Last weekend saw us hold our first Father & Son Weekend of 2021 at The Pines, in beautiful Tuross Head, New South Wales.
The highlights were relationship building, goal setting and time spent together without distractions. Many valuable memories were made whether it was kayaking, paddle boarding, fishing, walking on the beach, playing table tennis or talking about how we can be better sons and fathers. Many thanks to the fathers and their sons who attended last weekend. We are already looking forward to the next Father & Son camp, scheduled for October.
Learnings from the shared experience and discussions over the weekend:
To be a better Dad
- Spend one-on-one time with your son
- Try not to be distracted when spending time with your son
- Encourage your son and keep expectations realistic
- Affirm your son when he improves or does something well
- Treat your son as an individual. He is not you and he has different likes, wants, goals.
- Give your son space when needed.
- Tell your son you love him.
To be a better Son
- Try to complete some chores without having to be asked. This will ease stress around the home.
- Respect decisions/directions. No means no. Dad has to make decisions all the time and arguing over being asked to switch off the game console doesn’t lead to a positive interaction.
- Spend quality time with your Dad, sometimes this can be sacrificial time where you do an activity you know he likes (that you may not like).
- Tell your Dad you love him.
The Father and Son Weekend is an important part of our broader program of partnering with parents and carers in providing important growth and learning experiences for our young men at the College.
David Kelly
Assistant Principal Junior School