Looking for motivation to declutter your home? These 6 tips for spring-cleaning your home might help. The holidays have always been the best time to deep-clean the home, which often includes a cull of material possessions. But when you’re forced to isolate at home (as many of us have experienced), the decluttering process may have been done already… or has it? Whenever I read a spring-cleaning post, I get motivated to ...

Loss and grief are naturally part and parcel of our finite lives. This does not make it any easier. How can we teach our children to handle the pain? When my father passed away suddenly, I was quickly forced to understand how a traumatic event can tip a family upsidedown. Not only was I coming to a place of living with my own grief — I also had to be a ...

If there is one thing that takes the edge off our Christmas joy, it’s the pressure of the consumer culture to give better, more unique, and thoughtful presents for an increasing multitude of people. No matter how much we criticise the materialistic values that dominate Christmas, every year, we get sucked into the eleventh-hour madness of shopping till midnight. A New Idea One of our best Christmases as kids was the ...

Despite the pace, there are ways to meet some of the challenges of the holidays. It’s not impossible to rise above the commercialised grind of Christmas. Men don’t have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger in Jingle all the Way, frantically tearing up the town trying to win the approval of his son by chasing down the latest toy fad. Pushing back against the grind can be as easy as picking up tools, ...

“Every day, in a 100 small ways, our children ask, ‘Do you hear me? Do you see me? Do I matter?’ Their behaviour often reflects our response.” These are the wise words from L.R. Knost, a children’s writer and child advocate. Our challenge as Dads is to answer that same question. On Saturday, 11 December, I had to organise an all-day national prayer event on Zoom. I needed some help, so ...

From getting less sleep to talking about poo or having a messy home, there are “new normals” that every parent must adjust to. Here are my five new normals of parenting. What are yours? Amid a conversation about toilet training with another parent, a friend who doesn’t have children walked over to join in. Suddenly we realised that toilet training isn’t something you talk about in front of people without kids. ...

Having fun with your kids sometimes means choosing to join them in their silly activities. The other day my girls emptied shredded paper all over the floor to play with it — so I joined them! On Friday afternoon, I had Phoebe asleep in the swing while Esther and Magdalene were watching a program on TV. I thought it was the perfect time to shred a big pile of paperwork that ...

If your child is angry, neither lashing out or bottling it up is a good idea. Here are eight great anger busters to help your child manage his or her emotions. Your child is yelling, slamming doors and having an all-out tantrum – but can he trust you with his anger? Punishing the behaviours associated with anger might be a quick fix, but without instruction, your child will lose out. National ...

Are you facing conflict in your marriage? Make the first move. Change your mindset, respond with compassion, dwell on the positives. Change begins with you. All changes in our relationships should start with ourselves. It may be comforting to blame our spouse for the inadequacies of our marriage and expect them to change and meet our demands. But this approach is not only ineffective; it is also unloving. The truth is, ...

It’s a simple question, but sometimes it’s hard to get your children to answer it. Here’s what I discovered works when asking my son about his day at school. “How was school?” “Good.” “What did you get up to?” Silence. “Who did you play with?” Silence. My life has come to this. After years of begging my child to be quiet, now I’m pleading with him to talk to me! “You’re ...

The celebration of International Men’s Day is saving men’s lives by the tens of thousands every year that it is celebrated. Read about some of the awesome events that took place this year. International Men’s Day is exploding around the world. So firstly, thank you for your support for Internationals Men’s Day and Dads4Kids. Without your help, we could not have put International Men’s Day (IMD) on the global stage. A ...

International Men’s Day was celebrated on the 19th of November, 2021. Its message was stopping the gender war and bringing men and women together. This theme was a welcome change to the media provocation of the tensions between men and women. For so long, the cultural elites and some strains of feminism (and masculinism) have fuelled the divisions between the sexes instead of bridging the gender divide. Dr John Gray has said, ...

Healthy habits are important when life is busy and stressful. These five simple strategies are almost guaranteed to improve your life and make you a happier person. Are you able to ‘shake it off’ when faced with the stress of looming deadlines, relationship conflicts, family pressures, long work hours and burgeoning household chores? If not, you’re perfectly normal. For many of us, the strains of daily life can quickly take their ...

What is your worst fear as a mother? Mine is losing one of my children — and that’s exactly what happened to me recently! I lost Magdalene at the shops on Monday, and it scared me like nothing else. One moment, she was standing with other children her age watching a playdough show. The next, she was nowhere to be seen, and I panicked. Where could she have gone? Did someone ...

Forget Finding Nemo and Three Men and a Baby. Here are fifteen family-friendly films about dads that dads will actually enjoy watching! 15. Swing Vote (2008) Kevin Costner plays the uninterested, apolitical Bud Johnson. Thanks to the wiles of his daughter, Johnson ends up becoming an election-decider after she votes on his behalf without him knowing.  14. Houseboat & Father Goose This 1958 Cary Grant and Loren classic sees Grant take ...

It happens all the time: one of us does or says something and the other is triggered, reacting harshly. To break the habit of reactivity, try this mindfulness tool to develop the virtue of restraint. While it is often associated with Buddhist meditation, mindfulness has actually been a feature of many religions under different names, including Christianity. It has also become an essential tool in the field of psychology for helping ...

God’s wisdom and plans are greater than ours. It is tempting to chart our children’s lives for them, but even better is when we let God take the wheel – directing our lives and our children’s lives too. Do you already have the “perfect” plan designed for your children’s lives? As parents, I believe this is a particularly difficult area to manoeuvre. Wanting the very best for our children, we can ...

What do your children value? Reflecting on the way children treasure the simplest things can teach us important lessons in life about what we treasure. My girls are obsessed with little bits and pieces. Their bits and pieces might be a compilation of parts from toys, Barbie accessories, bracelets or plastic jewellery. They love anything little. It’s the kind of stuff that I would call junk, but my Esther and Magdalene ...

Can’t sleep? You’re not alone, and you’re also not without hope. Consider these simple, practical strategies to get your sleep habits back on track. Whether it’s your late afternoon latte, noisy neighbours, or just too much on your mind, daytime mayhem often means bedtime bedlam. We work hard to meet our daily commitments, but a lack of quality sleep can play havoc with our bodies and minds. Tiredness can affect our ...

International Men’s Day is more relevant than ever. Celebrating this important day is the key, not just to defending men – but women, children and families as well. In two weeks we will mark International Men’s Day, on Friday 19th November. So why should we celebrate International Men’s Day? The Revolution is Here Ten years ago, its celebration was an optional extra. But today, we are fighting for the very notion ...