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Resources For Dads - Media & Literature

Dads on the Air (89.3 FM) (www.dadsontheair.com)

Dads On The Air can be heard on Monday mornings 10am-11.00 at 2GLF FM 89.3 in Sydney Australia and is usually up online later the same day. We are a successful community radio show broadcasting from western Sydney. An entertaining mix of music, news, public information and wide ranging interviews aimed at fathers and those who care about them, we cover the Family Court, the Child Support Agency, Legal Aid, child welfare, boys education, male suicide, men's health, gender bias and other father, children and family related issues.

You can also go to the Dads on the Air website (www.dadsontheair.com) to listen to the program as an Audio Webcast.

Fathers After Divorce by Michael Green (www.fathersafterdivorce.com)

Fathers After Divorce - building a new life and becoming a successful separated parent. - A book by Michael Green QC

Many men find themselves beginning a new life as separated fathers with little or no support from friends or family. Often they are under prepared for the difficulties they face, become isolated, fail as separated fathers, and experience problems at work and in their personal lives.

This practical handbook looks at important issues facing men after separation or divorce. It includes straightforward checklists for overcoming problems and developing a positive outlook as well as useful comments from men who share their experiences of dealing with the difficulties posed by divorce.

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Fathering after Separation: A Reflection on Problems and Possibilities.
Tony Gee, Family and Child Mediator Relationships Australia (Kew 9261 8711) November 2002

Get A New Life - How to change the way you live by Kaye Fallick (www.getanewlife.com.au)

Sick of work?
Stuck in a rut?
Dreaming of moving?
Don't know what to do next?

Forget the quick-fix approach of extreme makeovers shown on reality TV. Real change is about finding out what is right for YOU - planning, researching options, discovering your own intrinsic qualities and matching them to the people, the places and the activities which sing to your soul.

Packed with checklists to help you determine your change readiness, practical advice about managing your finances, and inspiring profiles of those who have done it, this is the essential roadmap for the life you really want to live.

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New Maps for Brokenhearted Men by Glen Wand
How to Understand and Heal After the End of a Relationship (A Self-Help Guide)
Published by John Hunter Hospital, 2003
(www.hunter.health.nsw.gov.au/newmaps/index.htm)

Download the PDF version [3.31MB,108 pages] http://www.hunter.health.nsw.gov.au/docs/NMFBHM_web.pdf

The title of this book is addressed to men and I have written it to men, for men and always with men in mind. My work as a clinical psychologist at a community health centre has been a big influence on its content. Many men have consulted me regarding their grief, hurt and turmoil associated with their broken hearts. They said things to me that made a lasting impression. Here are just two examples. ‘I feel like I'm bleeding inside.' ‘The gut-rot really gets to me.'

I met so many men who talked about these feelings and their pain and confusion that I decided to write this book. Although at times there is some self-conscious humour in these pages, my underlying purpose is serious. Through this book I am trying to help you heal.

Glen Wand, Clinical Psychologist and Author
Eastlakes Community Health Centre
Telephone: 02 4944 5300
glen.wand@hunter.health.nsw.gov.au

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Fatherhood
(www.fatherhood.com.au)

There are many untold stories of fathers doing great things in their communities. Also men are stepping in and taking on the fathering of boys (and girls) without fathers. The Uncle Project and Pathways to Manhood are great examples of this power of the father.

The Fatherhood Project is dedicated to building positive community through enriching the lives of children, fathers and their families. It is about healing relationships between men and women.

The Fatherhood Project is a not-for-profit, non denominational organisation offering an independent platform for fathers and their children to come together and celebrate this important role.

We aim to celebrate and question what Fatherhood means today and this will be expressed through music and cultural festivals.

The world’s first Fatherhood Festival was held in Australia in Bangalow, on September 4th and 5th 2004. (Father’s Day)

We hope to create a free, downloadable manual for communities world-wide, to facilitate their own Fatherhood Festivals within their specific cultural context.

We are looking for acoustic, gut feel songs, to produce an international Fatherhood CD and further CD’s within each country around the world.

We believe that this work gives voice to people, who often find it difficult to express the depth of feelings that they have for their children, their partners and their fathers.

‘A fatherhood movement is afoot and with it a chance for us all to move beyond cultural persuasion and into a new, more honest and loving paradigm. Fathers are being sung home.’

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Men’s health & wellbeing e bulletin
To Subscribe, send an Email to: (gmillan@bigpond.net.au)

emale provides men and boys with the latest information and resources on their health, wellbeing and lifestyle issues.

Australia’s largest free men’s health e bulletin is produced by Greg Millan, Men’s Health Consultant, PO Box 953 Hamilton NSW. Ph: 0417 772 390

To subscribe to ‘emale’, send an email to gmillan@bigpond.net.au.

To download a copy of emale, click here.

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Sex, the Ring, and the Eucharist by Father Dave (http://www.fightshop.biz/ezGaffurl.php?offer=acca2005&pid=1)

"Sex, the Ring, and the Eucharist" is an odd title, I know. It's taken from the final essay in the book. It's basically one man's story about his attempt to live for that better world.

I live and work as a parish priest in Dulwich Hill. Over my 13 years here I've spent a lot of time working with people from the underside of Australian society - street kids, drug-addicted persons, mentally ill people, etc. It's been quite a battle. I've also done a lot of 'battling' in a more sporting sense. I'm a fighter. I box, I kick, I wrestle, and I love it.

"Sex, the Ring, and the Eucharist" is my story. It's a story about living and fighting in inner-city Sydney. It's a story about people - why they are the way they are, and what I think we can do to help. It's a reflection on why the fighting arts can have such a powerful effect in moulding young lives for good. And it's my take on where the church needs to get its act together if we want to make a difference.

Now for those three areas where we (the church) really need to change:
1. We need to be less concerned about money
2. We need to be less concerned about our reputation
3. We need to 'get real' and be willing to get our hands dirty.

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Focus On The Family - Parenting CD Collection [6 CD Set] (http://www.families.org.au)

Focus on the Family daily broadcasts are aired on 260 radio stations around Australia. Currently, we are compiling a ‘best of ’ parenting collection that aims to assist parents as they journey through the various stages of their children’s development.

Description: Parenting Classics Series 1 includes the following radio broadcasts:
· No Substitute For Daddy's Love I & II
· Surviving The Adolescent Years I & II
· The Three R's of Parenting I & II
· Parenting With Love and Grace I & II
· Surviving The Strong-Willed Child I & II
· Help for Angry Mum's I & II.

To order your copy call 1300 300 361 or visit our website www.families.org.au.

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Fathering
(Click on the link for the PDF www.menstime.com.au/documents/fathering.pdf)

Six practical steps to EFFECTIVE FATHERING (and one extra step for separated fathers).

This guide to effective fathering has been prepared by MensTime [Anglicare WA] and can be downloaded for free from the MensTime site by clicking here.

It covers;
· Being there
· Being involved
· Show affection and praise
· Structure you parenting role, especially discipline
· Learn from your own childhood
· Nurture your relationships
· Extra step for separated fathers

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Relationships
(Click on the link for the PDF www.menstime.com.au/documents/relationships.pdf)

Six practical steps to SAVE (and IMPROVE) YOUR RELATIONSHIP (and one extra step for desperate situations).

This guide to saving and improving your relationship has been prepared by MensTime [Anglicare WA] and can be downloaded for free from the MensTime site by clicking here.

It covers;
· Be positive
· Be proactive in your relationship
· Communication is the key
· Value yourself
· You take the first step
· Nurture your relationships
· Extra step for desperate situations

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Single Parent Bible (Website: www.singleparentbible.com.au)

This pioneering publication was created by single parents, for single parents. We felt that there was a need for a definitive guide combining fact and fun, specific to us (a whopping 800,000 plus Aussies) and here it is.

Let's face it, there are things that we need to know (such as, the latest word from Centrelink, parenting tips and how to get back in the game i.e. dating), but I also want us to celebrate our single parentdom. Hold our heads high and be proud of who we are and the amazing job that we are tackling (alone).

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A Practical Guide For Kids In The Garden by Jamie Durie.

Jamie Durie is renowned for his passion for the outdoors, the environment and his belief that whatever we do inside, can also be done outside!

In Outdoor Kids, he inspires us all, both kids and parents, to rediscover the fun and adventure in our own garden, courtyard or 'outdoor room'. Featuring over 40 fun and involving activities, it introduces kids to gardening concepts such as composting, recycling, animals in the garden, planting, growing and much more. Packed with eco-friendly tips and information, it includes simple step-by-step instructions, checklists and seasonal plant guides. Outdoor Kids is an invitation for the whole family to get outside, enjoy time together and learn about nature at the same time.

Jamie concludes the book by saying, 'Most importantly though, it [referring to the book] encourages you to spend time together, and I mean the one-on one quality time that kids both need and deserve - and what could possibly be a better priority than that?

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What Men Don't Talk About By Maggie Hamilton.

Published in 2006, 'What Men Don't Talk About' is the result of extensive interviews with men of all ages and backgrounds. It is a very informative and a powerful piece of writing. It is an important message that Maggie is trying to spread the word about. It should be read by all men, especially fathers as well as the women in their lives, whether it be mothers, daughters, sisters, partners or friends.

Every day we read articles about men - men at home, men at work, men in bed - but still the confusion and frustration between the sexes remain. What do men and boys long for, agonise over, aspire to? Why are men often silent in dark and difficult situations? Why do so many find it hard to express how much they care? What do they look for in women? What do they want from committed relationships, from friendships?

How do they feel about kids? What motivates them? What do they worry about? How do they see their bodies? What is life like for them when they age? Why do so many resort to suicide?

Surprisingly, illuminating and at times shocking, What Men Don't Talk About takes the reader far beyond the many stereotypes of men, and reveals how men and boys view their world.

To find out more about the book, Maggie, go to www.maggiehamilton.org.
What Men Don't Talk About is published by Penguin Australia. rrp $32.95

Shared Parenting. Raising Your Children Cooperatively After Separation by Jill Burrett & Michael Green.

This important and timely book shows how shared parenting can work after separation and how both parents can maintain meaningful relationships with their children.

The authors, Jill Burrett and Michael Green, bring to this work their expertise in counselling and mediation, respectively. They provide sample parenting plans - both complex and simple - for various types of separated families. The practical tools they offer work in every party's best interests - especially the children's.

With legislation in many jurisdictions now enshrining shared parental responsibility and parenting time, the authors show separated parents how to make this work. They cite supporting research which indicates how important it is for children to continue meaningful relationships after family breakdown.

Myths and misconceptions are dealt with, together with practical advice on how parents can get past their hurt and anger and focus on approaches that will benefit their children. The authors also tackle the nuts and bolts of weekly routines and include useful suggestions on timetabling and communication between households.

Once a good shared parenting arrangement is in place, the emotional benefits reveal themselves:

• mums becoming more comfortable with sharing the children
  
• dads learning to truly be with the children; and
  
• children being happier in shared care arrangements, and so benefiting their parents.
  

Melbournes Child Magazine.

Welcome to Melbourne's Child - Melbourne's most reputable guide for parents.
Melbourne’s Child was introduced in September 1993. Melbourne's Child magazines are free and are distributed wherever parents and children go – primarily through schools, education and health centres, playgroups and businesses that cater to families. Anyone involved with children aged 0 to 14 knows these magazines.

Communities read, use and value their Child magazines as a major source of information about family life.

Melbourne's Child Online is where to find:

• The very latest information on a wide range of parenting topics.
  
• A comprehensive events calendar
  
• The chance to interact with other parents through our letters to the editor section.
  
• Our Independent Schools Directory is a paid directory of independent schools in Melbourne - a very useful resource to find a wide range of schools.

Sydney's Child Magazine.

Welcome to Sydney's Child - Sydney's most reputable guide for parents.
Sydney ’s Child was introduced in September 1989. For the first time, parents had what they needed in a publication – quality, thought-provoking editorial and reliable, local, parenting information.

Sydney's Child magazines are free and are distributed wherever parents and children go – primarily through schools, education and health centres, playgroups and businesses that cater to families. Anyone involved with children aged 0 to 14 knows these magazines.

Communities read, use and value their Child magazines as a major source of information about family life.

Sydney's Child Online is where to find:

• The very latest information on a wide range of parenting topics
• Children-in-mind' reviews of books, movies and music.
• A comprehensive events calendar
• The chance to interact with other parents through our letters to the editor section
• A vast directory of products and services specifically geared towards children and families

Brisbane's Child Magazine.

Welcome to Brisbane's Child - Brisbane's most reputable guide for parents.
Brisbane’s Child was introduced in August 2002. Brisbane's Child magazines are free and are distributed wherever parents and children go – primarily through schools, education and health centres, playgroups and businesses that cater to families. Anyone involved with children aged 0 to 14 knows these magazines.

Communities read, use and value their Child magazines as a major source of information about family life.

Brisbane's Child Online is where to find:

• The very latest information on a wide range of parenting topics
• Children-in-mind' reviews of books, movies and music.
• A comprehensive events calendar
• The chance to interact with other parents through our letters to the editor section
• A vast directory of products and services specifically geared towards children and families

Adelaides's Child Magazine.

Welcome to Adelaide's Child - Adelaide's most reputable guide for parents.
Adelaide’s Child was introduced in November 2001. Adelaide's Child magazines are free and are distributed wherever parents and children go – primarily through schools, education and health centres, playgroups and businesses that cater to families. Anyone involved with children aged 0 to 14 knows these magazines.

Communities read, use and value their Child magazines as a major source of information about family life.

Adelaide's Child Online is where to find:

• The very latest information on a wide range of parenting topics
• Children-in-mind' reviews of books, movies and music.
• A comprehensive events calendar
• The chance to interact with other parents through our letters to the editor section
• A vast directory of products and services specifically geared towards children and families

Perth's Child Magazine.

Welcome to Perth's Child - Perth's most reputable guide for parents.
Perth ’s Child was introduced in July 2005. Perth's Child magazines are free and are distributed wherever parents and children go – primarily through schools, education and health centres, playgroups and businesses that cater to families. Anyone involved with children aged 0 to 14 knows these magazines.

Communities read, use and value their Child magazines as a major source of information about family life.

Perth's Child Online is where to find:

• The very latest information on a wide range of parenting topics
• Children-in-mind' reviews of books, movies and music.
• A comprehensive events calendar.
• The chance to interact with other parents through our letters to the editor section
• A vast directory of products and services specifically geared towards children and families

Kid Friendly (www.kidfriendly.com.au)

Kid Friendly, established in Sydney in 2004, is the only full colour dedicated family lifestyle guide available in 3 key markets. Since its launch Kid Friendly has expanded to Canberra (Spring 2005) and Melbourne (Autumn 2006). Each are individual publications with local content and national appeal. Published quarterly and available 3 weeks prior to gazetted school holidays, Kid Friendly has become a trusted and sort after guide renound for its straightforward information and a valuable resource tool for today’s parents on the go.

Our Focus –To promote a range of events, venues and activities that appeal to families wants and needs that indirectly strengthens the family unit – Covering everything from the retail sector to attractions and everything in between.

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Father and Child Reunion.
How To Bring The Dads We Need To The Children We Love.
Author: Warren Farrell

Based on thirteen years of research, "FATHER AND CHILD REUNION: How To Bring The Dads We Need To The Children We Love" will force a re-examination of the circumstances in which a dad or a mom is best for children.
For starters, some findings on children with single parents.

* Children do better with single fathers than with single mothers
* Both boys and girls are healthier and do better psychologically and academically, as well as socially.
* Even characteristics such as empathy are exhibited more by children brought up by single fathers.
* Single fathers experience less stress juggling children and work than do single mothers.

What family structures are most likely to be in the child’s best interests? Dr. Farrell’s findings suggest the following ranking:

(1) the intact family;
(2) shared parent-time (joint physical custody);
(3) primary father time;
(4) primary mother time.

While the intact family is the winner, Father and Child Reunion makes it clear why, if divorce cannot be prevented, children being primarily with their dads gives children more of both parents than when they are primarily with their mothers; reduces a mother’s economic dependency on a man, and reduces men’s ten times greater suicide rate after divorce.

Does Dr. Farrell conclude, then, that men are better at fathering than women are at mothering? No. But he does conclude that we have been waging a "War Against Fathers" – and mothers and children are among the losers.

Father and Child Reunion answers questions relevant to every family.

For more information about the book and the author go to http://www.warrenfarrell.biz/

Focus On Fathering.
Edited by: Robin Sullivan

Focus on fathering discusses the fascinating, moving and often contradictory role in which Australian men find themselves in as fathers:

*What is a good father these days?
What is it fathers provide that is so influential to a child's development?
*Is fathering importantly different to mothering?
*Is it a role that a single mother or a substitute parent can take?
*What do fathers and children say?
*What do women think?

The inspiration for Focus on fathering came from a forum on Australian fathers organised by the Commission for Children and Young People in Queensland. Anyone concerned with the wellbeing of Australian children should read this informative and challenging book.

'Focus on fathering attempts to bring together a range of diverse and even contradictory views to provide a basis for debate and reflection about the role that men play as fathers in their children's lives. The volume commences with the findings from the fathering survey undertaken by the Commission and introduces some of the challenges faced by fathers. This is expanded on by the rich narratives of a small group of men who provide their perspectives, in their own voices, on what it means to be a father. The views of a large number of young children about fathers provide a further dimension to our understanding.'

Professor Fiona Stanley AC, Australian of the Year 2003

Manhood - An Action Plan For Changing Men's Lives
Author: Steve Biddulph

Most men don't have a life. So begins the most powerful, practical and honest book ever to be written about men and boys. Not about our problems - but about how we can find the joy and energy of being in a male body with a man's mind and spirit - about men's liberation.

Steve Biddulph, writes about the turning point that men have reached - as reflected in films like The Full Monty. He gives practical personal answers to how things can be different from the bedroom to the workplace. He tells powerful stories about healing the rift between fathers and sons. About friendship. How women and men can get along in dynamic harmonious ways. How boys can be raised to be healthy men.

Manhood has had a profound emotional impact on tens of thousands of readers worldwide, and has been passed from son to father, friend to friend, husband to wife, with the simple message 'you must read this!'

The Passions Of Fatherhood
Author: Sameul Osherson

Fatherhood is one of the least understood and most mysterious relationships in our lives....We fathers hardly have words for describing the intimate dilemmas of fatherhood, and even when we do find words, many of us choose to keep our passions private."

In this superb new book, psychologist and writer Samuel Osherson explores the most challenging and rewarding relationship in a man's life: fatherhood. The Passions of Fatherhood illuminates the joy and anger, excitement and frustration, discovery and bewilderment that fathers experience moment by moment as they struggle to raise their children in today's world. Osherson looks at fathering from the inside, using his own family life as a springboard into universal experience.

As Osherson explains, fatherhood is not simply a role; it's an evolving, highly dynamic relationship that continuously and powerfully transforms men as their children grow up.

Through revealing personal anecdotes and interviews with scores of other fathers, Osherson dramatizes the central dilemmas that all fathers face today. How does a father help his son find confidence and strength without pushing him too hard? When a father falls head over heels in love with his little girl, how can he also maintain clear and healthy boundaries? How can men keep the passions of fatherhood from stifling the sexual and emotional passions of marriage? How can men reconcile their desire to be present in their families with their need to get away?

Since being a father inevitably reminds us of our childhoods, Osherson also probes the father's relationship with his own parents--his effort to do things differently from his own dad while at the same time drawing on his male inheritance. In addition, there are sensitive and thoughtful chapters devoted to the father's role in his children's spiritual and moral education, how fathers can deal with their children's natural curiosity about sex, and the special needs of divorced fathers.

Infused with a deep appreciation of the strengths of fathers and sympathetic forgiveness for their weaknesses, The Passions of Fatherhood is ultimately about how fathers find their true place in the family and in the hearts and minds of their children. This insightful, compassionate, sometimes humorous, and often profoundly moving book will inspire men who experience the passions of fatherhood--or are looking forward to doing so.

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He'll Be OK
Author: Celia Lashlie

Do you think you'll ever have a life plan?
No.
So how will your life sort itself out?
Oh, that's easy. I'll be about 25 and some gorgeous-looking chick will walk past. She'll have a great plan, so I'll just hook onto her.

Adolescent boys - they seem to disappear into another world where they barely communicate, and where fast cars, alcohol and drugs are constant temptations. Will they survive to become good men? How can parents and schools understand them and help them through this difficult and dangerous time?

Celia Lashlie has some of the answers. After years working in the prison service she knows what can happen when boys make the wrong choices. She also knows what it's like to be a parent - she raised a son on her own and feared for his survival. During the recent Good Man Project she talked to 180 classes of boys throughout New Zealand, and what she found was surprising, amusing and, in some cases, frightening.

In this funny, honest, no-nonsense book Celia Lashlie reveals what goes on inside the world of boys, and that it is an entirely different world from that of girls. With clarity and insight she offers parents - especially mothers - practical and reassuring advice on raising their boys to become good, loving, articulate men.

Researcher and social commentator Celia Lashlie is the author of the bestselling The Journey to Prison: who goes and why. The first woman prison officer in a male prison, she became manager of Christchurch Women's Prison in 1997 and has since worked in a number of areas linked to at-risk children. Celia, who has a degree in anthropology and Maori, is the mother of two adult children. She lives in Wellington.

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