Every Saturday, Allan Johnson and Nathan meet up and do guy stuff: they build steps, drive go-karts, go fishing. And they talk.

Nathan, 10, is one of nearly 11,000 boys in female solo-parent homes in the Wellington region. Mr Johnson is Nathan's "big buddy".

The Big Buddy charity matches adult male volunteers with fatherless boys to provide role models, build supportive relationships, and just hang out once a week. Read More on www.stuff.co.nz

A great positive story on the great work from Big Buddy, keep it up!!!

Big Buddy and their Big Buddies are a real inspiration to us all.

- Eric

Listen to a Podcast with the CEO of Big Buddy, Richard Aston, done with DIYFather

Here is a site for the single father's out there, as well as the women that would be friends or love a man already with children.

Curious? Join up and have a look around it's free to join Meet Father's Online

- Eric

Pyper is only 16 months old and already I think we have organised her 21st party which is a big deal over here (21 YEARS that is - not months). Because her name is Pyper the nearest thing we could find is a bottle of champagne called Piper Heidsieck which we have already written our names on ... which means it can never be raided and replaced!

I have taken some funny baby photos of her, like the time she "peed on my jeans" and some other very cute ones of her growing up in chronological order, month by month.

We also have a special guest appearance from a little lady that has been with Pyper right from the beginning – Molly – now Molly is a dolly and yep just call us original but that is where we got the name from. We currently have 3 of these, 2 are in operation and the other is in her wardrobe safe and sound and all tucked up! ... read more >>

Be there... All there

Life is a series of conversations, some mundane, some life-altering. In the life-altering department, the problem is you never know when you're going to be the one whose life will be empowered or robbed by the conversation... Or the one who, through your words and attention, will do the empowering or the damage to the other person. Ideally, it will be positive and reciprocal.

There are thousands of distractions in a single day, all vying for your attention. Ads, homework, hunger pangs, texts, emails, calls, TV shows, internet sites, mental lists, countless to-dos, background music, girls, friends, etc...

The lesson today is around what to do when you are engaged in a conversation with someone, anyone... Friend, teacher, parent, sibling, cashier, study partner, RA, roommate, etc... ... read more >>

This is absolutely hilarious - if you haven't seen the Catherine Tate show or Comic Relief (BBC) just watch this (make sure to stay with it till the end). Respect Tony!

-Stefan

Well 2009 is upon us and it's the time of the year to look ahead with expectations, hopes and dreams for the new year. It's also the time of new year's resolutions - so apart from the usual (lose weight, watch less TV, find a remedy for hair loss) what about some parenting specific resolutions that fathers think about? Read more to our children? Spend more time with them and less at work? Listen more, make stuff for them, give them more ice cream?

So I came across Sean's post over at "Diapers to Donuts" which was actually posted in January 2008 - it's a very honest account of things he wanted to change and I wonder what happened (since his blog stopped in September) ... would be great to check back and find out how he got on. The "resolutions" he mentions are perhaps a great inspiration for 2009 and a checklist to reflect on 2008. ... read more >>

Merry Christmas everyone! Here's a real classic in case you haven't seen it yet:

-Stef

Well tomorrow is the big day and we managed to get through 24 days of Christmas anticipation in December. It was nice to see that quite a few sites featured online advent calendars for kids (and adults who still feel like kids round about this time of the year) with ideas, inspiration and entertainment. So the last post in this series is about a calendar that posts vintage comic book covers each day. Enjoy!

-Stefan

"You better watch out ... You better not cry ... You better not shout, cause I’m telling you why. Santa-Claus is coming to town"

A Christmas Carol loved and sung by children during Christmas. There is an old saying that Christmas is for children. Yes, it is quite true, kids look forward to it, and dads and moms try to do their best to make their children happy, by playing along with them in this exciting story about Santa-Claus living in the North Pole, and how he gives every child a gift on Christmas Day.

The story and the belief of Santa-Claus varies and changes in each family. Some do make their children believe that there is a Santa, and some children know that the Santa-Claus is their dad. But, on the whole, the children who are not aware that their “Dad” being Santa-Claus, have a totally different outlook to Christmas. These children go to great lengths in writing their letters to Santa-Claus a few days before Christmas, and the letter is tucked away under the pillow, waiting for Santa-Claus to collect it. It is a wonderful feeling that the kids have when they find out that Santa-Claus has visited them. As kids, these children look forward to a gift from Santa-Claus than anyone else and when they grow older, they themselves find out that their Dad had been the lovable Santa-Claus. ... read more >>

Two days to go - if your children are getting itchy to finally get their presents try this calendar for a bit of distraction. Great games and video clips by Dickinson Dees.

-Stefan