We were interrupted last week by learning about the joy of the journey for both fathers and grandfathers. We learnt the joy of birthdays, birth moments, and ‘having fun with your family’. Surely this was a good interruption, but I would now like to share my Seven Secrets for Success. These seven secrets line up with the goal setting assignment that we discussed for the New Year. Remember, if you aim ...

Recently we attended the birthday of our nine year old twin granddaughters. Family members gathered from east and west. The party atmosphere, with the presence of other young children, was very much a controlled but happy riot. The new trampoline in the back yard added to the festivities.  Interestingly my son and his twin girls can be seen at the 36 second mark in the recent 60 second Dads4kids TV Ad. ...

It seems that we’ve arrived suddenly in 2017! You might well ask where 2016 went? – a very good question. Some probably don’t want to think about 2016 – it’s simply too painful. For others, the treadmill was going so fast you felt as if your feet got burned trying to keep up. Maybe you felt you achieved a lot in 2016, but it wasn’t really what you wanted to achieve. ...

I hate to admit it, but I am probably what Dr John Tickell calls a ‘Type A personality’. One sign of Type A behaviour is the fact that this newsletter has gone out to men all over Australia every week, without fail, for 15 years(thank you Ron). The upside of this is that many, many men are alive today because of this newsletter and the work of Dads4Kids. Many men are ...

We have just celebrated the greatest event in human history, the birth of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ split time in two in more ways than one.  BC and AD and have been a measure of history for almost two thousand years.  We also have the old and new Testaments, not to mention the fact that in ancient antiquity (BC), charitable organisations did not exist.  It was through the early followers of ...

Everyone has their best day of the year. For me it is Christmas which is the day this newsletter comes out – Sunday 25th December 2016. The reason that this is the best day for me is simple. Christmas Day is a time when family collides with Christ in the best possible way. Family and faith – it doesn’t get any better for me! The Christmas Story is all about true ...

Dear Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation, My father died last Sunday 4/3/07 of prostate cancer aged 69. I helped nurse him in last 5 days of his life, staying overnight in hospital with him one night. The pain and agony he suffered must have been excruciating. I am writing this article for two reasons. The first is to urge all men to get themselves regularly checked for prostate cancer (my Dad’s cancer was ...

Charles Dickens’ words could well apply to Christmas for many people here in Australia.  “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…  it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness.” From my point of view Christmas is one of the best times of the year. Christmas is a time for family. Christmas is a time to be happy. Christmas is a time to ...

When we were bringing up our boys in the eighties it was in vogue to suggest that boys and girls are trained to be the sex they represent by people’s expectations and gender manipulations. Almost anyone my age believed it. I carefully watched my own children’s behaviours and realised that I and my generation had believed a lie.  I was both ashamed and angry at the same time. How could I ...

My wife said in a loud voice, “Someone’s got to take Melodie to school, she’s missed the bus”.  I immediately volunteered for a number of reasons.  Firstly, to help my wife who was working to a tight deadline in the office.  Secondly, because I needed to do something en-route to the school anyway.  Thirdly, I figured that it would be a good way to encourage my father/daughter relationship.  Imagine my surprise ...

Many years ago I received a message on the Dads4Kids answering service from a man in the middle of a marriage breakdown. It was a deep cry for help. His voice was quiet and determined and he alluded to the fact that he wanted to take his own life. I knew he was serious so I rang him back and left a message on his phone as he did not answer. ...

We celebrate International Men’s Day on Saturday 19 November 2016, but the next day, on 20 November 2016, we celebrate World Children’s Day. If you ask me which day is the greater I would say the second one because as Roland Leonhardt said, “Children bring us a piece of heaven on earth”. If you don’t trust Roland maybe you might listen to Carl Sandburg words of wisdom when he said, “A ...

What is it about us men? But maybe I am just talking to myself here. So sorry for bringing you into it. I have always had this attitude. It’s called ‘separation of duties’. Sort of like saying to my wife, “You do your job and I will do mine”. My wife only worked for the first three years of our marriage and so we tried to share home duties a bit ...

Many years ago I made a speech with my wife at a function in Parliament House, Canberra on the importance of mothers and fathers. Our goal was to encourage both the Liberal and Labor parties to value equally mothers and fathers after divorce, and not to follow the politically correct line that devalues fathers because of anti-male feminist ideology. The function my wife and I spoke at was the The National ...

Alison and I have always been passionate about having a good marriage and supporting and encouraging marriages everywhere. That passion is not getting weaker but it is getting stronger as we get older. Maybe my main motivation is the pain I experienced from growing up in a divided home: when Mum went her way for many years and Dad went his way. The trouble of course was that my brother and ...

Humour is usually the intersection of reality with the ridiculous. This can take many shapes and forms, but what I have noticed is that really good comedians are usually very good social commentators. I should have realised this the night I was doing a Fatherhood Seminar in Launceston. The title was ‘The Seven Secrets for Success”. I use the acrostic SUCCESS for the Fatherhood Seminar. When I first did this seminar, ...

By Sheila Wray Gregoire http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/2012/07/men-heres-what-i-wish-i-could-say-to-you-about-sex/ Editors Note: This is probably the first time I have ever printed an article on my blog by a woman. But if you want to give advice to men about sex who better to ask than a woman. Only half the article is included so please go to Shelia’s great blog site to get the rest of this very timely information that will guarantee you more ...

Mark Latham, The Daily Telegraph May 31, 2016 12:00am Editors Comment: Mark Latham is a passionate father who does not suffer fools gladly. He is a very adroit commentator and his warning  at the end of the article that we are fighting for the future of civilisation is more than true. WHEN John Maynard Keynes declared “Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some ...

They sell books sometimes at the gym my wife and I go to. The other morning, always on the lookout for books for me, our readers and our grandchildren, my wife excitedly called me across to the gym book table. Look at this, she said, holding up a book of illustrated dad jokes by Katrina Germein called, “My Dad Thinks He’s Funny”. Whenever I say, “I’m hungry,” Dad says, “Hello Hungry. ...

Some time ago I came across a Tim Hawkins’ video on YouTube. Tim Hawkins is a musical comedian with a difference. He made up some very interesting new words to the Green Day song, “Time of Your Life” and renamed it ‘Things You Don’t Say to Your Wife.’ The second verse goes like this: I planned a hunting trip next week on your birthday. I didn’t ask you ‘cause I knew ...