OC Register: One way to keep fathers in their children’s lives? ‘Dads Matter’ shows them how

It’s only been in the past two years that Christian Garcia has learned to be the kind of father figure to his son Isaiah that he had yearned for as a child with his own dad.

A single dad, Garcia had to learn how to parent from scratch when his son, 9, came to live with him full time in early 2015. The latest lesson in bonding took place as he joined a dozen other fathers and their children – boys and girls from toddler to preadolescence — for a daddy-and-me excursion to Linbrook Bowling Center on Sunday, July 30.

The bowling party was hosted by a father involvement program called Dads Matter that is turning Garcia, 32, into the man he strives to be for his son.

At one point when Garcia called his boy over, Isaiah leaped a counter to slide along a bench and land next to him. Garcia’s eyes popped with surprise and joy. Isaiah shared one of the reasons why he loves spending so much time with his dad: “Because my Dad’s fun!”

Read more at the OC Register.