News, Upcoming Events
Seed Funding Application
In the past few years, FII-ON has been able to offer seed funding grants to community agencies and organizations to help promote activities and events related to father involvement. This year, FII-ON is again offering a limited number of $500 grants to support various activities across the province of Ontario.
This funding is intended to support the objectives of FII-ON by increasing the awareness of and importance of father involvement for children and is to be carried out within the applicant's local community.
For the application package, please click here.
If you have any questions, please contact Brian Russell at fii-on.chair@cfii.ca.
Newsletters
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September 2009 September 2009 French
News Archive
Please see attached Reports pertaining to various Seed funding Grants as well as Reports about the Father Involvement Community Trainings that have been carried out in all regions of Ontario.
FII-ON announces new award in honour of father involvement visionary
21 December 2009
The Canadian Father Involvement Initiative announces new award in honour of father involvement visionary
The Canadian Father Involvement Initiative (www.cfii.ca) is pleased to announce the inception of the Fernand Lozier Award for Excellence in Father Involvement Practice, in honour of Fernand Lozier, a Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) employee who has recently retired after 35 years of visionary service to this country.
The Fernand Lozier Award for Excellence in Father Involvement Practice will be given to a person, agency, organization, or company in the for-profit or not-for-profit sectors who has shown innovation and commitment to fathers and/or issues facing fathers in Canada today. This award recognizes things such as creative programming for fathers, innovative and effective policies for fathers, consistent promotion of father-friendly ideas and practices, positive media portrayals of fathers, and significant work added to the growing body of father involvement research.
During his work at PHAC in the mid 1990s, Fernand began to notice an absence of fathers in the discourse, planning, and implementation of family and children’s programs in Canada. A thoughtful man with a strong background in social sciences, Fernand encouraged the role of fathers in early childhood development to be examined and discussed. This led to Fernand championing the inclusion of fathers in PHAC’s children’s programs while continuing to support further research on father involvement and promoting linkages between academics and practitioners. Under Fernand’s leadership, the Ontario Region Father Involvement Initiative was developed, as well as the Father Involvement Research Alliance (FIRA). Because of his vision, Canada is now seen as an innovative leader around the world in the area of understanding and responding to issues facing fathers.
Nominations will be received at the CFII (awardofexcellence@cfii.ca) until April 30 of each year. There will be a maximum of 3 awards per year, handed out on Father’s Day weekend, beginning in June 2010.
For more information about CFII or the award, please contact Brian Russell at fii-on.chair@cfii.ca.
10 Things You Can Do with Your Baby When There is Nothing To Do
30 November 2009
Have you ever found yourself just staring at your baby and wondering "what do I do with you now"? You can't go kick around a soccer ball, or pull out the paints, or teach her to throw a slider. But the ways you interact with her now will build the base you both need in order to have strong relationship later on. So just doing anything with your baby is teaching her she matters to you. Here are ten things you can do when it seems like there is nothing else to do . . .
1. Go for a house tour. Look out each window and into each mirror, click on the lights, check out the artwork. Talk about what you see.
2. Put on music and dance while holding your baby.
3. Make a mobile by hanging bright objects from a hanger. Hang it where your baby can bat at it.
4. Just for kicks lie him on his back and hold out things that make an interesting noise when he kicks them: a newspaper, aluminum foil or a set of car keys.
5. Sing a song or say a rhyme and move your baby’s arms to do the actions.
6. Play peekaboo. Put a dish towel over his head and say,“Where’s Mikey?” Maybe he will pull it off. If not, pull it off for him: “There he is!”
7. Let her grab your thumbs when she’s lying down, and then holding onto her wrists, pull her up gently. Does she try to stand up?
8. Water play. Put her in the high chair, put a little bit of water in the tray and let her splash.
9. Kitchen concert. When he’s old enough to sit up, give him a plastic or wooden spoon and let him bang on some pots.
10. Get a container – a shoe box, old purse or small bag – fill it with a variety of small safe objects and toys. Let your baby pull them out.
What are somethings you do with your child when there is nothing to do?
Email them to fii.on-chair@cfii.ca.
New Web Site
18 November 2008
Our new site is finally launched.
