The desire to change other people is natural but it will only lead to frustration. You will enjoy the most success and contentment in life when you focus not on changing people but changing yourself. If only my children were more helpful and cooperative… If only I had a smaller behind and a prettier face… If only they understood me better… If only everyone in this house was more considerate… If ...

Whether you’re toilet-training your kids or just trying to survive an outing to the shopping mall, we all have an embarrassing toilet story to tell! We all have embarrassing stories we’d rather not re-live … right? I have one or two that made my cheeks burn red. Okay, maybe it’s more like half a dozen. A few years ago, my daughter Esther decided to add one more incident to the list. ...

Here are some tips from an experienced mother on how you can succeed in transitioning your toddler from a cot to a bed. This post has been written in collaboration with Sleepmaker This year, Phoebe will be out of a cot and into a bed and I’m not sure how I feel about it because, being my last baby, this will mean this is the last time the cot will be ...

Emily Holleman a writer for The Cut, – part of New York Magazine’s ‘One Great Story’ section – recently condemned bearing children in the age of the “apocalypse,” selfish. As a committed father of five, I was intensely interested in what she had to say. Holleman’s reflection on anxiety and personal loss in a time of uncertainty is the better part of what becomes an environmentalist “sermon”. An autobiographical piece, the ...

Schooling from home may look like homeschooling, but the similarities are only superficial. At a fundamental level, the two are drastically different. Criticising current trends can be like walking into a minefield without a map. One size doesn’t fit all. Despite the assertions of blanket “equality” and blurred distinctions, some distinctions do matter. Everyone is of equal value, but not everyone, nor everything is equal.  For instance, beliefs may align with facts, ...

Have you ever dreamed a dream, had all the steps fall into place and suddenly you’re living your dream and it’s nothing like how you imagined it? Welcome to Parenthood We dream of the baby, but have no idea how that little person will change the rest of our lives. We then have that baby who turns our dream of becoming a mum into a frumpy, financially stretched, sleep-deprived banshee who just ...

I honestly believe that a lot of the struggles with our children have to do with the pressure we put on ourselves. We have set the bar so high that we hate ourselves if we don’t get it ALL done today.

Gardening can be great fun, but it can also be a time to build into the life of your family. The family that gardens together — developing and cultivating God’s creation — grows together. Me and Gardening Horticulture isn’t a strength of mine. Given the choice, I’d side with Bear Grylls over Sir David Attenborough; watch technology, and war history documentaries, over a Monty Don walk through French provincial gardens.  (Nothing ...

Have you ever shared how ridiculous a particular situation is with a friend to find that they think it’s crazy too but their predicament is actually worse than yours and you really have nothing to complain about? That happened to me on the weekend. Lately, I’ve been having little reminders sent in the way of a status from an inspiring blogger to words from a good friend that have slowly reminded ...

I contemplated whether to share a snippet of my “real life” today, but then I thought, that is exactly how other Moms can relate. Acting as if I have it all together is the last thing I want to portray. For those dear Moms in my Bible Study, they have heard me say numerous times: “I do not have it all together, but thankfully I serve a God who does!” These ...

I don’t know how many times I have looked at the clock since becoming a mum and have willed those handles to spin a little faster. There have been many a day when I have wished for nap time to come sooner and for bedtime to be brought forward. I’ve always contemplated why time feels like it goes forever when stopping and playing with kids on the floor, yet when life ...

Tossing up on whether to go with a car that has more seats? Here’s why we chose a 7-seater SUV over a 5-seater sedan.  When I found out I was pregnant with Phoebe, I knew a new car was on the cards for our family. The surprise pregnancy was the catalyst for us making a decision on whether to purchase an SUV or another sedan. The SUV won in the end, ...

The life story of Professor Gregory W. Slayton is a story that is hard to believe. It is the story of how rejection turned into acceptance and led to the creation of a legacy that still looks impossible. You will be inspired and encouraged, guaranteed. Do you know how to be a better dad today? Do you have the 10-tool toolkit needed to make it happen? You can begin to discover ...

It was a sunny Saturday morning; I was dining alfresco at a restaurant on a busy street, casually sipping my coffee, when I noticed a little girl wander past our table and down the street. Her mother was deep in conversation and didn’t notice. I didn’t want to cause alarm by yelling at her to watch her child from across the busy tables, so I walked toward the little girl. She ...

Do you find yourself finishing others’ sentences, pigeonholing people, speaking over them, or multitasking when others are speaking to you? If so, then perhaps it is listening reset time… Would you call yourself a good listener?  Most people would answer positively to that question — but when those who know you are asked that question, will their answer be as positive? From Zero To Listening Hero Real Talk 4 Real Men ...

Dr. Seuss said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This famous children’s book author was certainly across his subject. Here are 10 good reasons why you should read to your children. Hopefully you are inspired. 1. Dads Bring Something Special to the Reading Equation. Harvard-trained Dr Elisabeth Duursma said, “In most families, mothers are the ones ...

There was a time where I was anti-women getting into trades. I was an end-of-third year apprentice, had just finished my Diploma in Fashion Styling and I was about to complete my last block of TAFE for my plumbing apprenticeship. I was over plumbing. Over male tradies. Over male apprentices. I was over having to prove myself when I worked. I was over TAFE teachers who read from the Standards, rather ...

Oprah Winfrey said that you can’t have everything and do everything at the same time. Was she right? Today we unpack work-life balance and ask if it is still possible. And if it is, then how? When the term work-life balance is raised, it usually stirs some sort of emotion in you. There are a few who don’t desire ‘work-life balance’, but on the whole, most men I speak to have ...

Can you be overly protective of your wife and kids? How do you walk the balance between care and responsibility? That is the topic of Real Talk 4 Real Men episode #27. Are you confident that you are preparing your young adults well for handling the responsibilities that come with adulthood? Have you prepared your wife to be able to live well without you, should you suddenly be taken off this ...

Albert Einstein said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein is 100% correct. And that is the exact challenge I felt when I was trying to create our new Dads4Kids TV Community Service Announcement. Although we have done it every year and have done it successfully since 2002, imagining new things is often hard. When you take that into account (we are now ...