Forgotten Young Dads on BBC Three: a must watch!
At a time when narratives about fatherhood often centre on older, more established dads, BBC Three's powerful new documentary Forgotten Young Dads is a timely and essential watch. Presented by actor and TV personality Joe Swash, this hour-long film shines a much-needed spotlight on the parenting journeys and experiences of a population of boys and men that have long been stigmatised, misunderstood, and overlooked: young fathers.
Having been consulted on this important documentary, I'm proud to see it reach audiences across the UK. The programme, now available on BBC iPlayer, follows Joe Swash as he meets four incredible young dads from across the country who are rewriting the script on what it means to be a father in their teens and early twenties.
Challenging Stereotypes
Joe, who became a father himself in his mid-twenties, brings both personal insight and genuine empathy to his encounters with the young men he engages in the show. As he follows their stories, he reflects on his own journey into fatherhood, sparking important and timely conversations about masculinity, the importance of positive male role models, and why it's time for young dads to be seen, heard, supported, and celebrated.
The documentary doesn't shy away from the harsh realities these young men face either. As our research shows, young dads are more likely to drop out of school and are among the most socially isolated and economically deprived parent groups in the country. Yet what emerges most powerfully from the film is not their struggles, but their unwavering commitment to their children and their determination to be present, loving fathers despite the odds stacked against them.
A North East gem!
We are especially proud of Josh who featured in the show and his family, who we've worked with through the North East Young Dads and Lads project. Joshua, a 22-year-old from County Durham, is father to two-year-old twin girls, Autumn and Winter. His journey is truly inspiring. Not only is he a dedicated dad, but he's also now studying Childhood Studies at the University of Sunderland, pursuing his passion to make a difference in the lives of children and young people.
Joshua shared his hopes for the documentary, saying: 'It was an amazing experience to be a part of the show and hopefully shed a positive light on young fathers.' His story demonstrates a key finding from our extensive research; that with strengths-based, compassionate and non-judgmental support, young dads can thrive both as fathers and as individuals pursuing their own dreams and ambitions.
Why This Documentary Matters
It is so important to hear accounts of young fathers that really get to the heart of their experiences, their intentions for their children, and their challenges and support needs. Our work with and for young fathers powerfully confirms that it is only by listening to the voices of young fathers that we can more effectively transform society for the better! The documentary raises the visibility of this much-stigmatised population but it does so with care and in a way that celebratory and careful rather than judgmental. Too often, young fathers are painted as irresponsible or absent, tired stereotypes that do not accord with the realities of young fatherhood today. These are young men who show up, who change nappies at 3am, who care about providing for their families, and who love their children fiercely.
The programme draws crucial attention to the commitment these young men have to their children. Despite facing judgment, financial pressures, and social isolation, they are determined to be the fathers their children deserve. The film captures their stories with honesty, showing their capacity to rise above stigma to become strong role models for their kids.
Perhaps most importantly, the documentary highlights the urgent need for better support systems for young fathers. When we support young dads effectively, we don't just help individuals; we strengthen families and communities.
A Call to Action
Forgotten Young Dads isn't just a documentary to watch and forget. It's a touching and important call to recognise that young fathers deserve support, rather than judgment. It's a reminder that fatherhood, regardless of age, can be filled with love, pride, and resilience. And it's proof that when we invest in young dads, they can achieve remarkable things; from advocacy, for themselves and others, university degrees, to stable, loving homes for their children.
Whether you're a parent, a professional working with families, or simply someone who cares about social justice, please give the documentary a watch!
Watch: Forgotten Young Dads is available now on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002l5hr
Learn more: Read more about our research: The Dynamics of Young Fatherhood
From our partners and young dads
“[daughter]'s almost two-year-old. She came up the house and she actually really liked it. Preferably my house is the best place for her to, for the contact to be, if I’m honest, 'cause we just buy toys for her all the time. We’ve got a lovely garden that she can play in, lovely, big, and we’ve got a sandpit in there. We’ve been buying loads of things for her to play with to keep her occupied.”
“[Speaking about support of young fathers] We’ve done a lot of kind of advocation and representing them, a lot of the time there’s involvement with statutory services. They don’t have the care of the young person, the care’s provided by the state or the mother, so we’ve attended lots of meetings with the young person to offer additional support and facilitated contact where necessary and offered just general emotional wellbeing, support, improving robustness and resilience, encouraging them to have as amicable relationship as possible.”
“And I suppose it goes back to what we were saying before about behaviours, maybe the education side of stuff and the fact that men aren’t involved in those early conversations, you know, whether it is, I know they’re invited to come along to bumps to babies but I don’t know whether we go into the detail around some of that brain development side of stuff and things like that. Maybe that is the thing that really would change things. You know, if you were given all of that information about what happens to a child as they grow, in a scientific way, as easy to understand as possible, could be the thing that impacted on behaviour in the home.”
“If your child’s with the mother, like your relationship with her depends on your relationship with the child, innit. That’s what I realised a lot, like you can try and be bitter, you can try and be this, be that, but it’s just gonna push you further away from your child, innit.”
“I wanna fight for more stuff for dads. Like I do wanna have that extra support for new dads or even existing dads that we don’t get now 'cause we’re still important too although obviously the mum does need the majority a’ the care because obviously of the after care and the birth. But like the dads take it extremely hard as well. And obviously with having no support I think it increases the rise of mental health.”
“I think both a mother and father combined, it’s communicating and both being on the same page of what’s best for your child or children, and for both, it’s just being there 100% for them and not, like, putting yourself first, it’s, you know, putting the child’s interests first... ”
“We need to be including, we need to not [just] be focusing on mum and child […] That’s a great focus but dad … dad’s not invisible, dad needs to be in the picture as well because there’s research that shows you the effect it has on children and families as a whole when dad isn’t in the picture, so services need to be changing the way in which they work so it’s more inclusive.”
“Cause I think a lot of the time, some of young people who end up having children have been through the care system or support systems and they can feel quite judged or labelled by organisations and it’s breaking the cycle and breaking them out of that to feel empowered to be able to take stuff back, that’s the real interest to me. So, it’s about getting support right, as in being there and giving advice and guidance and all them things that we can do, but also making sure that we are doing with people as opposed to people.”
“One of the most successful projects we ever did was an informal dads’ group, and it used to be on Saturdays […] they did what they wanted, they used to do things like breakfast, and they would have breakfast together and talk about dad stuff and where they were taking their kids. And that group was always really well attended because there was never an agenda. They were never judged. They were just there together.”
“...the whole stay at home dad thing is not something to be ashamed of, you know, if you’re a dad and you wanna take your daughter out for the day, or you wanna take your kid out for the day on your own, well why is that frowned upon, why can’t you take your child out for the day ”
“Oh…patience…compassion…tolerance, a whole boatload a’ that! Honestly, I like a whole lot of life. Sacrifice…compromise, yeah I think, yeah I think they, they would be the, the big, the five, I feel, I think that was five, they would be the main. ”
“We’re currently in touch with social services for two [dads] because they don’t understand why they can’t see their children because they haven’t been informed by social services, their partner. So there’s a massive communication breakdown with those young men, so that’s the main focus of what we’re dealing with at the minute.”
“it’s still…the…sense of judgement I get from other people when they find out that I have a child.And they say, ‘oh how old is she’.I say, ‘oh she’s ten’. And they say, ‘oh how old are you?’. Like you don’t need to know that....I know exactly where that thought process is going, you know. It’s like, ‘oh you look really young and you’ve had a kid’. It’s like, ‘yeah I know, I was there!’”
Partners
