Whether it's doing homework together, playing catch or reading a story, fathers can enjoy being a fan of their kid. The Be A Fan of Your Kid public service campaign is designed to provide tips, suggestions and resources for fathers on positive fathering and role modeling. Launched on Father's Day 1998, this program provides dads and other father figures such as step-dads, uncles and grandfathers with a wealth of information on positive fathering skills and a forum to learn from both experts and other dads. It's also a forum for sharing resources, activities, and experiences about fatherhood.

• More than 27 million children (39 percent) of all U.S. children now live apart from their fathers. In a typical year, more than one-third of these children won't even see their dads. National Center for Fathering
• Research shows that dads in intact families are spending more time than ever with their children.  But one sad reality is that non-custodial parents have contact with their children only 70 days out of the year, on average, and sometimes only for a few minutes. The situation is worse for poor and minority children. Barely more than one out of two black, nonresident fathers (51 percent) saw their children even one time during the previous year, while only 48 percent of Hispanic, non-custodial parents maintained any contact with their children, and 47 percent of non-custodial parents living in extreme poverty did so.   (“Saving the children...with fathers” Townhall Books by Linda Chavez, June 11, 2003)
• Research shows that the costs of fatherlessness are high. Children with little or no contact with their fathers are more likely to drop out of school and abuse drugs and alcohol; girls are more likely to become pregnant as teens, and boys are more likely to become involved in crime and violence. Unfortunately, even when a father is physically present in the home, he may be emotionally absent. National Center for Fathering

To help counter some of these deficits, The Children's Hospital of Denver enlisted the support of numerous partners in the Denver area in 1998 to develop this dynamic campaign, which sponsors are confident could become a national model for similar programs. Current Program Sponsors of Be A Fan Of Your Kid are: Colorado Foundation for Families and Children, Colorado Child Support Enforcement Program, The Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, Sportradio 950 the Fan, Juice Communications, Internet Design & Development and The Children's Hospital. The Be A Fan Of Your Kid web site, hosted by Internet Design & Development, was developed to educate a broader spectrum of fathers about positive fathering.