I recently represented the Fatherhood Foundation (Dads4Kids) at a national workshop conducted by the Department of Health and Ageing. Our task was to contribute towards an understanding of suicide amongst men in the 25-44 age group, and to assist in developing a strategic approach to prevention. Some of the discussions and debates about the causes of suicide within this age group reminded me of the children’s story about the animals that ...
I heard recently that over half of the Australian veterans of the first Gulf War still suffer from ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’ and that many of them will probably never recover. The focus of counselling services appears to be to encourage and help veterans learn to live with the symptoms of this disorder. A similar approach is being used to deal with problems faced by separated fathers. These fathers are being told ...
There are quite a few things that I like about the Easter holidays. I like the traditional early morning surfs at my local beach. The king tides sometimes cover a rock outcrop that normally remains exposed at high tide. When the swell is small, this produces a nice little wave that I usually get to surf on my own. By the time other surfers become aware of it, the tide begins ...
The Childcare Industry and the De-Fathering of Society Part 5 The preceding articles in this series have argued that while the Federal Government’s generosity and concern for families may be genuine, its actions are lopsided, biased against non-custodial parents, and contribute to the de-fathering of society. The crisis of fatherless children is compounded by the fact that there are few male role models working in childcare centres. And when children leave ...
The Childcare Industry and the De-Fathering of Society Part 4 Government funding of the childcare industry was not designed to remove children from their fathers. The fact that it does so is a consequence of the cultural bias against separated fathers that exists in our culture. This bias pervades every aspect and level of society. It means that in the development of government policies, and in the Opposition parties’ response to ...
The Childcare Industry and the De-Fathering of Society Part 3 The childcare industry is experiencing phenomenal growth and providing lucrative returns for the owners of private childcare centres. This growth is fed by the provision of government funding for childcare. While the subsidies are designed to encourage mothers of young children to work, the benefits are available also to sole mothers. However the ‘assistance’ sole parents get from other government agencies ...
The Childcare Industry and the De-Fathering of Society Part 2 One of the most notable features of the present Federal Government is its desire to help families. However, the impact of its policies often goes well beyond its intentions. Sometimes, at great expense, a new set of problems is created far greater than those being solved. Consider the Federal Government’s funding of childcare centres. The benefits provided have increased six-fold over ...
The Childcare Industry and the De-Fathering of Society Part 1 Prime Minister John Howard has stated that no previous government has done as much as the present one in helping families. If the degree of help can be measured by the level of government spending on assistance programmes, then this is undeniably true. Mr Howard is clearly genuine in his concern for families and in his compassion for children. His government ...
My last article mentioned a report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies that revealed that an alarmingly high number of children spend the day with their father but never sleep over. These children, and their fathers, are being denied the opportunity for a normal parent/child relationship and all the benefits that accrue from this. They are children who only visit their father. They have no sense of being at home ...
One of the reasons my life has been so good is that I have had a good father. I also want to be a good father to my own children. However, the freedom to make this choice no longer exists for separated fathers in Australian society. Family Law legislation in Australia has removed from me my authority as a father and placed it in the hands of anonymous government bureaucrats who ...
RESOURCES
ASSETS
TRAINING
Events
MUMS
© Copyright Dads4Kids 2002 – 2026 All rights reserved (ABN: 63 563 020 918)
The Fatherhood Foundation Incorporated trading as Dads4Kids is a Harm Prevention Charity listed under Subdivision 30_EA of the Australian Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 with Tax Deductible Status (DGR) for donations
Dads4Kids – Building Men. Growing Fathers. Changing Generations.
