Yes I have. One of those dads that went to mother and baby class. It took a lot of bottle- every time- but worth it. The reasons for this are several.
It got me out of the house- which you need to do
I got some advice off of some of the mums
Babies do need stimulation and playing with- it gave me some great ideas and your child will benefit believe it or not!
I didn't feel alone- yes i was the only dad there- but it helped knowing that I was as tired as all the mums. lets face it youdon'tget post natal depression as a dad which is a plus- but you can getdepressedbecause of all the hard work and not a thank you! The result can be hard to quantify if your a man-its good to get another perspective.
What you have to do is just turn up one day.Expect to pay a couple of quid(be careful its not more- there are some pricey ones) for the use of the hall. Don't worry about joining in too much- as I say itsscary- so no pressure.
Playgroup/Pre-school/Nursery
Essentially they are all the same so don't panic! Playgroup is a set couple of hours a day from age 2'ish,- Nursery is more of a drop off flexible in most places- but can be the same as playgroup. Pre-school is again set hours but normally attached to an infant school- so the transition to school is not so great. No-one forces you to use thesefacilitiesbut the benefits to your child areimmeasurable- make sure you find out which one you like. They are all run differently- so make sure your happy with the staff- and what your child will be doing- ask for qualifications and crb checks-
On to School
Start looking into getting a school place when your child is 3-- yes three . Why? well it takes a long time to for the application process and if you leave it to the last minute they can be allocated anywhere and they have to attend-its the law. So you could saddle yourself with amammothschool run or send your child to a school that has a differentcurriculumthan what you expect.You've been warned!