When minding the baby, Tom Whelan finds his day turns into chasing his wife’s bus—with no shoes, no keys, and a ticking time bomb in your arms. A Cold Morning, a Locked Door, and a Baby on Board I still feel tense as I picture the scene,...
Reluctance turns to relief when Andrew Bartholomew finds that helping at his daughter’s school is actually quite enjoyable. “Don’t we pay fees?” I demanded. “We pay fees, go to meetings – I even do the occasional Saturday morning working bee!” My wife had just told me the...
We hear a lot about women’s biological clock and how age affects the chance of pregnancy, writes Karin Hammarberg. Here’s what’s more likely when dads are over 50 New research shows men’s fertility is also affected by age. When dads are over 50, the risk of...
How do men feel when they become fathers? A new podcast about dads, families, and work explores how our policies and organisations could (and should) change to support working fathers and their families. By Daniel Halliday, Dr Melissa Wheeler and Professor Cordelia FineWhen we spoke...
It's on LiSTNR, with a fresh season that puts the spotlight on dads. Renowned midwife Cath Curtain teams up with Chris Taylor, known for his work on The Chaser and the acclaimed series Upright, to deliver an engaging and relatable podcast experience. Chris Taylor opens up...
Kylie Ladd wonders why it’s assumed that women do all the caring in society. When my second child, a daughter, was born, I received lots of cards and messages. All proffered congratulations on Cameron’s safe arrival; some jokingly commended us on having managed ‘a pigeon pair’...
Today’s Australian fathers are believed to be more “hands on” and engaged with their children than the stereotypical absent breadwinner of generations past. Kate Murphy and Alistair Thomson studied 100 years of Australian fatherhood. However, their research exploring Australian fatherhood between 1919 and 2019 has found...
Men’s feelings about fatherhood found new expression in a study into contemporary Australian parenting, write Marie Ann Nelson, Claire Halle and Kathy Hennessy. “Don’t think you can cope … you can’t. Don’t think you can keep your old life … you won’t. Hope that when he...
After the initial excitement of meeting your new baby, you often experience a period of feeling exhausted, tense and even stunned, once the day-to-day routines of caring for a newborn become a reality. Everyone will tell you, and it’s absolutely true, that no one can prepare...
Since the birth of his daughter, followed by the arrival of his son, Rob Sturrock has focused on being an active and present father. But this isn’t always an easy road for dads. Fathers face stereotypes, judgement and isolation – particularly around paternal leave. Recently...
