child’s SEND needs.“We, as a society, try and run before, we can walk. Our shifting perception of what a dad’s role is in a modern family is overdue. Still, without fundamental changes to society’s approach, we won’t create the support network for dads to be the modern version that we hope they can be, instead of setting them up for failure.

Come and join the revolution.