Dads got together at the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday to launch DadTalk.co.uk, a new web resource to strengthen and support fathers in their role as a parent and change perceptions of fatherhood in society.
The website, supported by the Family Matters Institute, features articles, videos and podcasts exploring some of the 'nitty gritty' aspects of being a dad, as well as a forum that will allow dads to chat to one another about their experiences or challenges.
It is about "increasing the confidence of fathers" and "getting dads talking to other dads about the most important job in their lives - being dad", said Matt Buttery, chief executive of the Family Matters Institute.
"Mums equally matter but I think that we dads have lost our own self-esteem, our own self-worth and some of our own importance in the life of the children we are involved with," he said.
Speaking as the host of yesterday's launch, Conservative MP and Evangelical Alliance council member Alistair Burt said that the resource would help counter the trend of broken relationships in society.
"We are worried about the national pattern of changing relationships in marriage and between adults, and the damage that's being done principally to young people," he said. "We could not be launching this website at a more appropriate time."
DadTalk would, he added, present fatherhood in a fresh, modern way and "make the concept of fatherhood meaningful to generations to come".
The website is dedicated particularly to supporting fathers in the African and Caribbean community, and fathers needing advice in raising teenage children.
Shaun Bailey, Conservative candidate for Hammersmith and co-founder of support charity My Generation, acknowledged that the African and Caribbean community was "notorious" for its lack of fatherhood but added that it was beginning to "re-find" the importance of fathers.
He said that the likes of MTV and Nuts and Zoo magazines were becoming replacement dads for fatherless boys.
"I grew up in a place where if you never had your father you had MTV and you had the road," he said. "I challenge anybody to watch half an hour of MTV and see if you would like that to raise your children. It is utterly, utterly disgusting.
"I challenge you to read Nuts magazine, Zoo, watch Eastenders for a while, and then talk to some young people and see what they think is the norm."
