“Inaugurated in 1957, the Australian Father of the Year has been awarded annually to high-profile, famous fathers, from prime ministers and politicians to sportsmen, business leaders, entertainers and musicians acknowledging the support, guidance and love they show to Australian children.” So says Wikipedia. I am not famous or high-profile. The smear-the-opponent style of politics means that I will never go there, and my dad jokes hardly rate as entertainment. A long ...

A few weeks ago, on an impulse and wanting to share a snapshot of my post-separation status, I wrote a part-whimsical, part-serious piece about the worst parts of being a single dad. By implication, if some parts are worst, then there must be some best bits, says my cerebral dialogue. Voice Number One says the best bit is simply being a dad. Voice Number One ignores the “single” tag and just ...

Family law expert Patrick Parkinson says Labor’s proposal to amend the Family Law Act is a radical change that will take Australia back to when mothers were granted primacy in custody battles. The results for dads will be devastating.

A thousand words are said to be sparked by a single image. While smartphones, Insta-perfect apps, and polished pics have superseded canvas, brush strokes, oil, and acrylic, there’s still a lot of love for the latter. Millions are paid out every year just for a chance to own a framed part of history. It doesn’t take a smug, over-educated curator “specialising in the sublime” to point out the value this window ...

“No man is useless while he has a friend,” are the wise words of Robert Louis Stevenson. The poet John Donne said it this way, “No man is an island.” The bottom line is MEN — we need each other. Better still, we need friends for both the short term and long term. More importantly, we need to choose them wisely. Brad Stulberg is an author and high-level performance coach at ...

American Bald Eagles usually mate for life. Living between 20-30 years in the wild, the main mascots of the United States since 1782 also share traditional parenting roles. Thanks to modern tech, researchers have gathered more knowledge about this North American icon’s parenting skills, much of which comes from a platoon of Live Eagle Cams made available by conservationist groups. (Slight segue: These Eagle Cams are a great idea for a ...

One of my happiest childhood memories is snuggling in bed with mum or dad each night as they read to me. It was these moments that instilled in me a lifelong love of reading. It’s still one of my absolute favourite things to do, even though it’s a rare treat for me these days. What I didn’t realise back then was that this simple habit gave me so much more than ...

Did you know that in the first 18 years of your child’s life, 7.1 years will be spent in school? Over one-third of the days you have with your child until they go to university or leave school to go to work will be spent going to school. Your child’s education is important and every year counts.  For my five children, that often meant different schools for different needs, including private ...

Elvis was no deadbeat dad. By all accounts, his biggest struggle as a father was balancing a high-powered, high-profile career with the dad life. Regardless of Elvis’ tortuous ambition, fame, and massive fortune, his daughter, the late Lisa Marie Presley, was, without a doubt, the light of his chaotic life. Through Presley’s parlays with women, sex-symbol status, separation in 1971, and divorce in 1973, the love Elvis had for his daughter ...

Toileting is pitiful in a onesie! And so, they are not the usual garb of this practical single dad, but for a social experiment that I crafted to play out. I cannot conceive that a bedtime costume as impractical as a onesie would ever be engineered for anything more than a practical joke. I imagine the pyjama design team in the boardroom some Friday (after a way-too-long lunch) being more than ...

Research reveals the amazing science behind creating a strong, lasting bond between parent and child, helping the child develop into a secure, well-rounded and independent person. “I think it should be cool to be a good partner, a good spouse, a good father… If I’m one of the people who helps make that cooler, I think that’s great,” are the prescient words of mega-selling recording artist, John Legend. John is right, ...

A new children’s book examines the mystery of suffering and pain. Exquisitely illustrated, it is an excellent tool for parents to discuss this big question with their children, mentally preparing them for the travails of life. “Life is hard, but we make it harder,” said Ryan Holiday. True words. If we refuse to accept that truth, we make it harder for ourselves and our children. Especially if we don’t tell them ...

The words and gestures you use have the power to either lift people up or bring them down. Choose wisely, especially in your daily interactions with your family. Yesterday I went to get my watch battery replaced at the local shopping centre’s Mr Repairman Service and received a surprise. The man who served me did a great job. He had 18 years’ experience. You could tell he really knew his job. ...

It can be tempting to pursue fulfilment and accolades at work, but you are irreplaceable in your family — a conscious decision to put them first will reap the most precious rewards. Wisdom is usually discovered in retrospect. Such is the case with me anyway. I usually stumble into wisdom, and therefore can take no recognition for it. My one strength is that I pray a lot, so providence must take ...

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help a hero dad fix the family’s damaged truck and cover time off work after a carjacking incident. On 30 November around 8:40 pm, Derek Gotchie and his family were delivering seasonal gifts to friends when their SUV, with his kids inside, was stolen. The four kids, all under the age of five, we left in the family car in order to keep ...

“Children need your presence more than they need your presents,” are the wise words of Jesse Jackson. Both Dads and kids need a purpose to develop the art of presence. To assist you in this art, we have gathered together 40 things that Dads can do with their children. This is particularly relevant over holiday periods. Almost 80% of them don’t require any money, but they do require effort and execution. ...

I hold a lofty ideal for my daughters. Lofty and simple. I want them to be sure in believing that they are wholesome people of value, who can tend generously to others and themselves. If I am doing well as a mindful dad, then I am setting my daughters up to be caring companions to friend, family and foreigner. As they develop the skills to rely less on me and fend ...

I’m usually a lot better prepared for Christmas. Not this year. This year, the week to trump all weeks caught us off-guard. We missed a beat or two in preparation for the only few weeks capable of slowing down the Western world. The weeks that remind the Scrooges and time-poor alike that life is more than hyper-consumerism and a dreary, soul-sucking 8-5 existence. A rushed Christmas is not really Christmas at ...

Joe is a mate of mine. “Mate” hardly describes our connection, yet the sporadic contact belies a relationship that holds strong meaning for me. Joe is pretty much anonymous to most, but that is of his own making. He is humble at a time when indulgence and opulence seemed to be currency. For a long time, he struggled as an artisan. Other carpentry shops that ran slave labour gazumped the hand-crafted ...

Psychologist and renowned speaker Dr Jordan Peterson has some home truths for parents. Parenting is certainly challenging, but it is a tremendous privilege and responsibility that should not be subsumed by competing priorities. Bette Davis said, “If you have never been hated by your children, you haven’t been a parent.” She is correct; being a parent is tough. Being a dad is even harder, because the buck stops with Dad! My ...