Have a baby at home or one on the way? Then you need to come to the 2018 New York Baby Show this weekend at Pier 94 (52nd and West Side Highway) in Manhattan.

The NYC Dads Group will again be there running the “Dads Lounge” and it will be the sleekest one. Plum Organics, the nation’s leading organic baby food brand and a frequent partner of ours, is sponsoring it and providing nutritious and tasty snacks, a tot play area and Plum Organics-inspired “mocktails” each afternoon. As always, we’ll have comfortable couches, glider chairs, lots of changing tables for the little ones, and a crew of our members on hand to share anecdotes and perspective on fatherhood as well as answer your tough questions.

The 2018 New York Baby Show offers a fun, informative and family-friendly weekend of shopping, learning and bonding to help expectant and new parents from tri-state area make their way from pregnancy into parenthood. Hundreds of exhibitors and many guest speakers will be present to help you get the low-down on the latest in baby care.

(Disclosure: City Dads Group is a media partner for the JPMA and Family Media Baby Show series taking place in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles this year.)

The 2018 New York Baby Show  keynote will be delivered by “The BabyGuy,” Jamie Grayson, who will give parents and parents-to-be tips and recommendations on shopping for baby gear like strollers, car seats, breast pumps and more.

Dr. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Baby On The Block, will also be a featured speaker on both show days. Karp has helped many new parents sooth their babies and help them sleep with his approach.

Tickets cost $20 for individuals, $30 for families (children are free!), and can be purchased online.

Discount tickets to 2018 New York Baby Show!

Members of NYC Dads Group or any of our City Dads Group chapters around the country can enjoy 50 percent off tickets to the New York Baby Show. Purchase tickets on the registration page and use promo code CityDadsGroup50S.

Some NYC Dads Group members will get to enjoy a whole lot of bonding with their children and each other next month at a special lunchtime play date at a major parenting exhibition in Manhattan.

+ Discounted MommyCon NYC ticket offer below! +

The event is one in a series of partnerships parent organization City Dads Group struck with MommyCon, a nationwide educational/product exhibition series dedicated to natural parenting. City Dads chapters in five U.S. cities are to host play dates when MommyCon comes to their areas this year.

MommyCon NYC, scheduled for April 7 at the Grand Hyatt hotel next to Grand Central Terminal, is to feature more than 100 exhibitors, speakers and panels. A dozen NYC Dads Group members and their kids will receive free admission to the event so they can attend the play date, slated for 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., by RSVPing through Meetup.

“We appreciate this opportunity to partner with MommyCon to create an opportunity for new and expecting dads to connect with City Dads Group across the United States,” said City Dads Group co-founder Matt Schneider. “Parents are in this together, so it great to see the MommyCon team welcome dads into the mix.”

The NYC play date will be the second of the partnership following a triumph in Chicago earlier this month. Other events will take place this year in Charlotte, N.C.; Orlando; and Pasadena, Calif.

The lunchtime play date provides an opportunity for NYC Dads to promote our group’s social and support benefits to MommyCon attendees while bringing some of our dads out to the convention to learn and shop.

MommyCon NYC 10% ticket discount

As part of our partnership with MommyCon, NYC Dads Group members and friends can buy tickets now and receive 10 percent off by using promo code: citydads10

+ Buy MommyCon NYC tickets now + 

One thing we know about Dads is that when you get a group of them together great things happen! That has been one of our guiding principles here at the Chicago Dads Group. From fun playdates in the park, weekly pick-up basketball games, to epic Dad’s Night Out activities our group has become a great resource for Chicagoland dads to bond over Fatherhood. That’s why we are super excited when the good people over at MommyCon asked us to participate in their DaddyCon programming; a separate track of educational panels, activities, and workshops focused on fathers.

What is DaddyCon?

DaddyCon is focused on bringing fatherhood to the forefront of the parenting conversation. This is their debut year (March 3 & 4) and Chicago Dads Group is excited to be a part of it. The event will feature two days of interactive sessions, workshops, exhibitors, giveaways and the Dad Games Competition. There are over a dozen speakers including a few members of our group. Their goal is to have a meaningful and playful discussion about all aspects of fatherhood: from being there at birth through every diaper change, scraped knee and ballet recital.

Chicago Dads Group @ DaddyCon

Needless to say we are excited about DaddyCon! We will be there on Saturday 3/3 for a special lunchtime Meet Up and we will be participating in  a panel discussion on Sunday 3/4.

As part of our partnership we are giving away 2 free tickets to Daddycon and here is how you can win them:

Win 2 Free Tickets to DaddyCon

Come join us March 3-4. and check out over 100 exhibitors, interactive workshops, inspirational speakers and more. It is a great chance to learn all there is to be a new dad at the Chicago

A little food, a little play and a whole lot of bonding between fathers and children — and probably among fathers themselves. That’s what City Dads Group will be bringing to major parenting events in five cities this year.

Local City Dads chapters will host lunchtime playdates for dads and kids at MommyCons being held in Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; New York City; Orlando; and Pasadena, Calif.

MommyCon is a nationwide educational/product exhibition series dedicated to natural parenting.

“We appreciate this opportunity to partner with MommyCon to create an opportunity for new and expecting dads to connect with City Dads Group across the United States,” said City Dads Group co-founder Matt Schneider. “Parents are in this together, so it great to see the MommyCon team welcome dads into the mix.”

In Chicago and Orlando, City Dads Group will actually be involved with DaddyCon, a separate track of educational panels, activities and workshops focused on fathering that runs concurrent with some MommyCon shows.

Chicago site of 1st MommyCon partnership

The partnership kicks off next month in Chicago. City Dads Group serves as media partner for the March 3-4, 2018, DaddyCon at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in suburb of Rosemont, Ill. The Chicago Dads Group will host a one-hour lunchtime/playdate event for its members at the convention, providing an opportunity to add to its membership while bringing some of our dads out the convention to learn and shop.

“With over a dozen speakers, the event convention will take a playful approach to discussing all aspects of fatherhood: from being there at birth through every diaper change, scraped knee and ballet recital. The conversation will explore first-hand accounts from todays most prominent father figures while exploring the bond fathers have with their children,” its website states.

The other MommyCon/City Dads Group events will take place:

• April 7, New York City
• May 5, Charlotte
• Aug. 18, Pasadena
• Sept. 1, Orlando

The NYC Dads Group will be honored for its work in the local parenting community at the opening ceremonies of the New York Baby Show next month. But we won’t just stand on our laurels during the May 14-15 weekend event at Pier 92 in Manhattan.

On Saturday, May 14, we’ll run a 45-minute “New Dad Boot Camp” to demonstrate a few skills soon-to-be moms and dads alike need and answer any questions about raising a wee one.

On Sunday, May 15, NYC Dads Group co-founders Matt Schneider and Lance Somerfeld speak as part of a panel called “Making It Work: What You Need To Know About Being A Parenting Partner, Or Being A Single Parent.”

And, as in years past, our members will staff the “Dads Lounge” on both days to offer visitors a chance to rest, change baby’s diaper, and learn about all the NYC Dads Group has to offer such as group playdates, educational events and our ever-popular Dads Night Out get-togethers.

The New York Baby Show, the largest U.S. expo for new and expectant parents, attracts thousands of expectant and new parents who can view hundreds of top products and services made for growing families. The weekend is also peppered with giveaways from major sponsors, mini-seminars, music and celebrity guests, such as TODAY show style editor Bobbie Thomas and baby product expert Jamie Grayson, aka The BabyGuy.

New York Baby Show discount code!

You can attend the weekend event at 25 percent off, thanks to a baby show discount code we have through event sponsor and our longtime partner New York Family magazine. Buy tickets at the baby show website and enter promotional code DADS25 when you pay for the discount off the already affordable prices of $30 per family and $20 per individual.

Calling all New and Expectant Parents!

There are some events we put on your radar for fun, some for education, some to bond with others dads, some to bond with your children, and some for your whole family.

This is an event brings together all of that! It’s the big one! And we encourage all of you (especially the ones with babies and toddlers) to take a minute now to read on, jump in, and share one of our favorite events of the year with us and, more importantly, with your families.

In addition to the generous giveaway of 30 FREE family pass tickets, the New York Baby Show also set aside 50 tickets at 50% off for NYC Dads Group members and their families (see below).

In its family-friendly way, the New York Baby Show is the loving lollapalooza of Baby Shows, where families from the city and the suburbs get to chat with a variety of over 150 maternity, baby, and toddler brands; test-drive many of the best stroller brands in the world; and listen to expert speakers (including from the TODAY SHOW) tackle everything from maternal wellness, to nursery shopping, to adjusting to life with children. Kiddie entertainment, parent-and-me classes, and awesome raffles (like a $5,000 Dream “Green” Nursery) round out the fun.

But you should be aware of the show’s “secret weapon.” Believe or not, it’s you! It’s the dads! With your help, the NYC Dads Group has been an important part of the New York Baby Show from the start, running the Dads Lounge as a comfort zone for dads (and moms) to hang out, to gather, to learn, to use as a rest area before fanning out and enjoying other parts of the show. While we’re stoked to be hosting the #DadsLounge once again this year … we’re thrilled that Dove Men+Care has just come on to sponsor the Dads Lounge! We can’t think of a better brand that supports fathers to collaborate with on the dads lounge.

What’s a dads lounge? It’s an oasis for parents with several changing tables, glider chairs for easy feeding, couches for taking a load off, and bar top tables to socialize all staffed with several NYC Dads Group team members. We hope you’ll include the dads lounge as a mandatory pit-stop during your visit to the show.

Tickets are normally $30 for the family, and $20 per person. Visit www.newyorkbabyshow.com for tickets and details.

30 TICKETS TO GIVE AWAY! 50 TICKETS at 50% OFF!

• The first 30 NYC Dads Group readers to use the promotional code NYCDADSNYBS go for free. BUY NOW
• The next 50 to use NYCDADS50 get a 50 percent discount. BUY NOW
• All others can use NYCDADS10 for a 10 percent discount. BUY NOW

Over the past beautiful weekend, our friends at New York Family Magazine presented the New York Baby Show on Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20.  The NY Baby Show has always embraced dads, and the NYC Dads Group specifically. We were honored to once again host this year’s DADS LOUNGE co-sponsored by HUGGIES, that was an amazing oasis among the high energy bustle of the show.   Thousands of new & expectant parents flowed through the floors of the New York Baby Show so we made sure….The Dads Lounge was an inviting, engaging, and relaxing destination equipped with changing tables, gliders, couches, a flat screen, plenty of tables and chairs, and thanks to Huggies, fully stocked with diapers and wipes to keep moms, dads, and kids happy all weekend!

Throughout the weekend, we had thirty members of our group, facilitators from our New Dad Boot Camps, and some of our favorite bloggers, journalists, authors, and parenting experts join us in the dads lounge to share their experiences as caring, capable, and confident parents.  Too many individuals to thank, but to name a few that were Hanging out with us are local legends like Great Moments in Bad Parenting, Your Stay at Home Dad, DaDaRocks, GayNYCDad, Skinned Knees in Short Pants, MaJenDome, and Sally Tannen (92Y Parent Center Coordinator. It was wonderful to see hundreds of expectant and new dads coming into the lounge (some flying solo and many with their wives/partners) asking questions, seeking advice, describing their nervousness, feeding their babies, changing babies, or just picking up a free pack of Huggies.  Amusingly, the number one question asked at the dads lounge all weekend was from the wives, “Are we allowed in too?”  Yes, all were welcome!

We were very proud that Huggies joined us to sponsor the Dads Lounge. Over the last few months, we have gotten to know the Huggies team and we are so happy to see that their new print and TV campaigns portray dads as we are– caring, capable, and confident.

Thanks again to New York Family and Huggies for your continued support!

And for those of you who missed the show, here is a preview from ABC News:

Over the weekend, about 30 fathers from the NYC Dads Group “manned” the Dads Lounge at the New York Baby Show (more about this tomorrow) co-sponsored by Huggies – the dads lounge was a revolving door of hundreds of expectant and new fathers seeking advice, asking questions, and sharing some of their concerns about becoming a new parent.  We’re certainly not experts, but we thought it was our goal to explain to these expectant/new dads the importance of being a part of a social group with other caring, active, and involved fathers.

Here are some of the things that came up during these conversations with our NYC Dads Group members:

Why Should I Join a Dads Group?
10. It’s a healthy social outlet – meeting up with other dads and their kids can be a great way to spend part of your day hanging out (or talking sports) with people in a similar situation as yourself
9. Feels like a fraternity (a dad-ternity) with guys who understand your situation
8. Safe place to share best practices, enjoy successes, and vent frustrations
7. You can learn a lot from other dads, like what to do when your toddler’s answer to every question is, “No!”
6. Dads Night Out (DNO) once a month – True story: parenting had been so challenging for one particular dad in the group that DNO actually forced him to get out socially without his wife for the first time in over a year
5. To support each other through an extremely challenging job
4. Enable our kids to frequently socialize, bond, and play together
3. To have a place where you can continue playing Fantasy Sports (or participate in an NCAA bracket pool) – “Because 2-year-olds aren’t going to help you decide between Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers”
2. Participate in fun, engaging, and interesting things that you probably would not do on your own
1. So you do not have to go through it alone! Let’s face it, guys do not always like to ask for help, read the manual, or ask for directions

Hopefully, this top ten list will give a few expectant dads & new dads we met over weekend the gentle nudge they need to throw in the towel, not do it alone,  and just join a group.

Along this same theme, Friday’s THE DAILY published an article – PAPA POWWOW: FORGET THE FILM VERSION: FATHERS’ GROUPS ARE EFFECTIVE SUPPORT SYSTEMS by Chavie Lieber  – talking about the importance of avoiding the isolation as new dad & joining a social group.  The article drew comparisons to “the Dudes Group” featured in the film, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.”  The article featured three dads groups from across the Nation – Omaha, Ne, Kansas City, Mo, and us – NYC Dads Group!  The message from the all three dads groups (as well as the “dudes group” in the film) was similar:

I initially joined for the social aspect, said Shannon Carpenter. In our daddy group, we hang out and can relate to each other, helping out by sharing our experience on things like potty training and postpartum depression. We even discuss what type of diapers we buy.” – Kansas City Dads Group

“Joining was the most important thing I ever did for our family. The guys make it possible for me to stay home, to stay married, and help me stay confident in handling my four kids,” Al Watts said. Like most of the groups, the Omaha chapter has weekly outings to zoos, baseball games, parks and museums, where the dads can interact with each other and their kids. But for many, the group is also a social outlet: They also have Dads’ Night Out once a month.  – Omaha Dads Group

We’re at a time of great change in fatherhood,” Somerfeld said. “I know it’s funny to make fun of dads being bumbling idiots, but that time is over. I wish they would show how cool fatherhood is.” – NYC Dads Group