Making the most of Mother’s Day is as simple as bringing your A-game, and plenty of back-up. Carrying out a successful Mother’s Day Op. is about coordination, planning, and having the right headspace. Although a cache of cliché gifts suits the nature of the op, they don’t guarantee operational success.   “Be all you can be, and be all there” – so goes my take on the U.S. Army slogan. Alongside ...

If there is one thing that makes motherhood so worth celebrating, it’s a mother’s capacity for love for her children. Whether it’s her willingness to give over her body to nourish a newborn, her patience with the endless ‘but why’ questions of a toddler, or the testing rebellion of a teenager, mothers seem to have a special empathy for the heart of their children. But most mothers will admit that they ...

Divorce courts hate dads. There is no nicer way of saying it. As if the lack of charitable support for fathers separated from their kids wasn’t punishment enough. Partiality towards women in matters of divorce is wounding already-wounded men. Designed to reign in deadbeat dads, the system ends up beating dads who want to stay tuned in, and keep turning up. Family courts, it could be argued, are not in favour ...

As a parent, I make a lot of mistakes. But my kids are gracious to forgive if I’m humble enough to admit my mistakes. Canadian-born Hollywood actress Mary Pickford said: You may make mistakes, but you are not a failure until you start blaming someone else. My Sad Brag – I’ve Made More Mistakes Than You If you’re a parent, you have made more mistakes than you know. Don’t you feel ...

A few years back I let go of a muffled swear word after pacing mile after frustrating mile of city blocks with my daughters looking for smart black flats that bucked the trend of imitation tramp. Ever alert to any parental blemish that might be used as evidence against me, my eldest caught my cussing which was supposed to be contained in my head. My potty-mouth shoe-shopping incident has become a ...

It’s too easy to get lost in a whirlwind of teenage emotion and lose your focus as a parent. A lack of confidence and clarity will undermine anyone’s efforts. These six “go-to” strategies are my favourite (most recited) tips for parents. They aren’t new strategies. They are the golden oldies that work! I learnt many of them from experienced parents and grandparents and I hope they help you. 1 – Keep ...

Bill runs his own business devoted to strengthening the relationship between children and parents. He artfully taps into the desire children and parents have for wholehearted connectedness. Bill simply prompts parents to maintain time and space in the relationship schedule for it to thrive. Bill shares with his parent and child audience various conversation starters to help them to sharpen up their skills to have the hearty conversations that make for ...

I was told a very inspiring true story recently that I would love to share with you. I only hope I can do this story justice. A lady was told she couldn’t have children, so without trying she found herself pregnant quickly! She was overcome with awe, amazement, wonder, gratitude, love and excitement. So she decided to journal her story. Every day of her miraculous pregnancy and for the first year ...

I am amused by the serious instruction of friends, “Do what you love and what feels right for you.” Their career counselling advice amuses me because they haven’t regarded that what I love and what feels right can sometimes yell wildly at each other in conflict. In the red corner, What-I-Love argues that there are Tassie mountain summits that I am yet to tread. In the blue corner, What-Feels-Right makes the ...

The more I pull back from my kids time-wise, the more they pull back from me, physically, mentally and emotionally. I am a firm believer that if you care about someone then you would not let anything stand in the way of spending time with them. – unknown I remember a great speaker and family expert who used to tell a story of a friend who was doing very well financially ...

This year I am grateful that the Easter Bunny won’t be stopping by. The shambolic mess that the break‑and‑enter bunny left last year has left me thankful for a reprieve. There are many things that I celebrate at Easter… family traditions, the ceremony and stories of Easter accounts and the extra holiday time that I am able to share with my beautiful earthly angels. I definitely do not celebrate the intrusion ...

Sexting, pornography, paedophiles and bullying. Too often I find these issues impact teenagers way before parents are even aware of them. That’s why I like to see parents educated and proactive when it comes to keeping their kids safe online. My first key point is this – When it comes to the internet…. Don’t set rules regarding social media use WHEN there is a problem. Set rules BEFORE there is a ...

Some time ago I was busy working in my own office when I heard my wife talking in the next office to a stranger. Being the inquisitive type, I opened my door to shake hands with Bill, who was inspecting the services in our office on behalf of the landlord. Bill, realising he was in the offices of Dads4Kids, started to ply me with questions about parenting. He asked, “How should ...

I am Joy. I am the happy-go-lucky character that sets out to stir my children into happiness when Sadness mopes forlornly into their day. I parent to have my daughters be afflicted with my happy contagion. That was before the Joy character of the Inside Out movie set me to believing that it is okay for Joy and Sadness to sit comfortably together. Joy – the movie character – had her ...

My kids and I were watching a Disney movie recently. In the movie, a dad, who was coaching his child’s sport team, yelled at his son. After the coaching session, the boy asked his Dad, “Why did you yell at me but you didn’t yell at all the other kids?” His Dad yelled back in exasperation, “I don’t care about the other kids.” I was struck by the irony of this ...

Sometimes on the other side of a wonderful parenting weekend, there is a sense that single parenting is a clock-on-clock-off thing. A full parenting weekend involves the tumble and fun and out of sorts and homework and silliness and around-the-house helping out. Then, it goes quiet when I mentally punch off my dad timecard after wrapping up the school drop-off, knowing that the mum shift starts that afternoon. And, while I ...

No wonder I’m so tired! A UK study found that the average child asks around 300 questions a day. How on earth did our parents ever get by before Google? What made me smile was that the research revealed kids were more likely to ask their mother questions because their father was likely to say, ‘Ask your mother.’ Here are my tips for being the best ‘source of all knowledge’ you ...

Sometimes my weekends are a maddening tussle to make the one-after-the-other events that seem to start flooding our Friday and spill into our Saturday and Sunday. Sport, birthday parties, youth group, housework, homework, school socials all back up, one against the other, to make our dad and daughters time fairly frenetic. Leading into my last weekend with Miss 7 and Miss 12, I knew that my Friday to Monday was going ...

My kids and I were watching a Disney movie recently. In the movie, a dad who was coaching his child’s sports team yelled at his son. After the coaching session, the boy asked his Dad, “Why did you yell at me, but you didn’t yell at all the other kids?” His Dad yelled back in exasperation,  “I don’t care about the other kids.” I was struck by the irony of this ...