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 ...

On Father’s Day Sunday 1 September 2002, we launched the very first Dads4Kids weekly newsletter for men. Sign Up Here. We have not missed a Sunday since. It is up to eight hundred and ninety-nine issues later, and no, I am not counting. Let me share the reflection from the very first newsletter. I believe the greatest thing a father can do for his children is to love his wife. Love ...

Modern gender experts try to tell us that men and women are the same. They tell us that being a man, or a woman, is actually just a social construct. They also tell us that men and women can change their gender at any time. Facebook, in their infinite wisdom, offer 71 gender options. All of this is utter nonsense and would be farcical, except that people actually believe this sort ...

My wife got me a book for Father’s Day called “Dear Dad”. It is a collection of letters to fathers, edited by Samuel Johnson OAM. The description on the back cover says, “A heartfelt, honest and very human book of letters that will make you smile and make you cry. It is the perfect gift for the Dad in your life. A reminder to say how you feel before it’s too ...

As Father’s Day is just around the corner, we are excited to be releasing our ‘Your Child Needs You’ Dads4Kids TV and Community Service Announcements. Already Channel 7 nationally has said yes, as well as community channels, Imparja, and Australian Christian Channel. We expect that all the commercial regional stations will play it, and are hoping that Channel 9 will say yes, as it has done before. Unfortunately, Metro 10 is ...

There is a lot of talk these days about creating safe spaces. Mostly for minority groups who feel victimised. A lot of this discussion is dribble, but at times there is a case for such a cause. Some minority groups do need a place where they can feel safe and be able to express their emotions and feelings, and be affirmed in the process. Interestingly the largest minority group currently on ...

Fathers and mothers each bring different qualities to parenting. Fathers can’t mother, and mothers can’t father. That is why both parents are so important to a healthy upbringing. Being a parent is all about working towards redundancy. In other words, there will come a time when your children will be able to stand on their own two feet. Eagles do it with their chicks that don’t want to leave the nest. ...

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 ...

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 ...

In our day we face shortages of all types: water shortages, skill shortages, food shortages, housing shortages and now the approaching threat of power shortages. None of these shortages is as dire as the shortage of manhood. Feminist author Betty McLellan published a book called, ‘Help I’m Living with a Man Boy’. Translated into 15 different languages it became an instant best seller. We can complain all we like about our ...

Some time ago Jeff Stacey, from my men’s group, gave me a copy of Wayne Bennett’s autobiography, Man in the Mirror. I was overjoyed. I have long been an admirer of Wayne Bennett, widely regarded as Australia’s greatest Rugby League Coach of all time. The Bronco’s football team which he coached for 21 years straight won six premierships. Wayne Bennett then coached the St George-Illawarra Dragons to their first victory in ...