I am thrilled that Mainly Music are promoting and selling the Good Dads GREAT DADS book at their conferences in New Zealand tomorrow and in Australia in June. The book will be available through their online store as well. This is a great program that is reaching many many families. I have been a volunteer with them in the past and I strongly endorse their work.

You may like to support them.

http://www.mainlymusic.org/

You have not heard from me for a while, partly due to the challenges I have faced with the ongoing leukaemia battle and partly as I needed to take a break from blogging.

I have been learning lots as a dad as my children work through the young adult stages of life and will share some fresh insights with you in the coming weeks.

My first reflection is that their ways are not our ways. We may have expectations, time frames and practical ways to do things. They may want to learn for themselves through their own experience and not be super prepared for each and every activity. I know my wife and I have had to back off from our enthusiastic suggestion making and advice giving. It is good to encourage their individuality even if we sometimes wish they would just take and act on all our wisdom and advice.

We believe we can offer so much and sometimes this input is welcomed or asked for and at other times it is not and can only bring down the “cone of silence” around them as they just don’t want one more person to tell them which course to look into, which book to read, which website to research and which country to go to or which relative to visit.

Once a dad always a dad. We continue to live and learn as we go.