Fathers and Children Captivated at Kia Heritage Exhibition Hall
The Hwaseong City Family Center (Director Park Mi-kyung) held a special program called "Kia Heritage Docent Tour" on the 22nd for members of the Father Childcare Exchange, where fathers take the lead in communicating and practice shared childcare through sharing parenting information.
The program was attended by 10 families and 30 members from the Hwaseong City Father Childcare Exchange, where fathers and their children together examined automobile history and various exhibits, listened to expert docent commentary, and expanded their interest and understanding of automobiles.
Currently, the Hwaseong City Father Childcare Exchange has 15 groups with 41 families totaling 114 participants, creating a culture of fathers' voluntary participation in childcare and community-based shared parenting.
This special program was structured around viewing the Kia Heritage exhibition and docent commentary to connect interest in automobiles with communication among family members. Participating families followed professional docent guidance to examine Kia's automobile history and major vehicles, listened to explanations about how automobiles have changed over time, their technology, design, and other aspects, and gained an understanding of the automobile industry and the meaning of automobiles in our daily lives.
In particular, with automobiles, technology, and history and culture content that upper elementary school children find interesting as a medium, fathers and children naturally engaged in conversation, experienced together, and had a meaningful time strengthening family bonds.
One participant said, "I didn't often have the opportunity to talk with my child about automobiles, but it was good to naturally have conversations while viewing the exhibition and listening to explanations together." They added, "It became a meaningful time to share the same interests with my child and understand each other's thoughts."
Park Mi-kyung, director of the Hwaseong City Family Center, stated, "The process of fathers and children experiencing new things together and having conversations becomes a precious time that deepens relationships within the family," and pledged, "Going forward, we will continue to operate various father-child programs reflecting children's ages and interests to increase fathers' active participation in childcare and continuously support the spread of mutual care culture within families."
The Father Childcare Exchange is a self-help group where fathers take the lead in sharing parenting information and practicing shared childcare, operating various activities including regular group activities, education, experiential activities, and community-linked programs.