It was 7.30AM Saturday morning. I stumbled out of bed, on my way to the kitchen to get my breakfast cereal, and investigated the living room. There was my son, curled up on the lounge, trying to sleep with his 2-year-old son sitting on top of him and jumping up and down while watching TV. The scene was priceless. My son was trying to let his wife have an undisturbed sleep-in ...

I can still hear the sound of the prison doors clanking shut as we wheeled the last road case into Kalgoorlie Gaol. It was an eerie sound, and one we were not used to. Our family band was due to give a free concert to the inmates. I will never forget that gaol. It was the first gaol we ever played at as a family. It was also the first time ...

I have organised many events for dads over the years, but last Tuesday’s ‘Dads4Kids Family Webinar’ lifted the bar to the next level. I felt like I got hit by a freight train! I am still trying to process the challenge. Please watch the webinar below to understand what I mean.   All contributors to the Dads4Kids Family Webinar were amazing. Dr Allan Meyer, author of Valiant Man, talked about the ...

“Have you seen Best Daddy, Warwick?” This was the short cryptic text I received from my friend Hayden Gillie from Warrnambool. Hayden is the sort of guy who doesn’t say much about something, unless it is really good. I was not disappointed when I watched the Best Daddy music video featuring Cody & the Qualls family. I cried with joy, not only because Cody Qualls is a great songwriter and dazzling ...

Crystal’s mother and father had broken up a few months ago and had moved from the family home, each going their own way. The family home was put up for sale. One night, the neighbours were woken by a loud noise that sounded like an explosion. They looked out their windows to see a massive fire which quickly engulfed the house. Arson squad detectives said it appeared that an accelerant had ...

This week Dads4Kids launches its annual end-of-financial-year Help the Children Appeal. One great reason to give to the Help the Children Appeal is because Dads4Kids is helping dads live longer than in years gone by. Last year, on 1 November 2019, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released an important news item. The ABS reported: “Life expectancy at birth is greater for Australian females than males, however male life expectancy is ...

This article is taken from newsletter Number 929. That means that every week since Father’s Day, September 2002, Dads4Kids has sent a newsletter out for 929 weeks in a row to encourage you and all our many readers to be the best dad possible for your children. The goal of Dads4Kids is to equip you, resource you, and challenge you to accept excellence in fathering as the norm, not the exception. ...

We need women. That’s a line that all men can agree on, but not always for the right reasons. Feminism only gained ground in the 1890’s when men became vocal supporters of a woman’s right to vote. In those days, in a court of law, a woman did not have the same rights as a man. Thankfully, this has changed, but as always, the pendulum has swung too far. Now, in ...

Father-daughter duo Mat and Savanna Shaw performed a version of The Prayer on their YouTube channel two months ago, and they could never have imagined what happened next. The musical family went totally viral, earning almost 6 million views on their video. They were both stuck at home because of the coronavirus, and they decided to use their talents to encourage people in the midst of the crisis.   My background ...

Some time ago, a young father sent me this incredible story about David Campbell. David is the son of the iconic Aussie singer Jimmy Barnes. David Campbell happens to be a singer himself, and a co-host on the ‘Today Extra’ show on Channel Nine. Read the full story here. Watch the performance below, of a father and son capturing the raw emotion of this story. If you don’t know anything about ...

If you are a Dad, it is hard not to feel a bit overwhelmed at the present moment. The coronavirus news seems to beat down at us from every quarter. Our children and our wives are looking to us for leadership in the midst of our current situation. What is our response to them? Firstly, we need to keep the saw sharp. Who is the saw in this analogy? You are the ...

The coronavirus pandemic really hit home to me when a close friend of mine here in Australia lost his friend and business partner to the virus earlier this week. The father of two left behind two young children and his wife. Thankfully, neither his wife or two children were infected with the virus, nor his two employees. This beautiful family lived in a south-east Asian country only a short distance from ...

Many years ago, I was awoken by the incessant ringing of my wife’s mobile phone. It was 12.30 am, so we knew something was wrong. The message was frightening. Steve Stylianou, a good friend and father of three, had collapsed with a suspected heart attack and was rushed to hospital. The request was simple – just pray! We mumbled our prayers as you do when you have been woken from a ...

What is Dad to do in the middle of a coronavirus epidemic? Firstly, he has to try to analyse the problem and gather information to protect his family, and particularly his children. A great man once said, “The truth will set you free.” What exactly is the Coronavirus? Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle ...

If you haven’t heard about Bluey, you have been “living under a rock” as Paul Keating used to say. The cartoon blue heeler that Australia has already fallen in love with is now going out to a global audience, thanks to a distribution deal between the BBC and Disney. “The warmth and authenticity of Bluey’s family dynamic is what first captured our interest in the show,” said Jane Gould, senior vice ...

We all have to move forward. The good news is that Dads4Kids is on the move. Earlier this year, Paul Lassig joined our team as the Dads4Kids Development Manager to take Dads4Kids forward. If we stop moving forward, we get stuck in the past, atrophy and die. It is the same for you and me as fathers. We have to keep challenging ourselves to get better, be more honest, and develop ...

Some time ago, Steve De Keijzer told me a humbling but wonderful experience he had with his 16-year-old daughter. Steve’s daughter had an assignment from school to write a story on a person who had a profound impact on her life. She chose to write about her dad. Steve’s story is printed in full below: “My 16 year-old daughter came home recently and told me of an assignment that she had ...

Some time ago, a young man approached me to see if I would mentor him and his wife on how to raise a great family. I have known this man and his wife for about ten years. He is a very successful businessman who is also active in his local church. In my estimation, he is a great father and a devoted husband. As a matter of fact, I would give ...

Some time ago, I attended a seminar where I was handed a little cellophane bag tied with a blue ribbon, full of unusual goodies with a tag titled ‘Leadership Survival Kit”. I had never received a Leadership Survival Kit before, so I picked it up to have a good look. I like to think of myself as a leader, but more importantly, I want to survive. As a father with five ...

Every child believes his or her dad is a hero. Sadly, this was confirmed in the most horrific way in the tragedy of the recent bushfires. So far, out of the 26 deaths, three were men who gave their life in service for others as volunteers in the Rural Fire Service. Two were fathers, and one was expecting his first child in May. I remember as a child reading commando war ...