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What Does It Mean to Be a Good Father?
Fatherhood is not a one-size-fits-all experience. Every father brings his own values, experiences, circumstances, and aspirations to the role.
Free one-on-one life coaching for Minnesota dads
Whether you're expecting your first child or you've been a dad for years, the Good Father Program provides you a certified life coach in your corner. It's free, it's private, and it's about you.
8 one-hour sessions · In person or virtual · No cost to you
About the Good Father Program
The Good Father Program is a free one-on-one life coaching program for expecting and experienced fathers who want to grow in their parenting and personal relationships.
Each session with a certified life coach gives you more room to clarify your values, explore the kind of father you want to be for your children, and take small steps towards the future you imagine for yourself and your family.
What Is Life Coaching?
Life coaching with the Good Father Program is a thought-provoking, creative partnership between you and your life coach that helps you explore and develop your potential as a person and a father.
It's self-directed: You decide what matters most to you and what you want to explore. Your life coach partners with you through thoughtful questions, reflection, and discovery to help you gain clarity and determine your own path forward.
Unlike therapy or traditional training, life coaching emphasizes your own perspectives, choices, and capacity for personal growth. Life coaching helps you explore how the words and stories you use to describe yourself and your experiences influence the way you see yourself, your relationships, and what's possible for your future.
Life coaching provides a private, respectful space to think out loud about fatherhood, family, work, relationships, and anything else you'd like to discuss, without pressure or judgment.
Our AIM life coaches complete ICF Level 2–accredited training to help you have a supportive coaching experience that honors your ability to make your own choices and determine your own path.
How it works
1
Sign up
Fill out the short, free sign-up form. It takes less than a minute.
2
A life coach will contact you
A life coach will call or email you, answer your questions, and set up your first session.
3
8 one-hour Life Coaching sessions
Meet with your life coach every one to two weeks, in person or virtually.
Program outline
Your life coaching sessions follow a simple path exploring who you are, who you've been, and the type of father you want to be.
1. Intro to life coaching: committed ways of being
Your first session will include getting to know your life coach, answering questions you have about the program, a goals discussion, and introducing you to the committed ways of being, a life coaching exercise designed to help you show up the way you intend to.
2. Values: who was I?
A coaching exercise and questions designed to help you identify and explore your values, where they come from, and how they align with who you are.
3. Life mapping: who am I?
Take a bird's-eye view of your life right now and see where you feel satisfied, where you feel challenged, and explore what in your life needs attention.
4. Intention: who am I becoming?
Create a positive call to action in an area where you want more direction and meaning.
5. Parenting class safety videos
4 videos — Car Seat Safety, SIDS, Shaken Baby Syndrome, First Impressions
6. Independent coaching session or parenting class videos of your choice
7. Fatherhood mission statement
As you reflect on your time coaching, discuss, process, and write a statement about the father you want to be.
8. Wrap-up
Talk through your experience life coaching with the Good Father Program, reflect on what you learned about yourself and fatherhood, and talk through where you would like to go next in life.
This program focuses on YOU
The Good Father Program exists to amplify fathers' voices and presence. You'll receive parenting education to help you thrive as a father, plus the chance to:
- Raise your awareness
- Set goals and work to achieve them
- Gain confidence in your ability to be a good father
- Reduce stress and build healthy coping skills
- Create your vision of who you are and who you want to become
Why choose us?
Becoming a father is a journey that touches every part of your life. You deserve a safe space to think through your situation. We give you learning resources and a supportive place to slow down and explore what you think and feel about fatherhood, without pressure or judgment.
Locations
Meet your life coach in person at one of these locations, or virtually from anywhere in Minnesota.
Apple Valley
Pregnancy Choices
15010 Glazier Ave #104
Apple Valley, MN 55124West St. Paul
Guiding Star Wakota
1140 S Robert St
St Paul, MN 55118Richfield
First Care
6517 Nicollet Ave
Richfield, MN 55423Minneapolis
Abria, Minneapolis
2232 W Broadway
Minneapolis, MN 55411St. Paul
Abria
2200 University Ave W #160
St Paul, MN 55114Maplewood
First Care, Maplewood
1706 White Bear Ave
Maplewood, MN 55109Woodbury
First Care, Woodbury
1000 Radio Dr, Suite 200
Woodbury, MN 55125St. Michael
Cornerstone
204 Central Ave E
St Michael, MN 55376Little Canada
Women's Life Care Center
2870 Middle St
Little Canada, MN 55117
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A thank-you for finishing
Complete the Good Father Program and receive an assortment of thank-you gifts from our community partners. Depending on your location, gift packages may include a free crib, car seat, stroller, pack 'n play, diapers, wipes, clothing, and other essentials for your family.
Gift packages vary by location. Ask your life coach about the benefits offered at your participating location.
Fatherhood Mission Statements
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Tap a statement to read it larger.
For Moms, Family, and Friends
Know a dad who could use a life coach? Refer him here, and with his okay, we'll reach out to get him started.
Share the link
Send him this page: goodfatherprogram.org. He can sign up for free in about a minute, and a life coach will reach out to him.
Sign him up, with his OK
If he says yes, you can fill out the sign-up form for him with his name, phone, and email. Please ask him first. A life coach will contact him directly.
Frequently asked questions
Does it really cost nothing?
Yes. The Good Father Program is free. There's no cost to you for coaching, classes, or resources.
How much time does it take?
8 one-hour sessions with your life coach, every one to two weeks. Most dads finish in about three months.
Who is it for?
Minnesota dads, whether you're expecting your first child or you've been a father for years. If you want to grow as a dad and in your relationships, it's for you.
Can I do it virtually?
Yes. You can meet your life coach online, or in person at one of our locations in Apple Valley, West St. Paul, Richfield, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Maplewood, Woodbury, St. Michael, or Little Canada.
Is coaching the same as therapy?
No. Coaching isn't therapy or counseling. A certified life coach helps you think through what matters to you, whether that's something you're facing now, something from your past, or the father you want to become, and helps you take practical next steps. If something comes up that needs a counselor, your life coach can point you to support.
What happens after I sign up?
A life coach from the location you choose will call or email you to answer any questions you have and set up your first session.
Is my information private?
Yes. What you share in coaching stays between you and your life coach. We only use your sign-up details to connect you with a life coach, and we never sell your information. See our privacy policy.
From the blog
Sign up for free
Tell us how to reach you and how you'd like to meet. A life coach will reach out to set up your first session.
It's free, private, and there's no pressure.
