The early years are the most dynamic time of life, producing more than a million neural connections each second. For parents or caregivers, this time offers a wonderful opportunity to impact children’s lives.

As a dad now for (almost) 16 years, I’m continuously amazed at how much curiosity and creativity my daughters possess. One of our critical roles as dads is to foster and facilitate this curiosity and creativity as much as possible.

The other day, I found myself hurtling down a hill, way too fast, out of control. It was terrifying, exhilarating and hilarious! ‘Do it again, mummy!’ Tyson laughed hysterically at the sight of his dishevelled mum, lying on the grass, regaining my composure, after a pretty spectacular stack. If you ask me how often I play with my kids, I’d have to hang my head and say: ‘Not often enough.’ The ...

It was Christmas Day 2008, a significant milestone for my wife Jodi and me. Earlier that year, we had been thrown into the proverbial deep end as first-time parents of beautiful twin daughters, so this would be a Christmas like no other. The decorations were divine, we had food with all the trimmings, and the precious presents were beautifully wrapped (by my wife, of course) all ready to go. It was ...

Board games are boring. Yes, it’s not the greatest way to start off an article selling the importance of tabletop games hammered out between dads, mums, and their kids. Like it or leave it — win, or lose — I have no real love for the genre. The very last thing as a dad I’ve wanted to do, is play Monopoly, spin the wheel in Game of Life, or face the ...

“Children need your presence more than they need your presents,” are the wise words of Jesse Jackson. Both Dads and kids need a purpose to develop the art of presence. To assist you in this art, we have gathered together 40 things that Dads can do with their children. This is particularly relevant over holiday periods. Almost 80% of them don’t require any money, but they do require effort and execution. ...

My adult world is full of rich delights. I am gifted with hearty friends who circle their wagons of calm and joy around me from time to time. Close by is the great peace of an imposing mountain with the settling sheen of a pure white coat. I can gaze towards the tower of dolerite while the nearby waves shush my racing headspace. My grown-up place features work that is rewarding, ...

Adventure is essential for developing maturity and independence through firsthand experiences. When undertaken as a family, adventure forms lasting marvellous memories and excellent life skills. Some time ago, I rang a friend who was going around Australia on a 41/2-month adventure with his family. They were just about to cross the Nullarbor Plain, which contains the longest straight stretch (146.6 km) of road in the world. This section of road is ...

A recent visit to our local park turned into a day of exploring a previously undiscovered (by us) bush track along the river, complete with swimming holes, waterfalls and a ‘wibbly wobbly’ bridge. Once we started meandering, just couldn’t stop! We soon had to leave the pram wedged between bushes for this little ‘off-road’ adventure, as our curiosity kept driving us forward, the kids wildly excited at every turn. Rope swings ...

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” These are the inspirational words of Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings, written by J.R.R. Tolkien. The fact that Tolkien was one of the biggest-selling adventure authors of all time with 150 million copies sold gives extra credence ...

Five more tips for dads on how to maximise your Minecraft gaming fun for some quality time with your children. For decades, I’ve been an avid videogame consumer. From an Amstrad in the ’80s, to rented Nintendos in the 90s, to console, and PC level MMORGs in the 00s, videogaming has been part of the casual way I’ve spent my downtime. While I’ve all but resigned from this virtual playground — ...

The challenge of being a dad really increases when your only daughter turns ten years old.  This happened to me many years ago, but it could be very relevant to you right now. We had four boys, and then my wife got her wish and daddy got his dream. The stork brought a beautiful bouncing baby daughter. She had red hair and a mind of her own, and perhaps at times ...

“Every day, in a 100 small ways, our children ask, ‘Do you hear me? Do you see me? Do I matter?’ Their behaviour often reflects our response.” These are the wise words from L.R. Knost, a children’s writer and child advocate. Our challenge as Dads is to answer that same question. On Saturday, 11 December, I had to organise an all-day national prayer event on Zoom. I needed some help, so ...

Having fun with your kids sometimes means choosing to join them in their silly activities. The other day my girls emptied shredded paper all over the floor to play with it — so I joined them! On Friday afternoon, I had Phoebe asleep in the swing while Esther and Magdalene were watching a program on TV. I thought it was the perfect time to shred a big pile of paperwork that ...

Although we all pursue it in different ways, friendship is a natural part of human life. It is critical that parents pray for their children to gain quality lifelong friends. When it comes to friendships I tend to be a drifter. I don’t actually have a best friend. My best friend is Jacob. I do have close relationships with friends that if there was ever a family emergency or a Birthday ...

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, but there is such a thing as the “Christmas Aftermath”.  The cleaning, the recovering, the losing weight and keeping the children entertained during Australian summer holidays. From a parent’s point of view, they stretch on forever, but from our children’s point of view, they are all too short. For this poor man who was attacked by his cat while opening his Christmas presents. ...

The team at Dads4Kids is so thankful to the three daring dads who featured in the Decorate Dad Challenge video. One of those amazing dads is Ashton Reed. Last Thursday, Ashton and his three beautiful children agreed to be featured in the TV story about why he took the Decorate Dad Challenge so seriously. To the joy of his children, they had the opportunity to decorate Dad all over again for ...

Dear Friends My friend Dr Bruce Robinson tells a story in his bestselling book, which forms the introduction to Fathering from the Fast Lane. An unforgettable and sad thing happened to me at a restaurant one evening. It illustrates how important it is to know if we, as fathers, are on the right track or not with our children. I was dining with a group of people and was talking to ...

The science shows that families who play together stay together, for more reasons than one. Jim Burns, in his article “Families that Play Together Stay Together”, said, “Playing together is an essential trait of happy, healthy families. Certainly, our children need to do their chores, and of course they need discipline with consistency, but what they also need desperately from their parents is a rousing game of hide-and-seek or a monthly ...

If you haven’t heard about Bluey, you have been “living under a rock” as Paul Keating used to say. The cartoon blue heeler that Australia has already fallen in love with is now going out to a global audience, thanks to a distribution deal between the BBC and Disney. “The warmth and authenticity of Bluey’s family dynamic is what first captured our interest in the show,” said Jane Gould, senior vice ...