Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Daddy-Con is this weekend in Chicago! (March 3-4, 2018)


The very first Daddy-Con, a conference for dads, is premiering this weekend, and the premiere is happening right here in Chicago!  (Well, Rosemont, actually, but close enough!)

Daddy-Con is focused on bringing fatherhood to the forefront of the parenting conversation. With over a dozen speakers, the event convention will take a playful approach to discussing all aspects of fatherhood.

The festivities start on Saturday March 3, and will feature dads talking about a variety of topics, including becoming a stay-at-home parent, baby-wearing, home-birthing, and how dancing with your children can improve your relationship with them.  There will also be an exhibit hall, a CityDads Meetup, and the Dad-Games Competition, sponsored by Huggies, in which dads will compete for prizes in stroller-folding, diapering, and the colossal Pack-n-Play Collapse-a-thon.  The games will be hosted by natural parenting dynamo Mat York (of ThatDadMat)  Other speakers who are friends of mine include Eric Bennion (Diary Dad)and Pat Jacobs (VP of the National At-Home Dads Network) Check out the full schedule below.

Daddy-Con is an offshoot (spouse conference?) of Mommy-Con, which is a national series of conventions for women journeying through parenthood.  Mommy-Con has been going on for 4 years, and produces about 10 events a year.   Their literature says that over 50,000 parents have been through in the last 4 years.  Mommy-Con focuses on natural parenting, takes a gentle and positive approach to educating parents about the emotional and physical benefits of natural birthing, breastfeeding, and babywearing, as well as creating a community of support, acceptance and non-judgement for women (and now men) journeying through parenthood.

Mommy-Con will run concurrently with Daddy-Con  from Friday March 2-Sunday March 4.  (Although if you look at the schedule below, I think it's more accurate to say that Daddy-Con is running concurrently (and is dwarfed by) Mommy-Con.)  Your registration to Daddy-Con includes registration to Mommy-Con (and vice-versa), so you can go to all of the sessions listed (but I think that some are designed for an all-female audience, so respect that vibe if you are there! Don't be a creeper!)

Click image to see Friday's schedule larger.
One of those where dads are probably not welcome is"Vagina Village" where women can talk about what makes their Vagina happy.  I'm not sure I really want to know! (And by the way, how glad are you that there is no Penis Pavilion?  I know I'm thanking my lucky stars!)

But don't worry, there's still plenty of stuff for dads at mom-con, including a session of  sleep consultation time, practical tips on baby-wearing, and a session about managing your startup business while still being a parent.
Click image to see Saturday's Schedule larger

Click image to see Sunday's schedule larger
Looking at the schedule, it does seem like the event(s) are geared towards new and expectant parents, but I'm guessing older parents like myself will also be welcomed, and there will be stuff to do and see (and buy) that will be of interest.

I for one am looking forward to checking it out this weekend!

Get tickets and more info here:  

Daddy-Con  ($25 for each day)

Mommy-Con ($25 each day, with some VIP options as well)

UPDATE: 

Use code “howdy10” for 10% off of tickets.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Was great to meet you there! Nice rundown and the last session on Saturday about being a SAHD was well worth the entire conference!

DADAPALOOZA said...

Nice meeting you as well!