My good friend Steve Blizzard sent me this amazing story. It’s Mother’s Day today so it is more than appropriate to share it.  You might be able to help Ryan in his quest. Check out Ryan’s YouTube plea. Kirrily Schwarz article is extremely well written so I will let her tell the story. Ryan Jon has never met his biological mum, but if he ever came face-to-face with her the first ...

You and I have something in common. We were once babies and we each had a mother. Having a baby is hard work. Looking after a baby once you’ve had it is even harder. I have 5 children and my wife has worked very hard looking after them. I wish I could say the same about myself. Dirty nappies, sleepless nights, never ending washing, not to mention the emotional wear and ...

Gordon Dalbey is a well-known writer and leader in the men’s movement. Dalbey is not travelling as much as he used to, but his legacy of wisdom lives on. His first book, Healing the Masculine Soul released in 1988 became a classic in the worldwide men’s movement, much like the poet, Robert Bly’s ground-breaking book, ‘Iron John’ which was released two years later in 1990. Some time ago a good friend ...

We celebrate Anzac Day on the 25 April to celebrate and honour the sacrifice of those who have fought for our country and those who still do.  But what has this got to do with being a father in the 21st century? Well I believe Anzac Day and in particular the story of Gallipoli is significant for us as fathers for many reasons. Let me share just four reasons why it ...

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday and believe it or not, Easter celebrates a man who died a criminal’s death and became the foundation for what are commonly called ‘Australian Values’. When I was a young boy, visiting my grandmother in Edinburgh, Scotland, she used to tease me by saying, “You and your family are descended from convicts.” I deeply resented her comments because as a five year old boy, I did not ...

The goal of Dads4Kids is to turn the tide of fatherlessness in Australia. We believe the best way to do this is to see excellence in fathering become the norm in our nation. In order to do that the culture must be changed. Change is usually enacted by a few. Margaret Mead was right to say, “Never doubt that a few thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it ...

In 2003 the Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation rather prophetically stated,  (See footnote 1.)“The quality of the relationships between mothers and fathers and their children will determine the destiny of Australia.” Convinced that such a statement was true in 2003, the team at Dads4Kids are just as convinced today. Whilst preparing the submission, ‘Healthy Men, Healthy Families, Healthy Nation’ from Dads4Kids for the Senate Committee Inquiry into Men’s Health many years ago. I ...

Albert Einstein once said, “Earth is the insane asylum of the Universe”. Sometimes I think he is right. Bill Leake, the famous cartoonist, would no doubt agree with Albert Einstein. Last Wednesday Bill Leake gave a speech to mark the release of a book of his cartoons called ‘Trigger Warning’. In his speech he lamented the advice an older cartoonist gave him when he was just starting out. “When I met ...

Let me share with you Ten Tips for Dads. The tips are not all my own ideas; this just shows that there is truth to the statement, “There is nothing new under the sun”. I can assure you however that I have practiced all these ideas with varying degrees of success. If you can put all these ideas into practice consistently, you will be a lot better father than I, which ...

Recently I revisited a competition that Dads4Kids held some time ago to get ideas about how to progress Dads4Kids. The thoughts and comments that came in showed profound insight and were deeply moving. Lyle Sims, one of the top three winners of the Dads4Kids Competition observed wisely, “Our young people are the future of our nation. As they go, so goes the nation. Our future is in their hands, their future ...

My wife was annoyed with me because I took too long in the bookshop. It wouldn’t be the first time. Bookshops for me are like entering a time vortex. ‘Joshua’s Long Day’, when the sun stood still, happens every time I enter a bookshop. The problem is that I am the only one in the vortex. The rest of the world moves on. But on that particular day I bought ‘The ...

Editors Note: It is not often I include a guest post on the Justaman blog but Tony Palombi is a great man with a great story and a great family. He shares the pain of growing up in a broken home and the hope within him. Divorce hurts our children. Lets not go there! Children Feel the Pain of Marital Conflict & Divorce My name is Tony Palombi and yes, it’s ...

‘What Children Want Most is a Ban on Divorce, Says Poll’ was a headline in a major UK paper several years ago. The poll question was: “What rules would you make if you ruled the world as King or Queen?” #BanDivorce was the number one request. Nationwide research of children under 10 years of age was carried out by Luton First, sponsors and organisers of National Kids’ Day. Patricia Murchie of ...

I have heard so many men complain to me, “My wife is very high maintenance”. In most cases this statement shows a distinct lack of understanding of the fairer sex. The truth of the matter, from a man’s point of view, is all women are high maintenance. A man’s needs are very simple: food, s*x, sleep. OK, that’s a huge over-simplification, but there’s more truth in it than we care to ...

When you Google ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, the famous song by Paul McCartney, first performed by the Beatles, way back in the sixties, 35 million references come up.  That just shows how influential the Beatles still are today, some 5 decades down the track. I’ll buy you a diamond ring my friend, If it makes you feel alright. I’ll get you anything my friend, If it makes you feel alright, For ...

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 ...