Attentiveness and discipline are keys to listening well. When we take the time to listen to our spouse, we strengthen our relationship like nothing else.
Byron and Francine Pirola
Here are some excellent Australian support groups for men going through the painful process of divorce. No man is an island. By supporting single dads, we also support their children, their new romantic partners and other family members. We all need friends. Robert Louis Stevenson said, “No man is useless while he has a friend”. Sadly, many men feel bereft of friends, especially if they are single dads going through a ...
Warwick Marsh
Fatherless father-of-two Rob Kenney has earned the “internet dad” title after millions tuned into a dad-help YouTube channel he created in April 2020. Kenney’s simple “Dad, How Do I?” vlog now has 3.83 million subscribers with over 18.4 million views. The 58-year-old social media “influencer’s” 30-year-old daughter Kristine Ponten attributes his popularity to COVID-19 lockdowns, stating, “I don’t think it would’ve gone viral in another circumstance. It is definitely pandemic-specific regarding ...
Rod Lampard
How can you best love your spouse? Here are some basics to identify their unique love profile and meet their needs while avoiding potential pitfalls. On a mission to love… Every couple wants to avoid divorce and get along without too many fights. A successful marriage, however, is much more than just this; it is a life-long union in which both husband and wife flourish as individuals and enjoy a deep ...
Byron and Francine Pirola
Basic pointers on how to juggle working from home while parenting your children. Flexibility is key. Most people started working from home with kids during the pandemic and set up a home office of some sort. I’ve worked from home for many years, and most of the time it’s been with kids at home. If you’re in self-isolation, here are my tips on how to navigate working from home. 1. Create ...
Rebecca Senyard
I finally got it all together. Then I forgot where I put it. In my life BC (before children), I had a career based around my impeccable attention to detail. Writing, proofing, editing. Nothing gave me greater pleasure than spotting a typo at 50 paces. I don’t know whether it’s the sleep deprivation, the perpetual noise or the multitude of extra tasks demanding my attention these days but lately… and I’m ...
Annette Spurr
The challenge of being a dad really increases when your only daughter turns ten years old. This happened to me many years ago, but it could be very relevant to you right now. We had four boys, and then my wife got her wish and daddy got his dream. The stork brought a beautiful bouncing baby daughter. She had red hair and a mind of her own, and perhaps at times ...
Warwick Marsh
Life with a baby turns regular activities into entirely new and wonderful experiences. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed. My son, Seth, is now ten weeks old, and so intelligent he’s bound to make a future Prime Minister. (Not that I’m biased!) Recently, I reflected on my experiences during Seth’s birth. A heap has happened since then. He’s grown, developed skills, changed appearance, and I’ve learned there is ...
Darrin Collier
Taking a pause and practising restraint in the midst of conflict allows you to identify how old wounds are being triggered by the current situation, and re-focus in order to resolve the conflict peacefully, repairing the relationship and deepening your love. It happens all the time — one of us does or says something and it triggers a harsh reaction. To break the habit of reactivity, try this mindfulness tool to ...
Byron and Francine Pirola
Field trips bring lasting benefits for fathers and their children, providing life lessons and character-building opportunities. If like me, you were a kid in the 1980s, chances are you remember watching The Waltons. The two-story white house, Mary-Ellen, John-Boy, the sawmill, Ike and the general store; the yellow rumble-seat car, the ‘recipe,’ the Baldwin ladies, and John Walton Snr calling out “Good night, everybody” at the close of every episode. There ...
Rod Lampard
Parenting is a wonderful but also very difficult enterprise. Make sure to take time out for yourself to rest and recuperate from the constant demands. Also, don’t be afraid to seek professional support. Ask for help when you need it — this will help you and your family flourish. Being a mum is the best job in the world! Nurturing and growing our precious offspring, watching with pride and humility as ...
Annette Spurr
I survived COVID, and so will 99.98% of Australians. These are my predictions based on the Australian COVID death rates for the last two years and current projections. Believe me, Australia’s 0.02% death rate is better than most of the world. We have a lot to thank God for. We have prayed extensively for God’s intervention in Australia’s Covid pandemic, and He has answered by sending a relatively milder form of ...
Warwick Marsh
Consistency is crucial in training both pups and kids to develop good habits and reach their full potential, as guide dogs and as human beings. Let me kick this article off by introducing the first pup we raised. His name was Lennox and he was a Golden Retriever. He was a lovable caring boy, who loved having his photo taken and literally going out of his way to smell the flowers ...
Jeff Boundy
One lonely Christmas Eve, a friendly voice saves a single dad from dark thoughts, and he lives another day for his children. All Alone The hook in the ceiling should do the job, I decide, but will it hold my weight? Its only use is to carry pot plants. It looks pretty strong to me, or maybe I would be better off throwing down a heap of those pills I have. ...
Tony Miller
Most of us think of love as that feeling of affection and attachment we experience for another person. But is love just a feeling? Or is there more to it? The Experience of Love Every person experiences love in a unique way. Some gestures of love will more powerfully communicate love to you than others. For example, some people feel close and connected when they can physically touch the other person. ...
Byron and Francine Pirola
Every now and then, a moment comes when someone fires a bolt of truth into the mayhem of modern culture and the repercussions are felt around the world, in a good way! Such a moment was the historic interview by Cathy Newman, an avowed radical feminist, with a mild but firm professor, Jordan Peterson from Canada, a highly intelligent advocate for common sense. The interview has gone viral and is now ...
Warwick Marsh
Here are five affordable yet fun ideas to celebrate the spirit of Valentine’s Day with your beloved all year round. Valentine’s Day is, in many ways, a gap-filling marketing oasis for retailers to cover their bottom lines between Christmas and Easter. We buy into it probably for the same reasons. Valentine’s Day offers time to take a breath between the biggest ecclesial feasts of the year. The grind is back in ...
Rod Lampard
When you are juggling family and work responsibilities at full capacity, is there still room for giving back to your community? Once a month, on a Sunday afternoon, we head out to our ‘connect group’ as part of our church. Connect Group is a group of families that meet together to hang out, talk about life, pray for each other and be a support to each other during a busy season ...
Rebecca Senyard
Even when you are overwhelmed by unforeseen messes, it is possible to choose to laugh at the situation and carry on. It always happens when you’re at your most tired and looking after the kids by yourself. One or multiple children engage in a maddening act that would be enough to make a grown man cry. This happened to me yesterday. It was the end of a very busy patch with ...
Annette Spurr
Counting your blessings by noting down things to be grateful about your spouse, is a wonderful way to transform your perspective and make them feel genuinely appreciated and loved. Yes, it is Valentine’s Day this coming Monday 14 February, and the first thing you are going to say is, this is just commercialised flim-flam, and besides, what has it got to do with Dads? Trust me, celebrating Valentine’s Day is critical ...
Warwick Marsh
An examination of various parenting styles and reflection on our own modes of parenting, can be very beneficial in honing our parenting skills for the sake of our children as they grow and mature under our guidance and discipline. Two of the best parenting styles are ‘democratic’ and ‘authoritative’. The bare-bones definition of the democratic parenting style is, ‘Allowing a fairness and respect to develop between child and parent. It involves ...
Rod Lampard
News
Dads 4 Kids News is for writers to share interesting insights, news, and stories, to encourage dads and their families.
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The opinions of the various writers are not necessarily the opinion of Dads4Kids. Please do your own research and come to your own conclusions. We welcome feedback and if you would like to submit an article for the Daily Dad, please contact the editor at info@dads4kids.org.au
Listening is the Music of Love
Attentiveness and discipline are keys to listening well. When we take the time to listen to our spouse, we strengthen our relationship like nothing else.
Raising Fathers
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. ...
Fathers Matter
This week I would like to share an abbreviated article by former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia John Anderson, published in The Australian: “Black lives matter, but dads should matter first”. John’s main thesis is that most of the problems in our society, among both white and black, can be ...
Creating a Connected Family
"In family life, be completely present," is a saying of Lao Tzu from 600 BC. Here we are now, 2600 years later, and we are still struggling to learn this simple but profound piece of advice. This advice is all the more critical for fathers, and even more critical for ...
The Right and Wrong Way to Raise Children
Two weeks ago, I wrote about “Work Day with Dad”. In the article, I told the story of a number of dads who had changed their children for the better by simply hanging out with them. The act of taking your children to work, or taking time from work to ...
Work Day with Dad
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 ...
Marriage Week & the Secrets to a Good Marriage
“Love is a many-splendored thing” is the title of a popular song from the fifties. Many people would argue the sanity of that song and concur instead with Shakespeare who said, “Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage”! Nobody would disagree with you if you said that our world ...
“Best Daddy” Hits the Big Time
Millions of Australian Dads will hear and see Dads4Kids' Best Daddy musical Community Service Advertisements over the next 12 months. They will be inspired to become who their children already think they are: ‘The Best Dad in the World’. Dads4Kids sees the whole year as a time to strengthen family ...
Fighting for Your Wife
John Eldredge said in his bestselling book, Wild at Heart, “A hesitant man is the last thing in the world a woman needs. She needs a lover and a warrior.” I am sure that Chantelle, Mark Rapley’s wife, would agree with John’s prescient quote. This article in the Port Macquarie ...
The Power of Apology
I could have titled this article The amazing things that happen when a father says “sorry”, but having the courage to say sorry and exercise forgiveness will work for anyone: dad, mum, male or female. Some years ago, at my daughter’s engagement party, I had the honour of giving a ...
Men — We Need Each Other
We need each other. The saying from Proverbs is true: “As iron sharpens iron, so does a man sharpen the face of his friend.” Robert Louis Stevenson put it this way: “No man is useless while he has a friend.” Dr John Tickell, a specialist in the keys for a ...
The Grief of Fatherhood
When my beautiful and only daughter got married, I was reminded of the words of Enid Bagnold, “A father is always making his baby into a little woman, and when she is a woman he turns her back again.” At the time of my daughter’s marriage, I was sharing with ...
Combatting the Coronavirus
The team at Dads4Kids takes a deep interest in men’s health. Having worked closely with Professor John MacDonald in 2007, we were successful in getting a national Men’s Health Policy across the line in Federal Parliament. Furthermore, we include a complete session on men’s health in every Good to Great ...
Strong Hand of Love
This week was an important week for one of my granddaughters. It was her seventh birthday. Her mum took her, and her sisters, horse-riding for a very exciting and fun-filled day. We got invited to the after-party, and it was of course gallons of fun. This granddaughter has 4 sisters, ...
Children Help Us Grow Up
It was 7.30AM Saturday morning. I stumbled out of bed, on my way to the kitchen to get my breakfast cereal, and investigated the living room. There was my son, curled up on the lounge, trying to sleep with his 2-year-old son sitting on top of him and jumping up ...
Jordan Peterson is Back
The New York Times says that Jordan Peterson is “a patriarchal pseudointellectual riding his devilish dark horse into stardom and corrupting everybody in his path, at best an idiot fraud and at worst the most dangerous thinker in the West”. From the point of view of those who hate men, ...
Spiritual Fathers
I can still hear the sound of the prison doors clanking shut as we wheeled the last road case into Kalgoorlie Gaol. It was an eerie sound, and one we were not used to. Our family band was due to give a free concert to the inmates. I will never ...
Next Level
I have organised many events for dads over the years, but last Tuesday’s ‘Dads4Kids Family Webinar’ lifted the bar to the next level. I felt like I got hit by a freight train! I am still trying to process the challenge. Please watch the webinar below to understand what I ...
“Best Daddy”
“Have you seen Best Daddy, Warwick?” This was the short cryptic text I received from my friend Hayden Gillie from Warrnambool. Hayden is the sort of guy who doesn’t say much about something, unless it is really good. I was not disappointed when I watched the Best Daddy music video ...
Children First
Crystal's mother and father had broken up a few months ago and had moved from the family home, each going their own way. The family home was put up for sale. One night, the neighbours were woken by a loud noise that sounded like an explosion. They looked out their ...
Dads 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 1 November 2019, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released an important ...
Two Ways to Live
This article is taken from newsletter Number 929. That means that every week since Father’s Day, September 2002, Dads4Kids has sent a newsletter out for 929 weeks in a row to encourage you and all our many readers to be the best dad possible for your children. The goal of ...
Female Divorce Lawyer Champions Fatherhood
We need women. That’s a line that all men can agree on, but not always for the right reasons. Feminism only gained ground in the 1890’s when men became vocal supporters of a woman’s right to vote. In those days, in a court of law, a woman did not have ...
Daddy-Daughter Duet
Father-daughter duo Mat and Savanna Shaw performed a version of The Prayer on their YouTube channel two months ago, and they could never have imagined what happened next. The musical family went totally viral, earning almost 6 million views on their video. They were both stuck at home because of ...
Celebrating Mothers
We celebrate Mothers next Sunday, 10 May 2020, but do we really celebrate motherhood all year round? Sadly, the reverse is the case. Mothering is regularly maligned and belittled in mainstream media. Oftentimes, mothers are mocked for their sacrificial devotion to their families. If you think I am exaggerating, read ...
Family Lockdown Boogie
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” So wrote Charles Dickens. This could be a description of the current effects of the global pandemic! The coronavirus world lockdown is forcing us together in the most unusual ways. Great pressure produces diamonds! Great pressure can also ...
