Time for childish dads to grow (From Stroud News and Journal)

Time for childish dads to grow

WHAT on earth is going on with these Fathers4Justice?

Rarely have we treated to such a gloriously ill-conceived campaign in the battle of the sexes.

Their goal: the persuade our law makers and courts that they are reliable, grown-up adults capable of shouldering their share of parental responsibilities.

Their method: dressing up in bad superhero outfits and throwing flour bombs with schoolboy abandon.

"I know, lets wear our underpants outside a pair of tights, climb up a bridge and refuse to come down until we get what we want.

"Then we'll throw a condom full of purple powder at that nasty Tony Blair." Hmm, now that sounds like a sensible idea.

Maybe it's just me but I think they might have missed something here. I suppose in some way the dressing up is meant to appeal to their kids.

But I'm guessing behaving like a child isn't going to convince the courts you're a good bet for looking after one.

Even the group's name, replacing the standard 'for' with a number to show they are hip and with the txt generation belies their desperate childishness.

You would have thought that these men, who have presumably spent a bit of time in court trying to fight their corner before resorting to this, might have spotted that courts tend to be fairly austere, humourless places.

It seems they are just handing their ex-partners' legal teams ammunition to use against them.

Not being a parent myself I can only imagine how heartbreaking it must be being separated from your child and what you might be driven to.

I have every sympathy with the battle for equal rights for fathers and mothers.

But while the Fathers4Justice may have succeeded in raising the profile of the debate and bringing it national attention they have scored an own goal, reinforcing the idea that men are all little boys at heart.

So come on lads, fight your corner by all means but there comes a time when you have to gr0 up.