“Can you help me?” These were the words I first heard when I picked up the phone. “I can’t see my kids and I don’t know what to do. I feel like giving up and I am thinking about killing myself to shut off the pain.” The matter-of-fact way he said these words told me that this was no veiled threat, but a carefully considered option. Men don’t usually tell you ...

This Father’s Day will be different again. Border closures and social distancing rules have made it harder to socialise locally. These home-delivered Father’s Day gifts will help us love our dads from afar and make them feel appreciated, even if we can’t be there in person. Supporting local shops and Australian-made products is going to benefit our local economy. If you’re at a loss on what to send your dad via ...

Do you struggle with behaviours that you can’t change, and can’t understand where they come from? Or perhaps you still harbour guilt and shame, or blame yourself for not having a father in your life? The impacts of being fatherless at some key point in our lives can have devastating consequences that we might not even be aware of. Listen to Jack Thurston’s story and his proven solutions to the impacts ...

Rod Lampard, father of five, says in a recent article in the Daily Dad, “Technology is a tool, not a toy. It’s a horrible baby-sitter. A terrible master. Tech is no substitute for hands-on, old-school dad and mum counsel, comfort and conviction.” That sums up my feelings exactly. For many years of my younger life, we did not have a TV in the house. Looking back, it was a good thing. ...

Video games can be great bond-builders. With the demise of couch co-op, options for split-screen adventures are few and far between. Computer games are not the community-building tool they once were. Companies like DICE, EA and even Mojang followed the Silicon Valley maximum profit trend by limiting customisable consumer options. Buy an Apple product, for example, and they lock you into paying for their expensive branded accessories. Console-makers, game developers and ...

Sometimes I find myself wondering what it would be like if he were here now. I’d like to make a place for him at our table for Christmas lunch, like I do for Mum and other family and friends. I’d like to serve him and make up the spare room in our home. I’d like him to see what I’ve become. I was a skinny, pimply, constantly awkward teenager when he ...

What are the life skills that you need through life’s journey? Guy & Chris reflect on this in episode #58. As you are journeying through life, are you continuing to build the life skills that underpin your growing maturity and success through life, or will you revel in being both ignorant and arrogant? Life Skills for Life’s Journey In episode 58 of Real Talk for Real Men, Chris and Guy encourage ...

Not all TV dads are the same. Take examples like Tim Allen’s sharp-witted Mike Baxter, and contrast him with Matt Groening’s, feckless Homer Simpson. Forget for a moment that we’re talking about cartoon vs. human. In any greatest-dad-of-all-time celebrity boxing match, we know Baxter would win. The outdoor man vs. the “Duff” guzzling, obese, inattentive, drooling, lounge lizard. A father with strength, humility, and a no-nonsense embrace of free speech, up ...

Dad-life involves both being and doing. In a word, fatherhood is a vocation. The Latin equivalent is vocare — “to call.” Dad-life is therefore a “calling.” It’s much more than just another job. For sure, fatherhood is full-time work. We’re required to be on the scene until the good Lord retires us. This will mean being waste-deep in the complexity of relationships. Wading through life’s trenches carrying responsibility and commitment, regardless ...

It’s always fascinating reading about what other people have accomplished in life. Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, was the richest man in America when he died in 1992 at the age of 74. He started Walmart in 1962, so in forty years he had revolutionised retailing in America, received the Medal of Freedom and built the foundation of the soon-to-be-named biggest company in the world. Whatever you think of Walmart ...

In part 4 of Thriving Through Change, Guy and Chris continue the discussion on how to cope with change. In this episode, Guy explains the 4-part Hudson change model for understanding where you are at in the change cycle. Ever been chasing a dream, a big goal, a vision, but then become disillusioned with the whole thing? Things you assumed were constant are now being questioned? Can see change coming, and ...

Some days, being a mother is just plain hard. Today was one of those days. I promised to take my boys to play mini golf. Secretly, I was looking forward to it more than they were! I’d been wanting to try out this place for months and finally the day had arrived but… My youngest was in a bad mood all morning; he threw a tantrum because there wasn’t enough honey ...

There is a truckload of parenting advice on how to fathers can make more time for their families. This is especially the case for new fathers and fathers-to-be. Dragging ourselves through chapter after chapter of self-help drudgery, only to be told how much we’re not doing, and how much more we need to be doing, can be a soul-sucking experience. What’s offered as help to maximise time — nearly always with ...

Sometimes parents can feel a little helpless when anything they do makes their child’s tantrum worse. Below, Jess Mannion sheds light on how we can respond to kids’ tantrums in her blog post titled, ‘Public Tantrums – How To Remain The Parent’. We have all been there. As our children get older, theoretically the tantrums get easier to deal with — we can explain things more, empathise with how upset they ...

As the cold weather sets in, it’s vital to give your mind and body a boost to improve overall mood and wellbeing. 1. Centre in on your diet. Fill your plate with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables to give your body adequate nutrition and vitamins to increase energy levels throughout the winter months. A nutritious diet, along with drinking plenty of water, will ensure your immune system stays strong to help ...

Dads, investing in your teenage daughter is an investment that will deliver positive returns for decades — perhaps even for eternity. One way you can invest in her is to affirm her as a valuable young woman — just for who she is. Guy recently took up the challenge to invest in one of his teenage daughters on a Fathering Adventure to tropical North Queensland. Find out why, how and the ...

Help comes from the most unexpected places in the most unexpected ways. This has been the case since the beginning of Dads4Kids in 2002. My wife and I have been truly humbled by the amazing support Dads4Kids has received over that time. When we started Dads4Kids there was a desperate need to see positive change for men and fathers. Thankfully, we saw significant support from conservative liberal parliamentarians too numerous to ...

Mother, according to a well-known online encyclopedia, is: “A female parent of a child. Mothers are women who inhabit or perform the role of bearing some relation to their children, who may or may not be their biological offspring.” A mother, from the point of view of Wikipedia, sounds so perfectly neat and precise in definition. If only there was a textbook that was as neat and precise that could explain ...

Arguably, the most intelligent thing any real man should be doing is caring for his wife. In this short post, Guy outlines 7 easy things you can do today to love your wife and improve your life. I’ve heard it said that a man’s wife is his glory.  Another version often stated is “happy wife, happy life”. Proverbs 12:4a outlines it a slightly different way: “A virtuous [or in some translations: ...

Gratitude now has a voice. We as fathers need to be encouraged to be thankful, so we can encourage our children to be the same. Thankful people are happy people. Thankful families are happy families. I even try to teach this to myself, but some things are better caught than taught! When my friend Mark Powell sent me the video below, I nearly leapt out of my skin with excitement. Mark ...