Daddy Boot Camp

A military-wide push to stop child abuse is working across America including Southern Colorado. Daddy Boot Camp is a free program offered at military installations including Fort Carson. It is a voluntary program that helps new Dads be good Fathers. Up to 600 Fort Carson soldiers have undergone the three hour training in the past ten years. None of these graduates has been linked to child abuse.

Ken Robinson is the soldier and family educator who is the instructor of Daddy Boot Camp. Robinson told me, “It’s such an honor to have these men talk about their past and what they’ve gone through and what they can do in the future.” Robinson said the program focuses on the basic essentials of caring for a child emotionally and physically. The training also includes how Dads help the new Moms deal with the changes in their life, too.

Robinson said, “What we do at boot camp is we teach them the skills so they don’t find themselves in a predicament where they might accidentally or otherwise hurt their child.” He says the three hour course can be an eye opener for soldiers in a comical way, too. Robinson said, “We have Green Berets here, who are afraid to change diapers, even though they are Special Forces Guys.”

Robinson also told me this is not a boring three hour course, “These guys come in pretty anxious, but once they get in and start bonding with other men, they have a blast.”

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month in El Paso County. This is just one of the sources available to help Dads and Moms have a healthy and productive violence free relationship with their child. Commissioner Sallie Clark and D.A. Dan May are part of a group to establish a local help hotline and website with all the resources available to you in El Paso County. When that’s active, I’ll make sure you know about it. There is a national number you can call right now to talk to a counselor for parental help. It’s 1-800-4-A-CHILD.