Special Interests

Work / Family Challenge

• Attention vs Money: Parenting column by Harald Breiding-Buss
• Truckie Dad: A truck driver’s story, by Mark Grimes.
• No More Fun and Games? Christchurch ‘Breeze’ host Grant McGrath talks to Harald Breiding-Buss and Mark Grimes about work and family.
• Balancing Act: Brendon Smith on work/family balance.
• A Day in the Life of a Dad: A househubby reports. By Dave Crampton
• Men at Work: Work/Family issues for new dads. By Warwick Pudney
• The Patriarchs And The Softies: A look at how the work/family challenge presented itself to fathers in the olden days.
• Equal Parenting Opportunities: The link between work opportunities for women and obstacles for fathers.
• Housedad To Stepdad: Fatherhood from all aspects.
• Role Reversed Parents: New Zealand author Wendy Jones has compiled a collection of stories.

Community & Fathers

• Fathers Connect Children – Brendon Smith writes about how fathers make communities tick.
• A Vision for Boys: School principal Mark Richardson gives his view on what’s needed for boys.
• Dating Dads: Finding a new squeeze is easier said than done for solo dads, writes Johnathan Young.
• Immigrant Dads: Brendon Smith investigated how some immigrant fathers fared.
• Male Preschool Teachers: They’re exceptionally rare in NZ. Harald Breiding-Buss attended a forum about the issue.
• Discrimination in the Air: Peter Walker takes issue with not being allowed to sit next to children on aeroplanes.
• Family tree: The importance of genealogy.
• From here to paternity: Non traditional ways of being conceived and born.
• Bigger and better: The joys of larger families.

Separation: Impact on Fathers and Kids

• Children and Separation: A Help Sheet
• Some Dads Can’t Win: Being a non-custodial dad isn’t easy – the ex gets in the way..
• Destination unknown: A separated father treasures his kids, and their imagination!
• The best of times ?: Christmas time can be stressful, especially for separated Dads.
• Fathers after divorce: A book review.
• When things turn sour: A look at the Domestic Violence Act.
• Shared parenting: The reality of sharing the duties.
• The bond of blood: When parents re-marry, is blood thicker than water?
• Book review: The Big Picture: A review of Douglas Kennedy’s “The Big Picture” (fiction).
• Fatherless America: Do Fatherhood programmes in America go beyond a Dads wallet?
• Caring fathers: A Christchurch support group focuses on non-custodial Dads.
• Both ends of the spectrum: Reflections on being a child of divorce and a separated father.
• Separation: Please remain calm (do’s and don’ts).
• Book Review: Men After Separation: By Ian McDonald

Family Court: One Big Barrier to Involved Fatherhood

• Legally Absent: Is the Family Court biased against men – or just doing its job?
• Protection order and parental alienation: An opinion piece about the workings of the Family Court.
• Domestic Violence Act: Another opinion piece about family court proceedings.
• Street Protests: What makes those guys angry, and is this the way to go about it?

Government Legislation

• Equal before the law?: A closer look at the Human Rights Act 1993 and how it affects fathers.
• Shared Parenting Bill: An opinion piece.
• Vote for Dads: What do political parties think about fathers issues?
• Dave and Goliath: Having to deal with the I.R.D. and overzealous child support collectors.
• Parental leave: Legislation that could leave fathers out in the cold.
• The Daddy Vote: Questions for the leaders (for the 2005 election)

Legal Matters

• Protection Order: A very powerful tool of control in the hands of an abusive spouse.
• Supervised Access: A Dunedin single Dad works to make access a more meaningful experience for fathers. Also views on the Domestic Violence Act.
• Biological fathers: The latest chapter in the “sperm donorship” debate.
• Parental equality: Does equal employment opportunities for women equate to equal parenting opportunities for men?

International: Fatherhood Elsewhere

• Fatherless America: For thousands of American non-custodial dads the choice is prison or sweatshop.
• Dads Along the Nile: For the guys in egypt it’s all about love and compassion.
• Fathers And Change in Japan: There’s more to life than work: Japanese men, too, are on the road to putting family life first.

Prison: Life Behind Bars

• Breaking the Chains: When dads’s in prison what becomes of the kids?
• Voices From Behind Bars: Two fathers tell how they are trying to be parents from the high security wing of a NZ prison.

Conferences

• Retreating fathers: On location at the Otago Father & Child Trust weekend retreat.
• Fathers of this world: The International Fatherhood Conference was held in Oxford, England in 2003. Our very own co-ordinator was there.
• Involve ’04: A report from the Adolescent Health and Development conference.

Relationships

• Listen and hear: Communication with your partner might be a well worn cliche, but it is still important.
• Between the sheets: Just how do you maintain a good sex life after kids?
• My Valentine: What did you do on February the 14th?
• Constructive conflict: The art of healthy arguing.
• A Woman’s Work? Christchurch woman Wendy Jones has written a book about role-reversal.

Health

• Absolutely mental: Postnatal depression, mental health and suicide in men.
• Male suicide: It’s still a problem for young men in New Zealand. An editorial
• Precious memories: A very personal account of living with mental illness.
• Sick of being sick: A look at one of the more tedious aspects of parenting.
• The Day Everything Changed: Living with epilepsy.
• P.N.D.: The impact of post natal depression on the whole family.
• Under the knife: Are men getting all the facts before opting for a vasectomy?
• Staunch as: Why do guys bottle up their feelings about their kids?
• Daddy’s in a coma: A remarkable story of survival.
• Meningitis: Examining the facts.
• Shiney happy people: The power of self esteem.
• Suicide: The government approach, and is it the right one?