by Cadence McManimon Contemporary America is hounded by terms like “toxic masculinity”, “the patriarchy”, and “the male gaze”. Men all over the nation — indeed, the world — are lambasted daily by derogatory, angry media seeking to devalue and wipe out their nature. I have a message for you: Don’t listen to it. Masculine men are the very thing we need — now more than ever in the battle of traditionalism versus progressivism. Though the media has attacked the vital value of gender itself, we know they’re wrong. We know male and female is how we’re made. Even now, traditional femininity is making ..read more

In the midst of a conversation about toilet training with another parent, a childless friend walked over to join in, and we realised, this isn’t something you talk about in front of people without kids. Poorly timed bowel movements weren’t something we wanted to talk about before we had kids. How things have changed. It caused me to pause, and with surprising ease, I came up with a list of things that have become my ‘new normal’ since becoming a parent… Angry voice: I used to be fun! I used to laugh a lot. Now I find myself yelling bizarre commands and wondering if I may, indeed, be the very ..read more

Sometimes, you come across stories that take your breath away. Maya Angelou was right to say, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” I guarantee this tale of human kindness will be one of those. I can honestly say I have never read anything like it in my life. Caitlin Keating, a journalist with People magazine, has done a beautiful job telling this powerful story. The full title of this exclusive article is even harder to believe: “Blind Triplet Contemplated Suicide Before Blind Man Adopted Them. Now Boys Are Pursuing Their Dreams ..read more

The title above could just as easily read “My First 9 Months as a Dad”. I don’t think of myself specifically as an adoptive dad — I am a dad — to a beautiful, curious, vibrant little nine-month-old baby. When I look at Elsa, I don’t see an adopted daughter; I see my daughter. I have felt that way from the first time I held her in my arms at the hospital. I don’t say any of this to disparage adoption. Quite the opposite: it is a credit to Elsa’s birth mother, our adoption agency, our family and friends, and the grace of God that adopting Squish has been such an easy and joyful experience. (Read ..read more

Periods of disconnection are an unfortunate part of every marriage. Relationship Repair takes both an initiator and receiver. Disconnection has happened frequently in our marriage, even when we were newlyweds. It might have been the result of a hurtful action, a careless comment, an argument, or just insufficient time together. We’ve written about a number of disconnection behaviours over the past few months, including harsh start-ups, criticism, contempt, globalisation, defensiveness and stonewalling. In this article, we want to look at the final one in the series: Rejecting Repair Attempts ..read more

The time is right. Equality before the law no longer exists in Australia. The presumption of innocence has been tossed aside – totally discarded by our biased media and undermined by regular legislative tampering with basic principles of justice. For decades our justice system has been tilted to favour “victims”, with the result that men and women are treated very differently – by police, the Family Court, judges and juries in the criminal law system. But gradually the rot in the system is being exposed. Right now, 400 current sexual assault cases are being audited by NSW public prosecutors to ..read more

‘Do you think you’ll go back for a third? You know, try for a girl?’ ‘No.’ I reply happily. ‘My cup is full. I feel complete and content.’ This mother of three girls looks at me, bewildered. ‘You’re going to miss out on so much. There’s something so special about a mother-daughter relationship,’ she goes on, thinking this might convince me to change my ‘very made-up’ mind. I grew up with three brothers and no sisters. I now live with my husband, two sons and a male dog. I couldn’t be happier. Our decision not to have any more children is a considered one, and hubby and I are completely in lov ..read more

Adam Sandler’s 1996 sports comedy film Happy Gilmore is hilarious but is not recommended viewing by Dads4Kids, due to its profanity. The film’s logline gives enough of an overview: After his grandmother’s house is repossessed by the IRS, bad-tempered hockey player (Sandler) takes his talents to golf to earn the big bucks and get his grandmother’s house back. Comedic brilliance from Sandler and the supporting cast ensues, but yes, there are lots of angry outbursts and plenty of silliness. As well as creating several cultural touchpoints, the film popularised the term ‘Happy Place’, something ..read more

Maybe it’s just us, but it often feels like the world around us is getting more hysterical about things we once would have taken in our stride. A misspoken word, a misplaced or even misinterpreted word in jest, or even a look the wrong way, can set off a storm of outrage – triggered, apparently. Even congratulating or wishing someone well can seem to be problematic should it be perceived as potentially excluding someone else. So ‘Merry Christmas’ becomes the beige ‘Happy Holidays’, and participation awards are now the norm. Talking about this the other morning, we reflected that there is a gre ..read more

Happy International Children’s Book Day! Regardless of whether a man is a full-time father or a noncustodial parent, he will find a multitude of books for toddlers in which the dad is simply not there. Other children’s literature (kid lit) portrays the dad as a buffoon, a grumpy old bear, or worse – that he deserted his family. In the animal world — and in kid lit — the father is sometimes absent. Nonetheless, if a man searches hard, he will find a few books that show a more positive image of reality: that fathers love their kids and that men are nurturing caregivers. Fortunate is the father a ..read more