Dads and Sons
Raising a son is a big responsibility. No one can help a boy become a man more than his Dad.
The Parenting Place is offering an enjoyable night with speaker Ian Grant who will share lots of ways for you as a father to build ‘camaraderie’ and respect with your son. Fathers may know many of these but Ian has a wonderful way of presenting them and encouraging you as a parent as well as showing the funny side to parent and child relationships.
Address: The Parenting Place, 300 Great South Road, Greenlane. Auckland
Contact Info: The Parenting Place – 09 524 1387
Email: [email protected]
Single Ticket Price: $10.00 (Admits one person)
Ian Grant: Founder and seminar speaker for Parents Inc., Ian is a highly sought after speaker. He is well known for his creativity and innovation in programming to young people and it is this freshness that comes through in his approach to parenting. Over the years Ian has developed and fronted both radio and television programmes and has written several books, including Fathers Who Dare Win, Parenting Teenagers-The White Water Rafting Years, Growing Great Boys, and Communicate.
Why do all the good things happen in Auckland? Thanks Julie. This has relevance to me at present. A new mens group is in its formative stages. none the less I fear it’s going to be a BBQ, Pool and chat by happily married husbands who don’t know what can await them. This is the same group who attempted to advise on a family matter without knowledge of the law or experience. If I don’t try nothing will happen!
Comment by Alastair — Tue 5th May 2009 @ 10:38 am
Alistair, you and all the men who have cared and do care for the value of men and fathers over the years and presently are just the greatest. I know you have to try again and again and again. I now know the feeling of not wanting to give up on something soooo important.
I think you and others have hung in through really tough times and I can’t wait for the day you can say, “We achieved our goal”. (big smile)
Oh, and don’t ever forget how grateful I am for what you have given to me and my sons through not quitting when the times where tough.
Comment by julie — Tue 5th May 2009 @ 11:08 am
I highly recommend this evening to any father who hasn’t been to one of Ian Grant’s presentations.
Mostly simple, common-sense stuff, but you are likely to pick up a few good ideas. He comes from a Christian perspective, but doesn’t beat you over the head with it – most people will find him very entertaining.
Comment by JohnPotter — Tue 5th May 2009 @ 11:46 am
Nice to see 3 of the MENZ leading lights saying positive stuff about Ian Grant.
Ian being one of the best Parent motivators I have ever heard speak.
However the quotes above remind me of years back in the days when I worked more closely with Craig Davis and his Shore Fathers in these matters – Craig and I now work together with PARRS and Prison Aid keeping Kids in touch with Parents inside.
However back to this subject.
In those days we would fill West Shore Churches with Men and some Women when we got Ian Grant and at other times John Cooney (Grape Vine) to speak.
After the meetings Craig, Glenn, Harry, John and other Shore Fathers would notice that many of the audience had tears streaming down their faces – When one bothered to gently talk to these usually Men we would find the tears were far from joy.
The tears where from the frustration of having their task being endorsed but being unable to do the job Ian/John were talking about.
So John and Ian and we organisers at Shore Fathers had done our task well to get our local Dads to value themselves even more as DADs, but at the end of the evening most left more frustrated than ever.
These meetings are what made me and others realise we needed far more than to motivate Dads to do their job – Most of them new all to well – What we needed was to change NZ Family Law and Social Policy so that DADs could do their task.
Thus my change to Men Centre and eventually Chairman, etc.
At the end of the day for Javan (Now 13) and I little has changed.
NZ FAMILY Law and Social Policy fail DADS and SONS hourly, mine case being one of the more obvious.
I look overseas and find the Media full of 100’s of groups actually doing something about those changes needed toward **Equal Parenting** yet in NZ there is rarely a mention of it in the media.
I believe the so called NZ Mens/Fathers movement has let DADS and SONS down more than any Govt. simply because of the APATHY, pontificating and put downs of those who try.
Onward – Jim
Comment by Jim Bailey — Tue 5th May 2009 @ 7:51 pm
Pretty awesome sharing Jim. I didn’t realise the closeness between the father’s groups and Ian Grant. But I am not surprised.
I think you have thought this way for a number of years. However, Ian Grant has a successful group going now and so does Family First. Maybe you can attend this meeting and see where Ian can help you in this day.
Comment by julie — Wed 6th May 2009 @ 1:10 pm
What is needed is a single national coordinator for protests, like Glen Sacks in USA, and he must be the central “spokesman” for men. This could even be a woman.
But it will be women who will ultimately change our situation
Also , i have to say, martyrs to get BIG publicity and get the message about how much we are being denigrated. There is too much financial interest in the status quo by the state, legal workers for anything to change by evolution. The majority of men just do not realise HOW bad our rights are. Any violent behaviour is essentially counter productive, but strong protests against judges will go down well.
Comment by martin swash — Thu 7th May 2009 @ 12:30 am
Martin, Et al,
Good to see sum enthusiasm for PROTEST – However to limit it by a one person leadership is NOT productive.
ALL who have been damaged by the application of NZ FAMILY Law and Social Policy need to be encouraged to PROTEST in the best way they can and to Speak-Out-Loud as individuals.
If a PROTEST seems good and worth following then others will be encouraged to join in as we have just seen with Han’s idea.
Hierarchy leadership stifles initiative and gives command to limited; usually self centred -/- self experienced focus.
However numbers impress Media so somewhere in the middle is best and thus we support one-an-other.
One off initiatives well done also work well as we have seen time and again by F4J and our very own Peter Burns and Wayne Pruden.
Matt-O learnt to late to give the Media attention to the Protestor/s and away from himself.
In giving the Protestors, NOT the Co-Ordinator; the Media, one beginnings to see the multiplicity of our troubles.
As one grows in their knowledge and experience one begins to see the troubles are far deeper than the FAMILY Court, far deeper than so called Child Support, far deeper than CYFS, far deeper than WINZ, far deeper than Anger Management, far deeper than the apathetic majority etc.
Of course we only see FC — CS — etc at the beginning because that is all we deal with — But as one has to deal with the entire issues of FAMILY breakdown one sees the far bigger picture.
There is those that have been forced down the tracks of CYFS — WINZ etc — ALL damaging the **Whole Natural Biological FAMILY**.
The only co-ordination needed is for the News Groups, BLOGS, phones, and friendships to carry the message of Why – When — How.
Sure Nationwide PROTEST builds Media interest and we have seen that work in the past – But even that should not stifle individual effort.
Hopefully the old hands can remember the days when the FATHER Friendly Data-base? was used extensively to draw people’s attention to PROTEST activity.
The best I experienced was when Jim Bagnall and I did the North Island FAMILY Court Tour DEMOS over 2/3 week period – Getting much media in the provinces and many people joining us as we went on. Thus the movement grew.
They were the days when we actually worked together and drew much media.
Then of course came the BOTHERINGS and the very thought still excites me – That was done mainly threw telephone tree and once again the FATHER friendly Data-Base, Egroups and MENZ.
Thanks for the reminder — I hope it stimulates the future.
For a while I gave NATIONAL a chance to listen and act for the good of our **Whole Natural Biological FAMILIES**. It seems they are not worth the respect we have shown.
9 years on a Single Person Invalid Benefit because of reduced Heart function and reflux troubles with NO support from WINZ to honour our hard won **Equal Parenting** FAMILY Court Orders while Mum sunbaths week about on full DPB has reduced me and my Son to the odd visit and virtually no influence over his day to day activity.
I am more than willing to do some arm chair initiative if we are to draw attention to our woes again.
The computer is ready and waiting
Onward — Jim
6 Lancaster Rd — Beach Haven – North Shore City
Auckland – New Zealand – 027-429-0055 -/- 09-482-296
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Equal Parenting @ Ration Shed
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Comment by JimBWarrior - HandsOnEqualParent — Thu 7th May 2009 @ 3:18 am