I need to start this by making it clear that when God was handing out gifts and talents, the ability of connecting head of hammer to head of nail was missed on me … I am just not that handy around the home.

A fact not missed on my four year olds when I decided to build … ok, attempt to build them a tree house.

Maybe tree house is a bit strong of a word, I mean it’s really just 3 planks of wood nailed to a tree, with 2 bits of a broken surfboard, as a makeshift wall.

But anyway, I’m banging and whacking away, they’re getting more and more excited as their little imaginations see their dad building a grand treetop palace.

For some reason, beyond my construction knowledge, too many nails does not necessarily make something more safe, or more secure … so anyway, as all my efforts were turning to splinters, one of my boys says, you’re not that good at building are you? Not like Popa Al, I mean.” ... read more >>

This week I was reminded that being a father is a priviledge and not a right. I remember thinking that in disgust that violence against children is something that needs to stop and it needs to be stopped ASAP so why isn’t it? Why is violence towards children especially in a small country like New Zealand occurring on an ongoing basis.

I found this article which made me mad and also want to do something about it and addressing it and not sweeping it under the carpet is something that I want to make sure happens.

- Scott

Three children repeatedly beaten with a broom handle were so hungry they had to rummage in rubbish bins, and yet neighbours were too scared to report the cruelty they witnessed.

Kylie Tekani, 30, of Porirua, has been sentenced in Wellington District Court to eight months' home detention after pleading guilty to three charges of cruelty to a child and assault with a weapon. ... read more >>

There is so much worry about child abuse today, that many people are afraid to give their children the loving care they need, for fear of being accused of abuse. A certain amount of sexual play is common in preschool children, and it is easy to confuse a child’s normal sexual behaviour with signs of possible sexual abuse.
Most well adjusted children will customarily pass through several stages of sexual interest and play.

Small babies may discover that touching their genitals can feel good, and can be comforting. As far as they are concerned, it is rather like sucking their thumb or rubbing their nose - they won’t attach any other meaning to these actions. Baby boys may have erect penises when nappies are removed.

Many two-year-olds will show an interest in the way boys and girls urinate, and in the physical differences between the sexes. ... read more >>

The human brain is particularly susceptible to the effects of poor nutrition during the early years of development, and most preschool diets are either average or impoverished.[1]

Young brains need many nutrients for learning. Food additives and Deficiencies in some nutrients have been linked to ADD and ADHD.

Some guidelines that can help are:
No Soft Drinks - At least till the age of 5, and then only as an occasional treat. Replace Soft drinks with Water, Natural Fruit Juices (Without corn Syrup or Fructose Sweeteners), and Low fat Milk.
Limit Potato Chips, Donuts, Pop-Tarts, and Cookies. These should be a treat and healthier alternatives like whole grain pretzels or baked chips, fruits like bananas, sliced apples, grapes, and watermelon are ideal snack choices. ... read more >>

53% of couples don’t know the best time of the month to conceive (it’s one or two days before ovulation)
Source Clearblue Fertility Monitor

33% of dads took more than two weeks paternity leave in 2005
Source Office for National Statistics UK

59% of parents say their kids behaviour in the car ruins their concentration when driving
Source Kia Motors

31% of parents think their pre-schooler would like to be a performer when they grow up.
Source lunar Jim C Beebies programme

5 hours and 41 minutes a day is the average time new mums spend staring at their baby
Source Babies R Us

59% of parents have been given baby gifts by strangers
Source Toys R Us

45% of babies say “daddy” first while 35% say mummy first perhaps because they hear women saying “daddy” more often
Source Pampers

44 million toys are thrown away in the UK every year ... read more >>

It’s been a long, hard day at work. You want to come home and just relax and have fun with your kids. You don’t want to deal with discipline. But Mom has had the children for most of the day and she’s tired of the fighting and bickering. So she starts to discipline and wants you to help. This is not your idea of unwinding.

So what do you do? Support her. Absolutely. Children need a unified front from parents, and when Dad is viewed as the Softie, it makes Mom look like the Bad Guy and makes her job so much more difficult. And marital tension increases dramatically. If you have an issue with the way Mom is disciplining, wait to talk to her about it after the children go to bed. Short term, backing up your wife will be extra work. But long term it will be well worth it as your children will be unable to pit Mom and Dad against each other. The softer you are on discipline now, the harder it will be for your family. ... read more >>

A Podcast hosted on International Dad featuring show hosts Scott Lancaster and co-hosts Eric Mooij and Stefan Korn from DIYFather.com.

DIY Father review the month of May.

What happened in June that would be important to fathers?

Listen in to find out.

Have you realized the most important thing in a young girl’s life? It is her FATHER!

A father carves the way for their daughter’s lives, and when a father strengthens and rebuilds his bond with his daughter, it shapes her life and his for the better. But how ever much a father loves his daughter if he doesn’t realize what a girl child usually expects of him, his relationship would be strained.

Girls seek for a sense of protection and safety from their fathers. They feel that fathers should be available when needed. The real value of a father in a girl’s life is that it is from fathers that girls learn about males in the world; ... read more >>

I have days that I feel like i could just stay in bed but with a little one two words come to mind – “good” and “luck”! So when I get home no matter what she is doing I will make sure I go and play with her, unless she is sleeping or eating. Like most little ones she loves to play with her food but I’m not allowed to play too much with her at this time as we seem to both get loud and get in trouble.

So once she has finished I make she gets down on the ground and then I will call her down the hall way and we will play “racing” and what racing is, is I will throw one of her toys 10 M in front of her and then will start crawling next to her as if it was a race and she absolutely loves the challenge, she races with me as we are both crawling flat out, and she has her little head down and snorting like a “little piggy”, I’m smiling just thinking of it as I write. Funnily enough she always seems to win and then we turn around and do it on the way back. ... read more >>

I take Pyper to day care just about every time she has to go, we love it – I “dress her down” and “why is that” my wife asks?? Well I don’t want the other kids to feel inadequate because she is so beautiful I say in a half joking, cavalier attitude type voice!! Now my wife is very beautiful – well to me anyway, and I think because of her we have a beautiful looking little girl also. We have some polorfleece type material clothes for Pyper and they keep her warm when she is at daycare, but what i have noticed lately is that we haven’t actually ever cut her hair, we trim her nails and they grow like wild fire, and because I dress her in the same clothes everytime she goes to day care, I kept getting asked why don’t you dress her in the cute clothes that we brought for her? I usually do when I know we are going out,but apart from that then we just we the same stuff different day. ... read more >>