Fr Mihoc invites fathers to become “guardians of joy”, showing how everyday moments of fun, presence, and faith-filled love can shape resilient kids and transform the emotional atmosphere of family life.

An American mother went viral after admitting 10 years of “gentle parenting” backfired, leaving her kids anxious and withdrawn—prompting her shift to structured, high-warmth authoritative parenting.

Each week, or more often if you like, make a record of one positive in your marriage or family life. It might be a lovely family celebration, a romantic evening, a spiritual encounter or a memorable nature moment together. It’s a bit like creating a gratitude time capsule.

Teaching our kids self-control is important — showing them how to respect others, handle strong emotions, and prioritise others above themselves. And our actions are even better teachers than our words.

I watched as my toddler's head gently touched the floor. And right on cue, with impeccable timing, she wailed: “I hurt my head!” — before summoning her best crocodile tears.

When I called for men to talk about their mental health, I wasn’t sure what the response would be. But the comments from readers show that many men do want to speak about their emotions, although they feel they are not being heard.

Is our current model of marriage the right one? Is it here to stay? Or will historians one day look back and wonder: What were those neurotic, romantic fools thinking?  

According to research from the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institute, there are four things which drastically increase the chance of a happy marriage, and as a result, greatly diminish the odds of divorce.

Disagreements and tension with our children’s mother can’t help but spill over into how we relate to our kids. Our words and actions (or our inaction) can have powerful consequences for our families and children.

For most men, being a new father ignites some new feelings that don’t really come from any other experiences in life.

The early years are the most dynamic time of life, producing more than a million neural connections each second. For parents or caregivers, this time offers a wonderful opportunity to impact children’s lives.

Babies who have a secure relationship with their father use more coping tactics to entertain themselves during times of separation from parents than other infants who were not securely attached to their father.

I know my sons love me, but I’m preparing myself for the day they say they’d rather live with their Mum because her house is more fun.

Apparently, a strong-willed child (I parent one) needs their soft underbelly affirmed five times for each critique.

This morning, a friend from Canberra forwarded us a reflection on walking called: Keep Moving. It noted that walking was not only good for physical health, but that it is also good for spiritual health. It recalled the many stories of the New Testament where Jesus and/or the disciples were walking, not just physically from one place to another but also spiritually: walking away from the old way towards a new ...

Last night, some scratchy static in my dad subconscious alerted me to go about being a dad with extra care and gentleness. Most parents know of our children’s delicate talent for beckoning us to attention with tantrums, yelled commands and rushing tears. Other times, there is no trumpet that alerts a parent to go softly. I know that the parenting cues can be miniscule. You are forgiven for missing them, and ...

My together time with my daughters makes three people. When we are together, each of us brings our own measure of joy, mellowness, sanity, sorrow, silliness, delight, curiosity, affection, wonder and all the other hurdy-gurdy of emotions. Even though I try to have my dad radar tuned in to the emotions of two daughters, sometimes it can be a tough read. Tuning in and applying the right combination of daddy empathy ...

Outta Puff Daddys (OPD) is a mixed bag of over-40s men from Brighton in the United Kingdom dancing to bridge the gap between masculinity and good mental health. It’s cringe for a good cause. Together as a group since 2012, they started life as a one-off way to encourage their kids. The “Boy Band” now uses dance routines, while capitalising on the comedy of dads on a dancefloor, to stem the ...

Netflix’s recent release, "The Adam Project" (2022), blends the issues surrounding family, identity and morality with swashbuckling fight scenes and the wondrous concept of time travel to produce a (mostly) family-friendly film that is a paean to fatherhood, love and self-sacrifice.

While much in the way of traditional gender roles has shifted in modern times, most women I know still want a man who can be the rock in the relationship. But just what does being the rock entail? I asked this question in the Community, and this is what a few of the men had to say: Jamie said: “To me, that means being mature, guided by reason and my family’s best ...