by David Tensen | 13 Sep, 2022 | All, Fathering, parenting
THERE IS NO FORMULA – only probability… As parents, it can be natural for us to rate our parenting success on the apparent success of our children. This week my eldest turns 18. She left school a year early to do TAFE and is in a much better emotional and... 
by David Tensen | 24 Apr, 2022 | All, Church -, leadership, masculinity, parenting, Resource, Transformation
This was the alarming start of a recent conversation.”Is it just me, or are older guys willing to be mentors really hard to find?””Yep.” I replied, “At this age and stage of life, they are harder to find.” Let’s call this... 
by David Tensen | 9 Mar, 2022 | All, business, Church -, leadership, parenting
There is an emerging area of leadership practice and theory called Authentic Leadership. If you’ve studied leadership principles for a while you’ll know they are often relabelled (and repriced) social science theories. After all, leadership is grounded in... 
by David Tensen | 7 Oct, 2019 | All, Children, parenting
Hey, dads! Playing frequently with your young kids matters all the way to the classroom. Some recent research by Meuwissen and Carlson in the Journal of Family Psychology [1] underlines the importance of fathers playing with their pre-school children. Again, dads,... 
by David Tensen | 14 Jun, 2019 | All, Children, parenting, Transformation
I’m not sure what your child’s tantrum trigger is. Perhaps it’s a NO to your toddler’s request to watch Frozen for the 100th time just before bedtime. Maybe it’s a NO to your 8-year-olds request for lollies at the grocery store, again. It could be the 3rd NO to... 
by David Tensen | 4 Apr, 2019 | All, parenting
“So, dad, who killed Jesus? Did God do it? …and why? What did Jesus do that was bad that he was punished?” How do you answer your 8-year-old son or 14-year-old daughter and present an image of a loving father you’d like to know and emulate? The thing... 
by David Tensen | 3 Mar, 2019 | All, Australia, parenting, Shame
‘Do you know what I like most about you, Cadell?’ I asked my 8-year-old, as I looked in his eyes. ‘What? My lego skills? My hugs?’ He replied. Eyes wide, hoping to get it right. I shook my head. ’All of you, son. Good night.’ That’s been my thing this week... 
by David Tensen | 15 Jan, 2019 | All, family, Fathering, parenting
When you’re a parent, it’s not uncommon for people who meet your kids and spend time with you to comment on them, in some way. Those comments vary as much as the people who are delivering them. We often laugh at how someone might be trying to pass a comment they think...