My good friend Robert Day sent me a link. He said, “Check out Gavin Topps and his ‘Fight Like a Pro’ Program”. Rob is a Dads4Kids board member. He has worked with men all his life. He knows men. So, I just had to check it out for myself. Below is the challenging call to Manhood from the Gavin Topps Rite of Passage for the Modern Man landing page. “Friend, if ...

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 ...

Editor’s Note: It’s been nearly three months since we were here, but when we last updated the story of dad-life for our author, his wife had just been told that she was pregnant with number two. Life had just gotten down to some sort of order, and everything was about to be turned upside-down, all over again! ___ Agony and Ecstasy: One man’s journey through fatherhood. So, here we go again. ...

Alright then, just sign here and you can take him home. Home? Taking him home? And not just him, but my wonderful and rather tired and sore wife. There’s a lot involved in taking your baby home from hospital. You’ve got to have somewhere for them to sit in the car, somewhere for them to sleep at home, and a decent supply of nappies, cloths, creams, and so forth. We had ...

What on earth do I do now? That’s the thought that went through my head. I held my newborn son in my arms, I looked down into his eyes, and in him I saw someone who would be completely reliant on my wife and me for his every need, someone who I could build up or break down by my words and actions, and someone who would love me regardless of ...

Fatherhood; it’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times. Sorry Charles Dickens for stealing your thunder, but it’s true. Being a dad is one of the most wonderful things to ever happen to me, as well as one of the most terrifying. I’ve been a father for 11 years now, which is long enough to be able to reflect somewhat on the journey so far, and also long enough ...

The Dad Dilemma is the title of an article in The Age about the challenges of child birth. Thea O’Connor, the writer, says, “Most Australian men are present and active at the birth of their children. But not everyone believes this is a good thing.” Having been present for the births of my five children, I quickly asked my wife for her opinion. She matter-of-factly stated, “You helped make the baby, ...

It has been a big week for royal babies. On Monday 22 July 2013, at 4.24pm Prince William and Princess Kate had a son, George Alexander Louis, whose destiny may well be the future King of England. On Sunday 21 July 2013, at 7.08pm my son and daughter-in-law had a baby girl, Annabelle Daisy Marsh, a true princess in every sense of the word. As Paul Harvey said, “Fathers are what ...

It is nearly forty years ago since the first known father, an Australian, applied for legal custody of a baby girl and was subsequently granted legal custody of his baby daughter by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Though this father was granted legal custody of his baby daughter by the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the Department of Community Welfare and the Department of Social Security of the ...

I was 27 years old when, on my first day of teaching, I was presented with a class full of ten-year-old children. I remember thinking that I hadn’t seen or spoken to a ten-year-old since I was ten. I felt equally inadequate a few years later when I was handed my firstborn child. My knowledge of what was required of me was limited to an understanding that this creature was a ...