A perfect description of the stereo-typical father, flowering away in the summer sun, surrounded by the obligatory homosexual and mysteriously, missing in action, the multicultural father....slipped-up there Peter!

G'day Val...I had in the past, an old Aunty. She was a headmistress at a suburban school. I remember one time, her relaying to me the story of psychological torture, a group of her students were subjected to during religious instruction at their local Sunday school.

The Sunday school teacher was using dolls too: paper ones; the type that are cut out of a single piece of paper in origami fashion, so when complete, make a lovely little line of human figures all joined at the fingertips, (until the paper runs out)!

Well...in the typical fervour of a religious instructor of the time, ( keeping on-theme with history), unsuspecting children were treated to the theatre of the burning of those innocent little figurines over a flame, representing the fires of hell! Kids talk!

But what I really wished to discuss with you, is the important subject of history. The reason history lessons a "bored"-down today, is not really a modern day phenomena at all. It is more a policy imposed by the elite of the left wing politic, (my supposition), that have infiltrated our once useful educational institutions, in order to impose a "view" of history suitable to a cause!

(Cont., below)...

From above:

For example, take the subject of the "white Australia" policy of old. A subject only ever raised in modern times with deprecation! But there once was a time, (what a sweet phrase), when history was actually some poor buggers life!

In the case in example here though, that was a time when "Chinaman" was a swear-word.
Are you familiar with the Darwin riots of the early eighteen hundred Val? Well that was a culmination of frustration and loss the local townsfolk felt at the time, sensing to be outnumbered by foreigners.

So "they took matters into their own hands", (from a phrase to a significant sentence now)! And rebelling against the often misplaced loyalty of our leaders, rose up against the Governor and corralled him in his quarters, where he stayed until rescued by a Navel flotilla sent from the south, to facilitate his rescue.

So the blossoming of this little historical uprising, was the instigation of the White Australia policy. A document designed to pacify the population, and aid it in the cure of its insecurities, by targeting a known cause of friction!

The Governor I might add, bade farewell to the naughty folk of Darwin forever, and the wise old men of power never trusted the welfare of such a dignitary of state-power to reside in Darwin until recently.

Well Val, trust that this boring little ramble of mine was within the editors guidelines, and look forward to talking again at your next article....keep up the good work!

I struggle with this site....posts dumped on the wrong site is an issue to me. And it is easy to get wrong! Back to Val! ...I hope...sorry folks

Because my two girls needed to be brought into the world with a caesar; I was the first of their parents to hold them; a rare privilege and the, until then, most emotional experience of my life!

Only exceeded in intensity by the divorce and separation from all I love most in life!

I was one of those mild mannered blokes that regularly put in a fourteen hour day and brought an unopened pay packet home; and a fierce protector of my girls!

I was the one doing all the unpaid work!

My girls left me with my heart in my mouth many times, with their risk taking mischief.

And needing to take a walk around the block before I chastised their behavior to ensure that the firm but fair disciple wasn't more severe than it needed to be?

With a time out waiting with trepidation for the big dog to come home; often more effective than shouting the house down with my best parade ground bark!

Which came in handy when they needed their dad in their corner; leaving a young bully trembling in very fear, or a unrealistic teacher reassessing her expectations!

That said, many younger men are permanently bewildered about their proper role?

Toughen up, be a man, don't be a baby, find your feminine side. Take a turn doing the household duties!

And fair enough when the better half falls asleep at the dinner table exhausted with the demands of the workplace!

But a completely different set of expectations for so called house husbands?

With some men just so disenchanted by the unrealistic expectations laid on them?

They simply avoid anything like long term relationships, let alone marriage and kids; and the probable emasculation that invariably goes with it?

We've spent a good deal of time making sure our daughters get a fair shake!

Perhaps to the point where we are leaving the blokes behind, given the more recent results as university graduation numbers coming out of university?
Rhrosty.

Don't worry about it Dan, anybody can make a mistake Mate. But particularly when the subject matter arouses passion?

If only all that religious indoctrination could have been replaced by folks of genuine caring concern like Val?
Rhrosty.

"*Names have been changed to protect privacy."
The issues needing protection are piffling and says volumes that the author could not get real live men with guts to be honest and open about their father roles. "He was distant" is a common complaint and here we have no one bridging the gap, all keeping their distance. Completely wimpy and that is the effect of the unrealistic ill-fitting culture of the average Australian male.

Diver Dan of many words and little point, completely missed the multicultural even though it is specifically quoted at the top of this forum. The point is being a father is multicultural, hence the massive culture shock and the high rate of failure of children's expectations. Fortunately the culture of men is slowly changing too under the weight of more demanding expectations on fathers.

"the best part is having your own little family- knowing they are your own flesh and blood."

RACIST!

"A man with a child in tow may not be the biological father."

Yes, he could be a kidnapper.
But don't dare look sideways at a "mismatch".
RACIST!

"Let's celebrate fathers: one of the nation's under-used resources."

But they're MEN!
Privileged oppressors of "the other"!
SEXIST!

Read an article about mothers and be told how they always meant and did good, a shame that they were not supported by the men in their lives who likely disappeared after beating them first.

Motherhood shines. Girls shine too being made of sugar and spice and all things nice.

Read an article about fathers and be prepared to always hear the worst and how they are more useful as wallets. If only the sperm and wallet could be married. But wait, that is already true enough. Problem is, there is no certainty who is the father, but again the wallet might be the best informant of that.

I do not believe that my childhood was much different from most other Australian children, except perhaps those children 'brung up'(sic) by siblings and the kind neighbours who slipped them food.

For many years after WW2 ended, the Australian economy that had been converted to war production struggled to recover. Building, manufacturing and other business had been curtailed, destroyed, for the all important war production for Europe. Then there were the deaths and casualties from WW2 and too soon after the devastation of WW1.

I remember the many earnest caring men, 'strugglers' they called themselves, who were good men all, solid citizens and good dads. They knew how to communicate with and care for children as they forked the veggie patch, or split hardwood on dark after a day's work starting before dawn.

Through volunteering all of the way thorough children's passage through pre-Kindy on and in sporting and other community groups, I would say that very little has changed over the years. The good civic-minded workers tend to be good citizens and good parents, whereas the life cycle of dependent, egocentric, stupid, lazy 'Housos', male AND female is often repeated in their children.

The obligatory negging of men, husbands and fathers past is quite unnecessary and in most cases a lie. If there are any solutions for a better life for us all, just give those.

Ever buried a horse? It takes a pretty big hole, an expensive hole. I've just buried my daughters 29 year old show jumper. I've been paying for him, & a few others, for 28 years. Then there's the cars I have bought for them, the trips I've funded, or taken them on. I'd be a rich man, if I'd stayed single.

It could be worse, at least I haven't had to bail a son out of financial trouble. My mate is $60.000 down because his son caused a huge pile up in the car he had neglected to pay the insurance on.

Then another mate is a bit nervous. He is guarantor of his daughters [& husbands] $560,000 home loan, & their looking a bit shaky.

Yes fathers are dreadful people, they should be banned.

What's with all the kids, marriage, family bias?

You're bachelorphobic!

Oh woe is me, shame and scandal in the family!

You guys must know some awful fathers.
I don't know any fathers who feel they are only there for the wallet.
They are too busy being good dads to get hung up on such mysoginistic rubbish....

LOL, Suseonline, you are forever sledging men. Or is that exclusively your much-hated 'white'(sic) men?

Lol OTB....the only men I am sledging are you guys on this thread.
Stop blaming women for all your problems, man up and take ownership of them yourself.

Somethings not right.

...When good hard working couples put off having kids because of the financial hardship.

And when unskilled and unemployed young women purposely have kids in order to get out of working for a living and to get benefits instead...

Then you have a system where the least responsible and the least able to cope are insentivised to have children over and above hard working couples.

We've created a system that is guaranteed to fail.