In a fast-paced world, our attention is a rare and valuable commodity. Is your marriage suffering from attention deficiency? True confession: some evenings you’ll find us sitting on the couch with the TV playing, and us both on our laptops or other individual devices. We know — it’s not particularly noble and we have a sense of unease with it. But truly, movies and TV simply don’t seem to hold our ...

My soapbox needs an upgrade. Previously I made do with an upturned milk crate. I could – metaphorically – stand atop and crusade. My crusade is usually stirred of a parenting niggle but my audience is sometimes just me. This time around I want to stand a little taller and shout out a little louder. A new soapbox on a grander scale might help or maybe trade up to five milk ...

If you want to be good at something, it’s best to get a coach. The best sportspeople, businesspeople, and musicians in the world usually have coaches, teachers, or guides. They know that to be the best they can be, they need someone to help analyse what they’re doing, find space for improvement, and guide them to it. But many parents go it alone. They figure it out as they go along, ...

A few years back I let go of a muffled swear word after pacing mile after frustrating mile of city blocks with my daughters looking for smart black flats that bucked the trend of imitation tramp. Ever alert to any parental blemish that might be used as evidence against me, my eldest caught my cussing which was supposed to be contained in my head. My potty-mouth shoe-shopping incident has become a ...

It’s too easy to get lost in a whirlwind of teenage emotion and lose your focus as a parent. A lack of confidence and clarity will undermine anyone’s efforts. These six “go-to” strategies are my favourite (most recited) tips for parents. They aren’t new strategies. They are the golden oldies that work! I learnt many of them from experienced parents and grandparents and I hope they help you. 1 – Keep ...

I was told a very inspiring true story recently that I would love to share with you. I only hope I can do this story justice. A lady was told she couldn’t have children, so without trying she found herself pregnant quickly! She was overcome with awe, amazement, wonder, gratitude, love and excitement. So she decided to journal her story. Every day of her miraculous pregnancy and for the first year ...

I am amused by the serious instruction of friends, “Do what you love and what feels right for you.” Their career counselling advice amuses me because they haven’t regarded that what I love and what feels right can sometimes yell wildly at each other in conflict. In the red corner, What-I-Love argues that there are Tassie mountain summits that I am yet to tread. In the blue corner, What-Feels-Right makes the ...

Sexting, pornography, paedophiles and bullying. Too often I find these issues impact teenagers way before parents are even aware of them. That’s why I like to see parents educated and proactive when it comes to keeping their kids safe online. My first key point is this – When it comes to the internet…. Don’t set rules regarding social media use WHEN there is a problem. Set rules BEFORE there is a ...

Some time ago I was busy working in my own office when I heard my wife talking in the next office to a stranger. Being the inquisitive type, I opened my door to shake hands with Bill, who was inspecting the services in our office on behalf of the landlord. Bill, realising he was in the offices of Dads4Kids, started to ply me with questions about parenting. He asked, “How should ...

I am Joy. I am the happy-go-lucky character that sets out to stir my children into happiness when Sadness mopes forlornly into their day. I parent to have my daughters be afflicted with my happy contagion. That was before the Joy character of the Inside Out movie set me to believing that it is okay for Joy and Sadness to sit comfortably together. Joy – the movie character – had her ...

Recently I caught a Diamond Python on my daily prayer walk in the rainforest at Mt Kembla, near where I live in Wollongong, Australia. Someone asked me, “Why did you catch it?” That is a good question. If the truth is to be known, I cannot help myself. I love snakes. Think of it as an unusual addiction. It is part of our Marsh family heritage. It must be embedded in ...

We recently enjoyed a week in New Zealand – about five days with some of our children and then two blessed days on our own. It was like a tonic for our soul and our marriage. Long walks with relaxed afternoons soaking up beautiful vistas and abundant wildlife. One such cheeky local was a Fantail – a small native bird that sashayed its tail and flitted about our feet. This friendly avian accompanied ...

Sometimes on the other side of a wonderful parenting weekend, there is a sense that single parenting is a clock-on-clock-off thing. A full parenting weekend involves the tumble and fun and out of sorts and homework and silliness and around-the-house helping out. Then, it goes quiet when I mentally punch off my dad timecard after wrapping up the school drop-off, knowing that the mum shift starts that afternoon. And, while I ...

No wonder I’m so tired! A UK study found that the average child asks around 300 questions a day. How on earth did our parents ever get by before Google? What made me smile was that the research revealed kids were more likely to ask their mother questions because their father was likely to say, ‘Ask your mother.’ Here are my tips for being the best ‘source of all knowledge’ you ...

Sometimes my weekends are a maddening tussle to make the one-after-the-other events that seem to start flooding our Friday and spill into our Saturday and Sunday. Sport, birthday parties, youth group, housework, homework, school socials all back up, one against the other, to make our dad and daughters time fairly frenetic. Leading into my last weekend with Miss 7 and Miss 12, I knew that my Friday to Monday was going ...

My kids and I were watching a Disney movie recently. In the movie, a dad who was coaching his child’s sports team yelled at his son. After the coaching session, the boy asked his Dad, “Why did you yell at me, but you didn’t yell at all the other kids?” His Dad yelled back in exasperation,  “I don’t care about the other kids.” I was struck by the irony of this ...

Ludwig van Beethoven said, “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.” Ronnie James Dio, a former member of Black Sabbath, said, “Music, rock & roll music especially, is such a generational thing. Each generation must have its own music. I had my own in my generation, you have yours, everyone I know has their own ...

“Inaugurated in 1957, the Australian Father of the Year has been awarded annually to high-profile, famous fathers, from prime ministers and politicians to sportsmen, business leaders, entertainers and musicians acknowledging the support, guidance and love they show to Australian children.” So says Wikipedia. I am not famous or high-profile. The smear-the-opponent style of politics means that I will never go there, and my dad jokes hardly rate as entertainment. A long ...

Silly giggles, 3 am feeds, bedtime cuddles, wiped tears and heart-to-hearts. These are the moments you’ll treasure when your little one is all grown up. I reckon that if anyone ever does invent a time machine, it’ll be a mum. After all, wouldn’t you give everything you own to have one last snuggle with your little one, while they still think you’re the most amazing person they know? Losing Time A ...