What makes a good father? Anyone can have children, but not anyone can be a father. So before you claim that "World's Greatest Dad" mug, take a look at some of the criteria that illustrate how to be a good father.

I am intrigued by the university degree – ‘Bachelor of Paternal Application’. A Daddy Degree, if you will, focused on putting papa wisdom into practice.

Last week, I wanted to quit. I have never felt quite so unqualified for a position. Drowning in failure and frustration. Last week was a tough week in my motherhood journey.

Squish will always know the story about her birth mother and will always be free to ask questions about how it all began.

My kids are only 2 and 3 1/2 and, already, their competitive spirit is alive and well. I think it’s important to nurture it in a healthy way and teach them how to use it properly.

It is truly amazing that in this one little life is a personality just bursting to get out, complete with interests and quirks, distastes and dreams, humour and chutzpah, and so much more.

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

One day, I won’t be there to catch them, and I need for them to know how to dust themselves off and keep going.

Here's the thing about adventures: not only are they educational and great fun; they create incredible, never-to-be-forgotten memories that you and your kids will cherish forever.

Boys are more prone to separation anxiety than girls and struggle more with understanding that mama loves them and is coming back. Thus, the genuine, gut-wrenching cries both my boys have subjected me to at bedtime.

Humans were designed for adventure. Boys and men, especially, are hard-wired for it. That’s why each year, Dads4Kids holds a Dads and Kids Fun Camp.

My heart lifts when I see my daughters cradled in healthy conversations with my parenting helpers.

On the school day my children leave my care, I will drop an “I love you” note into their lunch box or a quirky gift from the two-dollar shop.

Our children are, in many ways, strangers in the world of adults. They don’t speak our language particularly well – and we seem to have forgotten how to speak their language as we’ve aged.

Getting Squish to nap regularly is a conscious choice, a discipline. It has me wondering how many parents let their newborns decide their own sleeping patterns and, if so, how much misery it could cause!

I love this article, published by Time, to help parents like me make the most of these short years we have with our kids: "How to Have a Happy Family – 7 Tips Backed by Research".

Courage. It transforms everyday people into unlikely superheroes. We have an amazing 10-week online course for dads called Courageous, starting Tuesday 3 October.

Tap in, tap out. It’s as simple as it sounds — a self-explanatory parenting tip about sharing the many new responsibilities of raising a child.

Sleep deprivation is marriage enemy number one in our book. When sleep-deprived, everything can appear miserable and beyond redemption.

I am grateful for being able to say my well-felt “I love you”, but what of saying the same when I am waiting for my daughters to be in my care?