Stronger Together
This week showed that we really are stronger together. As I wrote in September, no man is an island, and it’s heartening to see both men and women coming together to celebrate and support men and boys.
Mens’ Health Week 2018
My coal mining friend told me a story one day that still sends shivers down my spine. He was working many kilometres underground under the mountains that make up the Wollongong escarpment with his friend a fellow miner. He and his friend had completed a long shift extracting coal from ...
Healthy Dads Healthy Kids
‘Healthy Dads – Healthy Kids’ rolls off the tongue pretty easily. It almost replicates the saying, “He/she’s a chip off the old block”. Researcher Jessica Ball released a research paper for the Public Health Agency of Canada, showing that ‘involved dads’ results in children following positive health outcomes such as ...
Nourishing Relationships Produce a Healthy Community
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 ...
Health for the Long Haul
As I was putting together the Newsletter this week and trying to work out what to talk about in Warwick’s absence, lo and behold an article shows up about the town of Warwick in Southern Queensland, where they’ll be holding a breakfast later this month to talk about men’s health ...
Fathers Living Longer
This week Dads4Kids launches its annual end of financial year ‘Help the Children’ Appeal. One great reason to give to the ‘Help the Children’ Appeal is because Dads4Kids is helping dads live longer than in years gone by. Last year, on 6 November 2014, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) ...
Laughter Medicine for Body & Soul
Being a father carries with it some pretty serious responsibilities. That is why it is so important to learn to laugh, and that’s why we at Dads4Kids publish weekly doses of humour for busy dads. In 1979 Norman Cousins wrote, ‘Anatomy of an Illness (As Perceived by the Patient)’. Cousins ...
Laughter – the Best Medicine
I must be one of the stupidest people I know. Some time ago I was invited to speak at the opening of a local charity called ‘Assist’ run by Brian Pember, a friend of mine. I wrote the address down in my diary when Brian invited me to speak. I ...
Caramello Life
The term ‘Caramello Life’ is coined by fatherhood researcher and advocate Dr Bruce Robinson from Perth, Western Australia. Bruce was nominated for Australian of the Year 2014 and was high in the running, but lost to Adam Goodes, a well known Aboriginal Australian Rules footballer. Being a good friend of ...
The Best Start in Life
As we learned in last week’s newsletter, ‘the Joy & Terror’ of fatherhood, we can experience times as fathers when we are driven to the point of extremity and simply do not know what to do. That is when we must, as MC Hammer once said, “Pray just to make ...
Christmas Street Parties will Help You Live Longer
If you are like me, you care about Australia and you would like to do something to make things better, not only for your children but for the community as a whole. The reality is that in many ways we are more connected than we have ever been through social ...
International Mens’ Day
It is International Men’s Day on Tuesday 19 November. See the promo video and for a laugh check out this funny video put together a few years ago. Celebrate this day in whatever way you can. The theme this year is “Keeping Men and Boys Safe” and the five challenges are: ...
Sex and Politics
Father’s Day really is one of the great days of the year, along with Mother’s Day. Dads should not be afraid to enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame. Whatever you do this Father’s Day, make sure you appreciate your children. They should be the major benefactors of your Dadness, and ...
Sometimes It Just Gets Too Much
Firstly, I would like to thank all of you who contact me; it's your support and kindness that keeps me going. I was out on the town one night this past week. One of our volunteers is a muso, and he and his band were playing a gig in a ...
The Cry of a Single Father
Please read this attached e-mail that I sent to 60 Minutes in an effort to try and get any help or understanding. It is hard to find a reason to go on when even your cry for help is told to be quiet. Dear Sixty Minutes, Please, you have got ...
Men’s Suicide – Tragedy of Our Nation
Today, the Sydney paper carried a story of a well-known identity, Rene Rivkin, who suicided weeks after splitting from his wife of 32 years. It was front-page news in most of the major papers. A local newspaper here carried a similar sad story of death. It was a well-known local ...
Thrive, Not Just Survive
Plan some time out for yourself -- things you enjoy doing, with friends or alone. It maybe off to the sports arena, or the movies, or just a simple lunch at the fish markets. Try inviting some friends over if you can cook, or invite yourself over to some friends. ...
A Tale of Three Cities
A few years ago I was a happily married man -- a beautiful wife, three sons, a home that was well on the way to being paid off, a job, and settled in the community. We had just had our 10-year anniversary -- a night on the town for the ...
The Silent Epidemic: Suicide
In June, 2000, a 44-year-old father experiencing family separation killed himself in the bush in the Victorian Gippsland region. Greg Wilton had a five-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter. This event made national news because Greg Wilton was also a federal parliamentarian. Each year in Australia, more than 2,500 people ...
Who Sank the Boat?
I recently represented the Fatherhood Foundation (Dads4Kids) at a national workshop conducted by the Department of Health and Ageing. Our task was to contribute towards an understanding of suicide amongst men in the 25-44 age group, and to assist in developing a strategic approach to prevention. Some of the discussions ...
