In the early sixties, President John F. Kennedy said, “We need men who can dream of things that never were.” His words are still true today, as 92.8% of those who patent new inventions worldwide are men. Yes, the world still needs men today just as much as it ever did. Sadly, we live in an age where manhood is attacked publicly. It grieves me to say this, but to be ...

Dear Friends My friend Dr Bruce Robinson tells a story in his bestselling book, which forms the introduction to Fathering from the Fast Lane. An unforgettable and sad thing happened to me at a restaurant one evening. It illustrates how important it is to know if we, as fathers, are on the right track or not with our children. I was dining with a group of people and was talking to ...

The science shows that families who play together stay together, for more reasons than one. Jim Burns, in his article “Families that Play Together Stay Together”, said, “Playing together is an essential trait of happy, healthy families. Certainly, our children need to do their chores, and of course they need discipline with consistency, but what they also need desperately from their parents is a rousing game of hide-and-seek or a monthly ...

I could have titled this article The amazing things that happen when a father says “sorry”, but having the courage to say sorry and exercise forgiveness will work for anyone: dad, mum, male or female. Some years ago, at my daughter’s engagement party, I had the honour of giving a short speech. Recently I wrote about the fact that “in families, change is the only constant”. What I didn’t tell you ...

We need each other. The saying from Proverbs is true: “As iron sharpens iron, so does a man sharpen the face of his friend.” Robert Louis Stevenson put it this way: “No man is useless while he has a friend.” Dr John Tickell, a specialist in the keys for a long life, talks about the importance of the Ace of Clubs. His thesis is that we all need friends and family, ...

The team at Dads4Kids takes a deep interest in men’s health. Having worked closely with Professor John MacDonald in 2007, we were successful in getting a national Men’s Health Policy across the line in Federal Parliament. Furthermore, we include a complete session on men’s health in every Good to Great Fathering Course because a healthy father is much better than a dead father. Generally speaking, men can be their own worst ...

This week Dads4Kids launches its annual end-of-financial-year Help the Children Appeal. One great reason to give to the Help the Children Appeal is because Dads4Kids is helping dads live longer than in years gone by. Last year, on 1 November 2019, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released an important news item. The ABS reported: “Life expectancy at birth is greater for Australian females than males, however male life expectancy is ...

If you are a Dad, it is hard not to feel a bit overwhelmed at the present moment. The coronavirus news seems to beat down at us from every quarter. Our children and our wives are looking to us for leadership in the midst of our current situation. What is our response to them? Firstly, we need to keep the saw sharp. Who is the saw in this analogy? You are the ...

The coronavirus pandemic really hit home to me when a close friend of mine here in Australia lost his friend and business partner to the virus earlier this week. The father of two left behind two young children and his wife. Thankfully, neither his wife or two children were infected with the virus, nor his two employees. This beautiful family lived in a south-east Asian country only a short distance from ...

What is Dad to do in the middle of a coronavirus epidemic? Firstly, he has to try to analyse the problem and gather information to protect his family, and particularly his children. A great man once said, “The truth will set you free.” What exactly is the Coronavirus? Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle ...

Some time ago, Steve De Keijzer told me a humbling but wonderful experience he had with his 16-year-old daughter. Steve’s daughter had an assignment from school to write a story on a person who had a profound impact on her life. She chose to write about her dad. Steve’s story is printed in full below: “My 16 year-old daughter came home recently and told me of an assignment that she had ...

My friend Tony Miller used to say to me: “We are not human doings — we are human beings.” Timely words for us in the Christmas/New Year season. We all need time off just to learn ‘how to be again’. It is amazing how quickly we can forget the need to have some Holy-days. Days for rest, days to have fun and days just to do nothing. Dr Mike’s Seven Benefits ...

I am fascinated by what people say and think before they leave the planet. Wisdom is sometimes very costly and as you consider the past, you can understand the future better. Dr Bruce Robinson, probably Australia’s bestselling fatherhood author, wrote his book, Fathering from the Fast Lane, because of the words that men told him on their deathbeds. Bruce is a doctor who treats those who have lung and respiratory illnesses. ...

On Tuesday 19 November 2019, we celebrate International Men’s Day. Many people don’t even know that such a day exists. Some years ago, Punch Columnist Richard Fleming wrote an article to celebrate International Women’s Day titled, “Why there is no International Men’s Day”. The opening sentence gives us the foundation for his thesis. “With today being International Women’s Day, there will be millions of men around the world thinking, “This is ...

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 ...

My coal mining friend told me a story one day that still sends shivers down my spine. He was working many kilometres underground under the mountains that make up the Wollongong escarpment with his friend a fellow miner. He and his friend had completed a long shift extracting coal from the depths of the mine. They were travelling in a group in a coal train from the coalface back to the ...

‘Healthy Dads – Healthy Kids’ rolls off the tongue pretty easily. It almost replicates the saying, “He/she’s a chip off the old block”. Researcher  Jessica Ball released a research paper for the Public Health Agency of Canada, showing that ‘involved dads’ results in children following positive health outcomes such as the following: enhanced self confidence fewer accidental and premature deaths less substance abuse less distress greater wellbeing marital stability/happiness less hospital ...

In 2003 the Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation rather prophetically stated,  (See footnote 1.)“The quality of the relationships between mothers and fathers and their children will determine the destiny of Australia.” Convinced that such a statement was true in 2003, the team at Dads4Kids are just as convinced today. Whilst preparing the submission, ‘Healthy Men, Healthy Families, Healthy Nation’ from Dads4Kids for the Senate Committee Inquiry into Men’s Health many years ago. I ...

As I was putting together the Newsletter this week and trying to work out what to talk about in Warwick’s absence, lo and behold an article shows up about the town of Warwick in Southern Queensland, where they’ll be holding a breakfast later this month to talk about men’s health and fatherhood. It must be fated that we look at the issue of men’s health, especially in the lead up to ...

The term ‘Caramello Life’ is coined by fatherhood researcher and advocate Dr Bruce Robinson from Perth, Western Australia. Bruce was nominated for Australian of the Year 2014 and was high in the running, but lost to Adam Goodes, a well known Aboriginal Australian Rules footballer. Being a good friend of Bruce’s, I rang him to ask exactly what he meant by his newly minted term. This is what he said, “When ...