Related Articles from the News
The Art of Fathering – Butterfly Kisses
Remember when that song first came out, Butterfly Kisses -- the one about the father watching his daughter growing up? How soon the days, the months, and the years go by. My daughter is approaching 10 years old (going on 19). It seems just like yesterday I was kissing my daughter goodbye on her first day of kindergarten. My baby ...
Families – Don’t Open the Door to Secondhand Smoke
Shield your children from the malign effects of tobacco smoke, which can infiltrate all corners of a family home. The stats are shocking. Almost one Queenslander a day will die from inhaling tobacco smoke this year, without ever having smoked a cigarette in their life. The effects of secondhand smoke are so often understated -- and so alarming. Around 3,000 ...
Less is More
We may become overwhelmed by our family responsibilities and job expectations. Recall the adage that less is more, and prioritise your main role, in which you cannot be replaced. “You can’t have it all,” used to be a saying to describe women juggling careers and motherhood. Mothers are caught in the conundrum of trying to be present for their children ...
What Guide Dog Training Taught Me About Raising Kids – Part 4: Distractions
It takes discipline to resist the lure of constant distractions, but it is possible to build good habits in both pups and children which help them stay on track. In this edition of what Guide Puppy Raising taught me about raising kids, our third pup definitely excelled -- in the wrong way. This wonderful pup’s name was Scooter and he ...
Top 5 Things I’ve Learnt Since Becoming a Mum
Being a mum can be a challenging role, but we parents have been entrusted with the vital task of raising the next generation, and it is totally worth it. Here are 5 life lessons about parenting and family life. 1. Tomorrow is a New Day! Cue little red-haired, ringlet-topped Annie singing, “The sun’ll come out tomorrow… so ya gotta hang ...
‘Fatherhood’: Touching, Hilarious Film About a Single Dad
Recently, I was able to catch the 2021 comedy-drama "Fatherhood", starring the irrepressible Kevin Hart of "Jumanji" fame. The film centres on single dad Matt Logelin, left alone with his baby daughter Maddy after Matt’s wife Liz unexpectedly dies following childbirth. It is based on a true story
Relationships Matter: Keys to Be a Good Father & Build a Good Marriage
Harvey MacKay said, “The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your relationships.” MacKay knows a thing or two. Harvey is a very successful businessman, married for over 50 years to his architect wife, with three children and eleven grandchildren. Harvey MacKay has sold over 10 million books about business and building a successful life. Interviewing Steve ...
Three Ways to a Resilient Marriage
We’ve been hearing from many of our SmartLoving leaders around the world looking for help in supporting couples under stress. There’s certainly a lot of stress going around with pandemic-induced changes and uncertainty. It got us reflecting on marital resilience -- the ability of a relationship to endure and persevere through difficulties. There is quite a bit of information on ...
Leading from the Heart
Kevin Allen was a pretty committed father before he did the ‘Good to Great’ Fathering Course. When he completed the course in 2019, he went through a supercharging process in his fathering. I can remember talking with Kevin shortly after he finished the course. He told me at the time that his business bottom line had improved markedly. More importantly, ...
Unity in Couple Decision-Making
Behind every behaviour or decision that you make, is a value -- something that you hold in high esteem and is advanced in some way by the action. For example, making the choice to work back late, may reflect any one of a number of values, such as: having pride in doing a job well, reducing financial debt, avoiding anticipated ...
