On the Coast – Families Issue 100 I June/July 2019 | Page 19

Your Wife
You two have been through a lot already,
and if you’ve got young children, a lot
more to come. No one is expecting you
to be Romeo, but little things you do and
say in the early parenting years go a long
way to keeping the love alive in your
relationship. Simple tasks like taking the
kids out so she can have a sleep, cooking
her favourite dinner and telling her she’s
doing a good job at 2am after she’s been
up feeding the baby, all make a world of
difference when she’s tired, hungry and
tired (again). Pencil two weekly spots for
her. The first gives her a break from you
and the family and the second gives you
a chance to spend some time together
over dinner, a movie or a quick walk on
the beach. on a week night or a session at the gym.
Mostly, at least in the initial years of
being a Dad, you’ll have commitments
at home with your family. Don’t be
ashamed of these commitments. If you
constantly ditch the family to make
time with the boys a priority, you’ll
pave the way for hardships with your
wife and kids at home. Instead, make a
regular catch-up once per week for the
lads for a surf and a coffee. You won’t
feel guilty for constantly declining
their invitation to catch up and they’ll
appreciate your commitment to a weekly
hangout – they’ll also probably stop
hassling you (as much). You need their
support, friendship and jovial banter so
keeping your mates close as a new father
is pivotal to your happiness. If you’re
looking for like-minded Coastie Dads
that share the experience of fatherhood,
the boys from Central Coast DILF CLUB
Your Mates
Here’s the truth – if your mates don’t
have kids, they won’t get it. They’ll hassle
you to join them for a surf trip, beers Luke is a 29 year old father-of-two from Wamberal. He’s the founder of DILF CLUB, which runs
Australia’s largest network of Father’s groups. A former Officer in the RAN, Luke now works a fly-in,
fly-out job and spends much off his off-time at regular Dad catchups with his two little girls’.
and mate-free; it’ll give you the weekly
reset you need.
To be the best father
you can be, you need
to make time for
your own emotional
wellbeing
meet weekly for a coffee with the kids in
various locations.
Everyone else
If they don’t fit into one of the criteria
above, they’re not really worth your time
or energy. In my (very blunt) opinion,
you need to stop sharing yourself with
people who rob you of your spare time.
That’s it. Put simply and to recap:
FOUR hours. One for you, one for her,
one for you and her together, and finally,
one for your mates. If everything else in
life could be so simple…
School
holiday
fun!
Kids Bingo JULY 9 & 16
Doors 2pm $7 entry
10 games & activity bag plus
10 lucky door prizes Parent to remain with children
Gosford RSL Club 26 Central Coast Hwy, West Gosford 4323 2311 www.grsl.com.au
JUNE/JULY – ISSUE 100
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