Parenting Night at the Pub

Parenting Night at the Pub

Parenting Night at the Pub is on Monday 10th November. This is a special edition of our 2026 Marriage Enrichment programme, aimed at resourcing or preparing both single parents and couples for the complex work of emotionally healthy parenting.

We’ll be meeting at the Forest Lodge Hotel, who provide their back room on the condition that we enjoy dinner from their excellent bistro — which fits perfectly with our plan to make it a great night out together!

Arrive from 6:30pm for drinks and to order your meal.
The session will begin at 7:00pm and finish promptly at 9:00pm.

📍 117 Arundel Street, Forest Lodge

SIGN UP for Nov 10

Parenting From the Passenger Seat?

Teaching Kids to Navigate Life for Themselves

The other night I was teaching my daughter to drive. We turned onto one of the main roads in Newcastle. We drive on it all the time. I asked – “Do you know where we are?” “No” – she breezed, completely unperturbed.  I was shocked. But then it dawned on me. She doesn’t have to know the way if I always tell her where to go.

As parents, how do we know when to step back and when to step in? When to be silent and when to speak? I long to help my kids grow up to be responsible, loving adults who follow the Lord Jesus. But what if some of my interventions are doing more harm than good?

What are the pros and cons of parenting from the passenger seat?

How do we give our kids both the support – and the space they need – to learn to navigate life for themselves?

These are the kinds of questions I’m looking forward to exploring with you when we get together on Monday 10th November for Marriage In The Pub. I’ll be drawing on Bowen Family Systems Theory which is all about how we manage ourselves in relationships that are important to us, such as marriage and parenting. My goal is to have some fun thinking with you about different ways we could apply principles from Bowen theory in our own families.

Matt Steele has been married to Clare for 25 years and they have three kids (Jackson, Rori, and Cooper) who are fast growing into adults. Matt is an ordained Anglican minister and spent around 15 years in various church ministries in Sydney’s inner west. In 2019, he stepped out of church ministry to become the primary caregiver for their family when Clare commenced a new role as CEO of Compassion Australia. Matt also works through his business Changeroom to provide coaching, pastoral supervision and training in emotional health and maturity through a Bowen theory lens. He loves helping pastors, leaders, school teachers, parents and organisations to navigate the pull and push of relationships with more calm and clarity. Matt has qualifications in business, theology, Bowen theory and professional supervision and is an associate member of faculty at The Family Systems Institute.