A number of years ago, I spent five round-the-world trips on a lawyer to represent my case to be a present dad in my children’s growing up. I could sensibly calculate that separation would force the divvying up of my children’s time between parents, but I was determined to protect as much of it as I could, because I believe my children and I need time to maintain our strong, wholehearted ...
For Hollywood dad, Kirk Cameron, modelling manhood is dad-life proper. Get past the Americana exterior, and the former atheist’s down-to-earth grasp of back-to-basics parenting has gravitas. Known for his role as Mike Seaver in the seven-season sitcom, Growing Pains, Cameron is also a father of six. Four of whom he and his wife of 31 years adopted not long after getting married. Two of whom, arrived later on. He recently shared ...
Self-control is the ability to say “no” when you want to say “yes“! In 1972, Walter Mischel conducted one of the classic psychology experiments of all time. Children were shown into a laboratory and given a plate with a marshmallow on it. They were told they could eat it now, or if they waited a few minutes until he returned, they could have two! The experimenters found that some children had ...
Psychologist and renowned speaker Dr Jordan Peterson has some home truths for parents. Parenting is certainly challenging, but it is a tremendous privilege and responsibility that should not be subsumed by competing priorities. Bette Davis said, “If you have never been hated by your children, you haven’t been a parent.” She is correct; being a parent is tough. Being a dad is even harder, because the buck stops with Dad! My ...
Fatherhood is to a son’s manhood, as manhood is to a dad’s fatherhood. They’re inseparable elements in the way fathers raise their sons to be men, because they reflect each other. A few points in a recent piece from All Pro Dad’s BJ Foster hit a six on the subject. Role Models Foster offered four ways to father their sons into manhood, introducing his argument with a simple: ‘Sons need their ...
In an ideal world, perhaps one could follow all the steps in the parenting books, but real life often leaves scant time to read those books, so you just have to follow your instincts and values! At work the other day, one of the web developers made a quirky observation: “I don’t want the future version of me to look back at the past version of me to say '[Expletive]! If ...
Generally speaking, learning the fine art of apologising is a life skill we all must learn. The health of our relationships pivots on humility, as much as they do honesty. Child therapist Meri Wallace, writing in Psychology Today, echoed this sentiment, stating that an apology is a sign of strength, not weakness. ‘It shows,’ Wallace affirmed, ‘that mums and dads care enough to take responsibility for their negative actions and make ...
Ed Cole left a lasting legacy teaching men how to maximise their manhood and put their families first, accepting that fatherhood was their primary responsibility. Isn’t it an awesome privilege to be a father? When you witness the birth of your first child, it truly is a humbling experience. Unfortunately, no one hands you a manual to help you. That is why it is so important for us as fathers to ...
We have all no doubt heard the statistics regarding separation and divorce in this country -- something like 30% of marriages end in divorce, and a huge number of Australian children are forced to cope with life after marital breakdown. The typical divorce scenario in Australia today is that mum gets custody of the children and dad (hopefully) gets access and an obligation to pay Child Support. Children from broken marriages ...
Have you ever experienced the situation when someone has apologised but, while the words were said it lacked something, making it difficult for you to accept it? Sadly, most of us are not as good at apologising as we need to be. We think that it’s obvious, should just be instinctual, or that our love should somehow make it magically work. Well, it isn’t obvious, and it is not instinctual. We ...
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