Albert Einstein said, “Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the hope they will change. Invariably they are both disappointed.” Einstein acknowledged his failures as a husband and as a father in moments of candour in his private letters. To his credit, this is more than most men will admit to. Thoreau was right to say, “most men lead lives of quiet desperation”. I ...

Last night I came home from a busy day at the office. I walked into the kitchen where my son and daughter-in-law were cooking dinner. I instinctively reached out my hands behind both their backs and rubbed their backs as if to congratulate them for the beautiful dinner we were about to eat. My son did not comment, but my daughter-in-law said, “Do it again! Your friendly back rub made me ...

There is a saying that ‘a good father gets down to his children’s level’. This really came to light recently at my son’s 35th birthday dinner. Even though it was a birthday party for an adult, it was one of the most child-friendly parties I have ever been to. The table was only 400mm high, in a traditional Thai, sit-on-the-floor-and-eat style. In other words, the table’s height suited young children, especially ...

Some time ago, I wrote an article called “Ten Reasons for Eating Together” for the Dads4Kids weekly newsletter to inspire fathers and encourage families. The week after the story went out to 5,000 fathers, I spoke to my wife about the newsletter. I said, “You know, a lot of men are going to start eating more with their families after last week’s newsletter — 10 Reasons for Eating Together, but not ...

‘Fathers Who Dare Win’ is a confronting but captivating title for a great book on how to be a great dad. Ian Grant, the author, was for many years New Zealand’s number one parenting coach. Ian and his wife founded the Parenting Place in 1993. That organisation is now the largest positive parenting charity in New Zealand. The following extract from Fathers Who Dare Win which is about becoming a hero ...

I remember when my teenage sons first played Korn’s music for me. I found it really disturbing. It just wasn’t my kind of music. I had grown up playing blues, rock and reggae on my guitar. I found the music very dark. The discordant riffs were off-putting as were Jonathan Davis growling, sometimes screaming, lyrics. The New York Times said in 1996 that the band was “mad at everyone including themselves”. ...

Only a few days ago, I got a call from the eldest daughter of a dear friend telling me that her Dad had passed way from a heart attack. Ian was at his work, and without any apparent warning, he collapsed and died. He was comparatively young and in good health. After the phone call, I was in a state of shock. We didn’t see each other a lot but we ...

Richard Branson said, “If happiness is the goal – and it should be, then adventures should be top priority.” It is the priority of adventure that makes being out in the bush with a bunch of dads and their kids really exhilarating. Wollondilly River Station, the place for our annual Dads4kids Bush Camp, is set in a deep valley not too far from the famous Wombeyan Caves in the Southern Highlands ...

Counting Crows had a hit in 2002 with Joni Mitchell’s famous song Big Yellow Taxi. Good songs never get old. The line that stands out in the song for me is “all and all it seems to go, but you don’t know what you got till it’s gone”. Such was the case of a good friend of mine, Mick Robbins. We had only met a half a dozen times, but he ...

Eric Clapton sang, “If I could change the world.” Many men dream about changing the world, but very few actually attempt it. Some succeed in bringing change, but is that change healthy, or does it create more problems than it solves? As a student radical, growing up in the late sixties, I believed it was possible to change the world. Of course, when you are young, and want to change the world, ...

The phrase ‘I am Spartacus!’ was taken from the 1960 film Spartacus by Stanley Kubrick. Historically, Spartacus was a slave who trained as a gladiator under oppressive Roman rule, and who led a slave rebellion in 73 BC. He amassed a large army of fellow slaves and led his men to defeat the Roman legion on several occasions. Eventually, the Roman Senate sent Marcus Crassus to put down this rebellion with ...

I have a dream to change the world. Before I tell you what I believe the secret to changing the world is, let me share with you a few other perspectives. The radical feminists have developed a very simple solution to changing the world. They watched which gender was responsible for most of the violence, theft, rape, war and crime in the world. After identifying that the greatest proportion of evil ...

Some time ago a friend invited me to meet the Founder & President of ‘Champions of Honour’, a significant men’s network from the USA. I quickly rearranged my schedule and headed over to Gloria Jean’s Coffee Shop to catch up with Chuck Brewster (Chuck being a shortened term for Charles in American terminology). I must confess that I have a tendency to scepticism for many things that come from America.  My ...

Most weekday mornings Alison and I get up at about 5.40AM, push each other out of bed, and go for our early morning ‘Gym & Fitness Walk Session’, at least that’s what I call it. We walk down to the gym about 2-3 minutes and hold hands as we walk. We work out together and then we take a longer route back to our home all the while holding hands with ...

I can always remember Dr Bruce Robson, Australia’s best-selling fatherhood author, telling the guys at the ‘Good to Great’ Fatherhood Course about Janis Joplin’s father. For those who don’t know her musical history, Janis Joplin was one of the great female vocalists of the late sixties. The movie ‘The Rose’ released in 1979 was based on her life story. Rolling Stone magazine has placed her in the top 30 female vocalists ...

The unknown soldier was buried in the ‘Hall of Memory’, at the Australian War Memorial on 11 November 1993. Twenty-five years and eight days since that solemn occasion we celebrate the life and death of the unknown father on International Men’s Day 19 November 2018. How did this happen? Just last week I received an unexpected video message on my phone from my friend, Rob Day. Video Message from Rob Day ...

We are constantly bombarded about fatherhood and family myths by a media who live by the maxim, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story”. The end result? – the exotic and the statically minor always grab the headlines. The stories of the ordinary fathers who are providing, nurturing and caring for their children and their families are forgotten. What is even worse, fathers are maligned for ...

Let me share with you the story of one of the best decisions I ever made for my family. Travelling around Australia was the dream of a lifetime. When you live out of your heart, you will never regret it.

Dads4Kids has a big goal. The Dads4Kids Board and the team at Dads4Kids want to turn the tide of fatherlessness in our nation. Tonight over a million Australian children will go to sleep in a home that is without their biological father. In the vast majority of situations, it could have been prevented. Many more millions live in a home where their father is disengaged or ineffective, and so they grow ...