Imagine having only 11 minutes a day with your child. According to the latest research, that’s exactly how much time the average father in Serbia spends with their children each day. However, the data also reveals something encouraging – today’s fathers want more. Those who missed their children’s first steps or words often describe it as their deepest regret.
And children have a message for their dads – simple, yet powerful: Listen to me. Don’t yell. Don’t ignore me. Accept me as I am. Fathers who play, joke, talk, and know how to truly listen become heroes in their children’s eyes. They are thanked – not because they’re perfect, but because they’re present.
It’s precisely from this need for parents to receive support in the most important role of their lives that the Novak Djokovic Foundation has, for the past eight years, been successfully implementing the “Support, Not Perfection” program – free workshops for moms and dads led by psychologists, pedagogues, and educators, aimed at helping parents build relationships of trust, closeness, and understanding with their children. Thousands of parents and caregivers across Serbia have already taken part, and the program is now in its 14th cycle.
This cycle brought a particularly hopeful development – thanks to a special invitation extended to fathers, their participation significantly increased compared to previous years. While they made up only 8% of groups in the past, they now represent 28% of all participants – meaning out of a total of 600 parents and caregivers in the program, 168 are fathers. These dads recognized the value of the program – and courageously stepped into a process that doesn’t ask for perfection, but for presence.
The program is implemented through 15 Centers for Parents, which the Foundation has opened in recent years with the support of Generali Osiguranje Serbia, as well as in preschools across the country where parents have shown tremendous interest. Currently, the workshops are being held in 20 different locations in Serbia, with the highest engagement from parents in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Šabac, Kragujevac…
“Support, Not Perfection” is a partnership between the Novak Djokovic Foundation, Generali Osiguranje Serbia, and the global initiative The Human Safety Net, and it is entirely free for all parents.
“Parenting today is more demanding than ever. That’s why every parent needs to know they are not alone, that it’s okay not to know, it’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s okay to seek support. The fathers who responded to our invitation showed that there is strength in vulnerability and openness. We don’t teach them how to be perfect – we teach them how to be present. And that is irreplaceable for a child,” says Smiljana Grujić, Head of Programs at the Novak Djokovic Foundation and co-author of “Support, Not Perfection.”
As interest in the program exceeds its current capacity and requires parents’ physical presence at specific times over ten weeks, the Foundation has recognized the need to make access more flexible and widely available. It is now finalizing the development of a digital platform that will allow parents worldwide to follow the program online – whenever and wherever it suits them. This way, the knowledge, support, and experience previously available only to parents in selected Serbian cities will soon be accessible to anyone – to anyone who wants to be more present in their child’s life.
Because, as this program proves – you don’t have to be a perfect parent. Just be there.
