“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” These are the inspirational words of Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings, written by J.R.R. Tolkien. The fact that Tolkien was one of the biggest-selling adventure authors of all time with 150 million copies sold gives extra credence ...

Why does it seem so hard sometimes to have peace in the house? I have struggled many times over this. We pray every day, try to organise the day and set the course — that is, we the parents. As a father, the head of the household, I should be steering the ship on the course I think we are going — why do we hit so many rocks? We used ...

Believe it or not, any victory for mothers is also a victory for fathers, and ultimately for children. Sall Dover, a new young mother, after protesting on Twitter about the forced use of the Orwellian phrase “birthing parent”, has scored a victory for motherhood. It takes a man and a woman to create a child, and a mother and a father to raise a child. All the social science research shows ...

Who remembers the days of youthful enthusiasm, going to the gym with your mates, endless levels of energy bursting at the seams? Perhaps for the fortunate ones, those days still abound. I recall as a young teenager heading off to the gym, board shorts and singlet — the singlet was a pre-requisite: showed off the muscle definition (or lack thereof in my case) — and water bottle in hand, ready for ...

Fatherhood is a journey full of unforeseeable developments, but if you gather like-minded friends around you who can provide support along the way, and practise humility while learning how to best love and care for your family, you can triumph over the challenges which come your way. “Life is strange with its twists and turns”, is a quote from a famous poem written in 1921 called ‘Don’t Quit’ by Edgar A ...

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 girl is growing up, and I don’t like it! Independence One ...

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 while having a successful career, all at the same time. It ...

I have warm memories of my Dad telling my brother and me stories, each night before we went to sleep. Stories of adventures in faraway lands, strange encounters with tigers and black panthers in the wild jungle. True life snake stories (my favourite) and stories about stockmen and horses in the Australian outback. These stories were always riveting and greatly encouraging. Looking back, I realise that the reason they were ‘warm’ ...

Thoughts have been running through my head about what makes a dad and what makes a father. It isn’t enough for me to sit still on such immense questions. I have even steered some of my dad-mates into the banter with a genuine desire to land a correct answer. “Dad” or “Father”? To me, there is a heartfelt warmth to being a dad. Father sounds more formal, somewhat elusive and too-busy-for-play ...

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

Top Gun: Maverick is smashing box offices, and it’s easy to understand why. The film is spectacularly outpacing its weak-because-they’re-woke counterparts, because the film’s unapologetic dad themes resonate. Alongside the gutsy F-18 camera shots, audiences are in love with the Tom Cruise/Joseph Kosinski sequel because its father-son backstory hits home. Even the, “it’s all flag-waving, MAGA propagandist tripe” critics are applauding the sequel for keeping to the consistency of the first film’s ...

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 Smith for the Dads4Kids podcasts reminded me a lot of Harvey ...

Retired NFL head coach and African-American hall of famer Tony Dungy wants dads kicking dad-goals into the endzone. The 66-year-old author, father of 11 children, and NBC gridiron analyst is also the co-founder of All Pro Dad, a non-profit branch of pro-marriage outreach Family First. In his 2016 hall-of-fame acceptance speech, Dungy (pronounced: Dun-gee) credited his head coach, the late Denny Green, for some of his ‘All Pro Dad’ skills. All-Round ...

I have an affinity with single parents, especially since becoming one myself. My circumstances have created openings to meet some dads whose whole being is put into being a dad. Of course, there are a few dads who ought to lift their game; however, I tend only to mention the dads that do great things because, for me, they are a starting point for what I might achieve. I like to ...

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, his relationships with his three young children had changed completely for ...

Florida’s controversial governor and father of three Ron DeSantis has weighed into the fatherlessness crisis by signing a fatherhood initiative into law. Dubbed the Fatherless Initiative, the core of DeSantis’ HB (House Bill) 7065 is about helping at-risk youth, through ‘mentor programs, education’, as well as ‘one-on-one support to encourage responsible and involved fatherhood in Florida.’ The ex-JAG Republican Governor signed groundbreaking kids’ legislation in April. One of the bill’s principal ...

A week or so back, I received a parenting tips email. The author proposed that I start the school year by getting in touch with my children’s teacher. He said I ought to get to know their teaching style, educational strategies, and understand what is expected of my children this year. I paused to reflect on this time last year and the amazing year that my girls and I formed. It ...

I was asked to share some of my experiences of being a dad. The only reason that I am doing so is that I was the first to say “yes” to the invitation. Your story is as unique as mine. Your tales of being a dad are equally special. Your own feelings about being a proud dad are as genuine as mine and your dad jokes are likely to be just ...

After a divorce, both the mother and the father become single parents. The default assumption in society is that the mother takes on the bulk of the parenting, but our children deserve both parents in their lives as far as possible. Sitting at my desk on Monday morning, I open up my inbox and there I find waiting for me is the Dads4Kids/Fatherhood Foundation newsletter. “You beauty,” I think to myself, ...

“Father Stu” is not a movie for the fainthearted, but with the true story of a man who overcame his trauma and his failures to become a solid spiritual father, it has an inspiring message for us all. I go to movie theatres these days in fear and trembling. I just don’t know if I am going to like what I see. Sometimes it is like buying a ticket in a ...