What is a responsibility? What is the male responsible for? What is the guiding force in determining any of the above? Those are some tough questions.

This article by Christian Jurinka, "Driving With Dad", brought back some happy memories. Like Christian's, my dad let me steer the car while seated next to him. I was only 12 years of age. I felt so proud. In some ways, it was the rite of passage ceremony I never had, but desperately needed.

Jason Smith and his wife Paulina, in their Purposeful Parenting scheme, have designed various rites of passage for their teen children centering on fun, responsibility and service as they mature into adulthood. Read on to glean some ideas about how to shape your teen's destiny with such memorable moments.

3 June is World Bicycle Day. Bicycling is fun, it’s economical, and it’s healthy. It’s an ecological pastime the whole family can enjoy. And if we pay attention, riding a bicycle can provide some lessons for everyday life.

2018 was a breakthrough year for me. The preceding few years had been particularly difficult, thanks to some bad decisions on my part, both in business and in my relationships. Looking back, I had fallen into passivity and failed to see the warning signs around me. Even when I was paying attention, I was slow to take action, and came close to losing my marriage and everything I had worked for. ...

The phone rang. It was my Dad, the one and only Warwick Marsh. “Hey Nat, do you want to interview a friend of mine from Kansas City?” “Sure, tell me more!” was my quick response, as Dad knows I love meeting and interviewing people. Dad continued, “Dean Briggs is His name. He’s a big deal in the global prayer movement, and has written a book called Brave Quest.” Sounded interesting to ...

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 ...

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 ...

Robert Falzon, a good friend of mine in the men’s movement, asked me to contribute a chapter to his new book called Raising Fathers: Fathering from the Frontline — 12 Men’s Stories. Here is an excerpt from my contribution. It was a fine weather Sunday in this small resort town. The café was full of people having their lunch. No one seemed to recall seeing the young man with blonde hair ...

I once went to a men’s breakfast where Paul Bartlett, then a father of young children, was speaking about the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. He told the story of how, once a month, his dad, who was in a high-pressure management job, used to take him to the Saturday markets at Campbelltown, west of Sydney. Paul used to look forward to this time with his father, ...

Some time ago, a young man approached me to see if I would mentor him and his wife on how to raise a great family. I have known this man and his wife for about ten years. He is a very successful businessman who is also active in his local church. In my estimation, he is a great father and a devoted husband. As a matter of fact, I would give ...

There is a lot of talk these days about creating safe spaces. Mostly for minority groups who feel victimised. A lot of this discussion is dribble, but at times there is a case for such a cause. Some minority groups do need a place where they can feel safe and be able to express their emotions and feelings, and be affirmed in the process. Interestingly the largest minority group currently on ...

In our day we face shortages of all types: water shortages, skill shortages, food shortages, housing shortages and now the approaching threat of power shortages. None of these shortages is as dire as the shortage of manhood. Feminist author Betty McLellan published a book called, ‘Help I’m Living with a Man Boy’. Translated into 15 different languages it became an instant best seller. We can complain all we like about our ...

“A merry heart does good like a medicine,” is a quote from the Book of Proverbs that is backed up by all the modern sciences. Raising a family can be exasperating beyond belief. That is why the team behind Dads4Kids believe you must never lose your sense of humour. I have often said that Dads must be the laugh leaders in my weekly Dads4Kids newsletters. To drive that point home, let ...

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men”, are the insightful words of Frederick Douglass. These words are very relevant to our mission to support and help men. International Men’s Day on the 19 November is now only 22 sleeps away. The team at Dads4Kids are proud to announce the release of the new IMD website celebrating this year’s theme of ‘Positive Male Role Models’. See our ...

Today we give you advance notice of an exciting development with Dads4Kids. As a faithful reader/subscriber to the weekly blog we also want to give you access to a very special introductory offer, but more about that later. Courageous Online Fathering Course promo The Courageous Online Fathering Course is being officially released today, Sunday 23 September 2018. The team at Dads4Kids has been working on the Courageous Online Fathering Course for ...

Charles Chestnutt said, “The workings of the human heart are the profoundest mystery of the universe. One moment they make us despair of our kind, and the next we see in them the reflection of the divine image”. These words are probably an apt description of the new cinematic story/documentary called the ‘Heart of Man’ that can be seen in Australian cinemas this coming Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 June. ‘Heart ...

Dads4Kids has been running leadership summits now for many years. I am constantly surprised at how effective such gatherings are at empowering men to change. I remember the phone call I got from an employer of one of the men, a week after one of our early Men & Father’s Leadership Summits. His first words on the phone were rather dramatic. “What did you do to my employee?” It was almost ...

If there is one thing I am passionate about it is dads connecting with their children for the purpose of transitioning into manhood and or womanhood. This ceremony is often called a rite of passage but it could just as easily be called a celebration of womanhood or a celebration of manhood. The Jews, in their culture, call it a ‘bar mitzvah’ for boys and a ‘bat mitzvah’ for girls. This ...

Editors Note: This brilliant  Article by one of Australia’s most highly regarded political journalists Paul Kelly Arguing the Good Effect of Christian Faith & Lamenting its loss appeared in the weekend edition of our Nation’s premier National newspaper on the 8th July 2017. I record it out here for your further interest. Blessed be the egoistic individuals By Paul Kelly http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/blessed-be-the-egoistic-individuals/news-story/49de39a232f038a03100cb967a4f4967 In the litany of words about the census the core ...