One of my most favourite things of all time is when one or both of our boys have a day out with dad. Partly because it means I get a day out with myself that usually consists chocolate, girly movies and/or pampering, but also because I notice a distinct difference in my boys every time they return. As if they’ve grown up a little bit, and for the next few days, ...

“Can you help me?” These were the words I first heard when I picked up the phone. “I can’t see my kids and I don’t know what to do. I feel like giving up and I am thinking about killing myself to shut off the pain.” The matter-of-fact way he said these words told me that this was no veiled threat, but a carefully considered option. Men don’t usually tell you ...

Avoid “good cop, bad cop” parenting as much as possible. In fact, ditch it altogether. A system that elevates mums over dads, or dads over mums, doesn’t work. Good cop, bad cop parenting’s long-term costs negate any short-term benefits. The system is a recipe for favouritism, resentment and parental neglect. Potentially even divorce. Good cop, bad cop is a poor metaphor for parenting. It’s even worse as an instruction manual for ...

Do you struggle with behaviours that you can’t change, and can’t understand where they come from? Or perhaps you still harbour guilt and shame, or blame yourself for not having a father in your life? The impacts of being fatherless at some key point in our lives can have devastating consequences that we might not even be aware of. Listen to Jack Thurston’s story and his proven solutions to the impacts ...

Listen to author Annette Spurr’s interview with Focus on the Family Australia here. ‘While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.’ ~ Angela Schwindt Nothing can truly prepare you for parenthood. The tears and tantrums, toilet training, sleepless nights, the worry that you’re not doing it right, or the indescribable love that changes everything. As soon as I found out ...

Rod Lampard, father of five, says in a recent article in the Daily Dad, “Technology is a tool, not a toy. It’s a horrible baby-sitter. A terrible master. Tech is no substitute for hands-on, old-school dad and mum counsel, comfort and conviction.” That sums up my feelings exactly. For many years of my younger life, we did not have a TV in the house. Looking back, it was a good thing. ...

Video games can be great bond-builders. With the demise of couch co-op, options for split-screen adventures are few and far between. Computer games are not the community-building tool they once were. Companies like DICE, EA and even Mojang followed the Silicon Valley maximum profit trend by limiting customisable consumer options. Buy an Apple product, for example, and they lock you into paying for their expensive branded accessories. Console-makers, game developers and ...

Not all TV dads are the same. Take examples like Tim Allen’s sharp-witted Mike Baxter, and contrast him with Matt Groening’s, feckless Homer Simpson. Forget for a moment that we’re talking about cartoon vs. human. In any greatest-dad-of-all-time celebrity boxing match, we know Baxter would win. The outdoor man vs. the “Duff” guzzling, obese, inattentive, drooling, lounge lizard. A father with strength, humility, and a no-nonsense embrace of free speech, up ...

So, my eldest started school last week and I was cool with that. Yes, I did get a little misty-eyed at drop-off time (Tyson, as predicted, was totally fine and ran off into the proverbial distance with nary a look over his shoulder). I thought I’d be anxious about leaving my baby, about him making friends, about liking his teacher… but do you know the thing that freaked me out the ...

If there was a crash course in what every father needs to know, that could be crushed into just 30 minutes, what would it look like? Probably pretty close to what former Queensland Father of the Year Darren Lewis shares here. I read on a sticker inside a tour bus, in all places while doing a Hollywood tour in Los Angeles, The most important things in life are not things. – LA ...

Dad-life involves both being and doing. In a word, fatherhood is a vocation. The Latin equivalent is vocare — “to call.” Dad-life is therefore a “calling.” It’s much more than just another job. For sure, fatherhood is full-time work. We’re required to be on the scene until the good Lord retires us. This will mean being waste-deep in the complexity of relationships. Wading through life’s trenches carrying responsibility and commitment, regardless ...

Today, Chris and Guy answer the question: what is really involved in being a father in a child’s world? Episode #31 of Real Talk 4 Real Men. When you became a daddy, did you think that being a father was something just so natural, you didn’t really need to think very much about it? That was Chris’ experience more than four decades ago, but he had to learn the hard way ...

Around half of all toddlers are considered fussy eaters, screwing up their nose at salad and pitching butternut pumpkin from their high chairs. Establishing healthy eating patterns in children is important and can have a big impact on their everyday health, growth and cognitive development. So, how do we avoid the daily food fight? Cancer Council Queensland has five tips to get parents started. One, be a good role model: Children ...

It’s always fascinating reading about what other people have accomplished in life. Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, was the richest man in America when he died in 1992 at the age of 74. He started Walmart in 1962, so in forty years he had revolutionised retailing in America, received the Medal of Freedom and built the foundation of the soon-to-be-named biggest company in the world. Whatever you think of Walmart ...

Editor’s Note: This is a profoundly real and self-revelatory article for those fathers who are grappling with the deeper issues of fatherhood. Full congratulations to Rod Lampard for sharing his journey with us. This is a case of strong meat for strong men. ___ “You’re just like your father.” This was the fictional narrative of my formative years. Instead of using my name when things got heated between us, my family ...

Some days, being a mother is just plain hard. Today was one of those days. I promised to take my boys to play mini golf. Secretly, I was looking forward to it more than they were! I’d been wanting to try out this place for months and finally the day had arrived but… My youngest was in a bad mood all morning; he threw a tantrum because there wasn’t enough honey ...

Back by popular demand, Darren Lewis shares the 5 essentials for guiding your sons into authentic manhood. How can a 29-year-old male be married and have 3 kids, and only then discover that he wasn’t really a man? That was the experience of former Queensland Father of the Year and founder of Fathering Adventures, Darren Lewis. Darren realised he had no vision for manhood, fatherhood and husbandhood. What we cannot define, ...

My good friend Robert Day sent me a link. He said, “Check out Gavin Topps and his ‘Fight Like a Pro’ Program”. Rob is a Dads4Kids board member. He has worked with men all his life. He knows men. So, I just had to check it out for myself. Below is the challenging call to Manhood from the Gavin Topps Rite of Passage for the Modern Man landing page. “Friend, if ...

There is a truckload of parenting advice on how to fathers can make more time for their families. This is especially the case for new fathers and fathers-to-be. Dragging ourselves through chapter after chapter of self-help drudgery, only to be told how much we’re not doing, and how much more we need to be doing, can be a soul-sucking experience. What’s offered as help to maximise time — nearly always with ...

We all get a bit of shock pretty early on in married life. For some, it is day 1: “This isn’t what I expected!” At some point, you will probably find yourself asking yourself the question: Is marriage worth it? Are you married?  How has it been going for you lately?  You wouldn’t be the first person to stop and ask yourself that question. Most of us men enter into marriage ...