Dr Alex George has shared a heartfelt post in honour of his dad, Anthony, to mark International Men’s Day. The TV star, 30 years old, took to Instagram to mark the occasion and also urged his followers to check in on their male friends’ mental health. Alongside a selfie of himself with his retired police officer father, Alex wrote: “I am super proud of you Dad, you are always there for ...

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 ...

Robert Falzon, a good friend of mine in the men’s movement, asked me to contribute a chapter to his new book called Raising Fathers: Fathering from the Frontline — 12 Men’s Stories. Here is an excerpt from my contribution. It was a fine weather Sunday in this small resort town. The café was full of people having their lunch. No one seemed to recall seeing the young man with blonde hair ...

This week I would like to share an abbreviated article by former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia John Anderson, published in The Australian: “Black lives matter, but dads should matter first”. John’s main thesis is that most of the problems in our society, among both white and black, can be traced back to the Fatherless epidemic sweeping our Western world in particular. My wife and I have spent a lot of ...

John Eldredge said in his bestselling book, Wild at Heart, “A hesitant man is the last thing in the world a woman needs. She needs a lover and a warrior.” I am sure that Chantelle, Mark Rapley’s wife, would agree with John’s prescient quote. This article in the Port Macquarie News tells the story well: Husband’s actions saved her life: woman recovers after shark attack at Shelly Beach. “A woman is ...

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, ...

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 ...

This article is taken from newsletter Number 929. That means that every week since Father’s Day, September 2002, Dads4Kids has sent a newsletter out for 929 weeks in a row to encourage you and all our many readers to be the best dad possible for your children. The goal of Dads4Kids is to equip you, resource you, and challenge you to accept excellence in fathering as the norm, not the exception. ...

We need women. That’s a line that all men can agree on, but not always for the right reasons. Feminism only gained ground in the 1890’s when men became vocal supporters of a woman’s right to vote. In those days, in a court of law, a woman did not have the same rights as a man. Thankfully, this has changed, but as always, the pendulum has swung too far. Now, in ...

Some time ago, a young father sent me this incredible story about David Campbell. David is the son of the iconic Aussie singer Jimmy Barnes. David Campbell happens to be a singer himself, and a co-host on the ‘Today Extra’ show on Channel Nine. Read the full story here. Watch the performance below, of a father and son capturing the raw emotion of this story. If you don’t know anything about ...

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 ...

A man once said to me, “I told my wife I loved her once, why do I have to tell her again?” Maybe that foolhardy statement is one of the reasons many men get irked by Valentine’s Day. I was one of them. Men are headliners, while women are fine print people.  Men say, “Just give me the facts.” Once we have those facts, we don’t like going over old ground. ...

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 ...

“You deserve to be honoured.” These are the words of Senator Pauline Hanson to Australian men in an important speech on the last day of Parliament. Her speech has received effusive praise from men and women around the globe. Moreover, her speech has moved several men to tears!   Natalie Wolfe in The Australian news article, “Pauline Hanson pays tribute to Australian men”, covered this very important but little-mentioned speech in ...

I have always felt that our society is at a tipping point when it comes to the restoration of fatherhood in our society. Part of that is my innate tendency to optimism. For me the glass is always half full. I can remember sharing as the conference organiser in the Main Committee Room of Parliament House at the very first National Strategic Conference on Fatherhood in 2003, saying very much in ...

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. ...

Wow! International Men’s Day has been an outrageous success. I notice that the media around the world has been kinder to men in 2019 than ever before, and this is a really good thing. Thank you for your support of the work of Dads4Kids as we do our best to wave the flag for men and men’s health here in Australia and around the world. Since we first launched the International ...

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 ...

Only 9 more sleeps to International Men’s Day on Tuesday 19 November 2019. International Men’s Day is now celebrated in more than 80 countries worldwide. International Men’s Day is going from strength to strength. The theme for IMD 2019 is “Making a Difference for Men and Boys.” The mission of International Men’s Day this year is to help individuals, families, churches, communities, small businesses and corporations, including NGOs and Government organisations, ...

It is always a great thing when respected leaders take a stand for the male of the species, especially for our young boys. Sadly, the vendetta against men and boys seems to be gathering momentum. ‘Toxic masculinity’ seems to be the buzzword of the moment. In 2000, Christina Hoff Sommers published The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men. In the book, Sommers challenged what she called ...