Mackenzie’s Mission

With special guest:

• Jonny Casella
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Before we hear from Jonny about the ground breaking medical mission inspired by little Mackenzie Casella we need to find out about Jonny and Rachael’s journey.

Fortunately not many of us face the tragedy and trauma that Jonny did after deciding to become a father. And having been through this valley of having a beautiful baby then losing her not many parents are prepared to speak candidly about what it all means.

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Man Raises Boy

With special guest:

• Rob Sturrock
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

What? The title of Rob Sturrock’s new book can still surprise even in the twenty-first century. Somehow the idea of fathers taking on the primary role of raising children sits a little uncomfortably.

Rob is calling for no less than a revolutionary approach if we are going to transition to a world where boys are free to be whatever they want to be, including being a stay-at-home Dad if they want. Many young women in our society have for some time enjoyed the freedom of choice when it comes to being a mother in the home or a career woman. Yet when women set out to be high flyers in the business world there are some things we do not hear. Women are usually praised for saying they want a good well-paying job and that they are prepared to work hard. But do they ever say this is so that they can support a family? The community still sees men as the main bread winner and so the sentiment is common if not universal among young men.

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Why First-Borns Rule the World ...

With special guest:

• Michael Grose
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Everybody knows where they fit in their family. But what effect does that position have on our lives? Today we get to hear about the significance of that positioning in the family constellation.

Our guest Michael Grose has inspired, informed and entertained audiences around the world. He has a passion for spreading the word about the profound impact of birth order on individuals, families, schools, workplaces and communities. One example we hear about today is what Michael calls The Prince Harry effect. On the world scene the differences between the first-born Prince William and the later born Prince Harry are extreme.

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The Secret of Half-Arsed Parenting

With special guest:

• Dr Susie O’Brien
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

There is a toasted sandwich in the cover picture of her book and that leads our guest Dr Susie O’Brien to tell us that a toasted sandwich is a quite acceptable dinner alternative. This is the world of Susie O’Brien where parents can escape all that guilt about not being the best parent in the world and just start enjoying their children.

In Susie O’Brien’s new book The Secret of Half-Arsed Parenting we get an insight that is fun. It is also comforting to know that the conclusions are drawn from research all around the world. And most parents will find sections where they have to say to themselves ‘No doubt about it, that resembles me.’

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High Adventure

With special guest:

• Mike Allsop
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Mike Allsop was worried that marriage would spell the end of the adventurous life he had been living. He also had experienced a difficult family upbringing himself. So when he met the love of his life he certainly did not rush into that long walk down the aisle. But these days he has the “full disaster” with his wife Wendy and three beautiful children. And there are lessons to be learned from Mike’s progress that we can all appreciate.

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Foreskin Revolution

With special guest:

• Michael Winnel
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Most people are surprised when this topic is raised. Is circumcision still being practised in Australia outside strict religious groups?

The answer is unfortunately yes. And Medicare will still pay benefits for the procedure unlike for example Great Britain where the National Health stopped subsidising male circumcision in the 1940’s.

The percentage of young boys who suffer this mutilation in Australia is down to about 10% but that still adds up to a lot of boys going under a knife with no anaesthetic for dubious reasons.

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Anxious Kids

With special guest:

• Michael Grose
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Michael Grose and his co-author Dr Jodi Richardson are often asked when making parenting presentations if there is an epidemic of anxiety among our young people. If you were asked the same question you might immediately say yes but before he answers that question for us in today’s program, we ask our guest what it is exactly that we are talking about. Is anxiety the same as depression? Is anxiety built into us? When does it become harmful? What can we do about it?

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The Healthy Baby Gut Guide

With special guest:

• Dr Vincent Ho
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

This has been going on for a long time and until now people have been unsure as to what should be done. We are talking about allergic reactions which range from coughing and sneezing through to anaphylactic shock and even death.

In his new book The Healthy Baby Gut Guide, Dr Vincent Ho shows us a way to turn back the booming allergy outbreak. At the moment almost one in five Australian children have allergies which take the form of eczema, asthma, hay fever and severe responses to certain types of foods, think peanuts.

Dr Ho tells us his passion for doing something about allergies arose when his own daughter became a patient. A parent feels scared and powerless when a child has an allergic reaction. And there is no shortage of advice, sometimes dubious about what should be done. At last there is some clear and authoritative guidance allowing a confident decision to be made about the good health of our children.

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An Awesome Ride: Through a father’s eyes

With special guest:

• Cameron Miller
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

In 2012 Shaun Miller made a YouTube video in his bedroom called MY FINAL GOODBYE. In this video Shaun managed in only 2 minutes and 54 seconds to get out some important messages before it was too late.

Shaun was only 17 years of age but he knew that he had at most a few weeks to live because of his heart condition. He said that he had no regrets and that we should live life to the fullest. We should express our love to the people around us. Importantly he said to make sure that his dad Cameron was OK.

Overnight there were 30,000 hits and a week later that number had gone to over 1 million. Now it is over 7 million. Clearly this is an extraordinary person.

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Mackenzie’s Mission

With special guest:

• Jonny Casella
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Before we hear from Jonny about the ground breaking medical mission inspired by little Mackenzie Casella we need to find out about Jonny and Rachael’s journey.

Fortunately not many of us face the tragedy and trauma that Jonny did after deciding to become a father. And having been through this valley of having a beautiful baby then losing her not many parents are prepared to speak candidly about what it all means.

In this program Jonny opens his heart to take us through the seven short months that he spent with his daughter Mackenzie while she battled with a genetic disease known as SMA (spinal muscular atrophy).

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Raising Boys in the Twenty-first Century

With special guest:

• Steve Biddulph AM
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

It was hard enough to raise boys in the 20^th Century. What are the new challenges facing parents who want to raise their sons to be the open-hearted, kind and strong men they can be?

Our guest today has revised and updated his classic parenting book released in 1997, a book that is found in over three million homes around the world. There is a lot of new information and surprising research for Steve to draw on in his new book Raising Boys in the Twenty-first Century. There is a new understanding of hormonal changes as boys turn into men, changes that mean the age from 6 to 14 is when fathers count the most.

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Dads Group Inc

With special guest:

• Tom Docking
  … in conversation with Glen Poole

Most Dads can remember vividly the time they were told that they were going to be a father for the first time. There may be a sense of starting on a journey, that life as it has been up until that point has changed forever or even that this is a type of eternity because part of you goes on long after your passing.

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Mothering Our Boys

With special guest:

• Maggie Dent
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

It is ten years since we last spoke to Maggie Dent and in that time the pressure on our boys has only got worse.

Now more than ever we need a consistent voice, a sensible voice backed by extensive research, in fact a boy champion. Fortunately this is recognised in the huge reaction given to Maggie’s new book Mothering Our Boys: A guide for mums of sons and in public forums that Maggie delivers around the nation. It is a privilege for us to be able to share Maggie’s thoughts in this special program.

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The Children’s House

With special guest:

• Alice Nelson
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Alice Nelson has produced a topical work with enough discussion points to keep us busy for a long time in her new book The Children’s House.

The title of the book comes from a kibbutz in Israel. The kibbutz movement arose in Israel after the horrors of Nazi Germany, partly as a way of allowing parents to work for the new state of Israel while ensuring that their children would be properly cared for. But does the idea of communal parenting go too far? This is just one of the ethical questions raised in The Children’s House.

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Man Raises Boy

With special guest:

• Rob Sturrock
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

What? The title of Rob Sturrock’s new book can still surprise even in the twenty-first century. Somehow the idea of fathers taking on the primary role of raising children sits a little uncomfortably.

Rob is calling for no less than a revolutionary approach if we are going to transition to a world where boys are free to be whatever they want to be, including being a stay-at-home Dad if they want. Many young women in our society have for some time enjoyed the freedom of choice when it comes to being a mother in the home or a career woman. Yet when women set out to be high flyers in the business world there are some things we do not hear. Women are usually praised for saying they want a good well-paying job and that they are prepared to work hard. But do they ever say this is so that they can support a family? The community still sees men as the main bread winner and so the sentiment is common if not universal among young men.

Listen Now (mp3)

Click to read more ...

High Adventure

With special guest:

• Mike Allsop
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Mike Allsop was worried that marriage would spell the end of the adventurous life he had been living. He also had experienced a difficult family upbringing himself. So when he met the love of his life he certainly did not rush into that long walk down the aisle. But these days he has the “full disaster” with his wife Wendy and three beautiful children. And there are lessons to be learned from Mike’s progress that we can all appreciate.

Talking to Mike makes you feel like you were there with him when he reached the summit of Mt Everest with nobody in front of him. We learn about the setbacks when he was getting ready to run 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents starting with his belief that he wasn’t really a marathon runner.

This love of setting and reaching goals started when he was a child and he saw an Air New Zealand jet passing overhead. He had the goal of becoming a pilot and finished up getting his pilot’s licence before he had his motor vehicle licence. By gaining the confidence of some airline pilots he went on to achieve his dream.

Listen Now (mp3)

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An Awesome Ride: Through a father’s eyes

With special guest:

• Cameron Miller
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

In 2012 Shaun Miller made a YouTube video in his bedroom called MY FINAL GOODBYE. In this video Shaun managed in only 2 minutes and 54 seconds to get out some important messages before it was too late.

Shaun was only 17 years of age but he knew that he had at most a few weeks to live because of his heart condition. He said that he had no regrets and that we should live life to the fullest. We should express our love to the people around us. Importantly he said to make sure that his dad Cameron was OK.

Overnight there were 30,000 hits and a week later that number had gone to over 1 million. Now it is over 7 million. Clearly this is an extraordinary person.

Listen Now (mp3)

Click to read more ...

Foreskin Revolution

With special guest:

• Michael Winnel
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Most people are surprised when this topic is raised. Is circumcision still being practised in Australia outside strict religious groups?

The answer is unfortunately yes. And Medicare will still pay benefits for the procedure unlike for example Great Britain where the National Health stopped subsidising male circumcision in the 1940’s.

The percentage of young boys who suffer this mutilation in Australia is down to about 10% but that still adds up to a lot of boys going under a knife with no anaesthetic for dubious reasons.

Listen Now (mp3)

Click to read more ...

Anxious Kids

With special guest:

• Michael Grose
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Michael Grose and his co-author Dr Jodi Richardson are often asked when making parenting presentations if there is an epidemic of anxiety among our young people. If you were asked the same question you might immediately say yes but before he answers that question for us in today’s program, we ask our guest what it is exactly that we are talking about. Is anxiety the same as depression? Is anxiety built into us? When does it become harmful? What can we do about it?

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Dadvice

With special guest:

• Dr Luke Martin

Seriously! Becoming a Dad can be a white-knuckle ride and sometimes it can be overwhelming. When you leave the hospital carrying a new baby it might be the first time it hits you that you have taken on an enormous responsibility and yet you are not issued with an instruction booklet.

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