Positively Dad

Nearly 5 million American kids are out of school as the government looks to stop the spread of the deadly Coronavirus. How can parents make this extended time at home work? Educator and author Dave Schmittou joins us in a special edition of Positively Dad to help parents make the most of this time.

Life gets busy and keeping things moving with the family is tough for many. That's why some American families turn to an au pair for help. That's what Chris and Nicole Lessard decided to do to help with their three children and their busy schedules. There are so many misunderstandings about an au pair does and how the process works. Chris shares how having one is helping their family and how it's helping him stay connected to his kids.

We all desire a dynamic relationship with our family. It's not easy. Truly having strong and healthy relationships can come with challenges. Dr. Matt Townsend is an expert on relationships and his book Starved Stuff shows us how we can have great ones with our partner, children, friends - just about anyone.

He'll share the seven basic needs of healthy relationships and tips to help you connect at a higher level with those you care about.

Shawn Watson was addicted to meth. His life was spent in and out of jail until he made a decision to put that life behind him. Now Shawn is a single dad raising his 11 year old daughter. He shares his story of fatherhood and his road to recovery and redemption.

Our kids, especially our daughters, are more stressed than ever. Some of that stress is good, it helps them grow and learn - like the stress over taking a test or learning something new. So when can it move past the good and into something where we should be concerned? How can we support our daughters in getting through the normal anxieties of life? Our guest will help us with that.

Dr. Lisa Damour is an expert on young people and helping them through their stress. In her latest book Under Pressure she shares how we can be there for our daughters and help them when they need us.

It's our one year anniversary and it's time to celebrate! Thank you for supporting Positively Dad and our mission to help you become a better parent, partner and person. We thought we'd celebrate today by going back to the beginning and sharing an encore of our first episode.

A Dad's role is changing. You’re spending more time with your family, helping out more at home and more engaged with your children. There are more single dads than ever, more stay at home dads than ever and more two dad families than ever.

We talk with Dr. Kevin Shafer of Brigham Young University about his study of fatherhood, how dads role is changing and what it means for you.

Michael Flores' dad wasn’t around when he was growing up. In fact, Michael says that his dad "left and never looked back." Unfortunately, that’s the story for many kids in the country – dads who, for some reason or another, just aren’t there. We’ve talked to several dads who have similar stories and every single one of them tells me it’s their goal to break that cycle. Michael is doing that and he’s going to share that story with you today.

Yes, we just want to help. We want our kids to realize things aren’t as bad as they think. We have so much more experience… if they would only listen.

It’s something we think often and it’s making us struggle in connecting with your kids. And then the older our kids get, the less effective this type of parenting can be.

Dr. Kelly Tu from the University of Illinois did the research on what’s stressing kids out and how parents are sometimes contributing to that stress. She says that as kids grow up and begin puberty, we sometimes do more harm than good.

This is an important conversation for parents who intend to support their kids and help them navigate all that comes with growing up.

Mark Solomon is a member of the U.S. Navy Reserves and he’s getting ready for a year away from his family in service to our country. That means he’ll be away from his wife and two teenage boys for a year of school, holidays and moments. It's the story nearly two million American families experience.

What does that look like? How do you share with your kids you’ll be gone, how do you set up your family so they are prepared and how can we help military families while mom or dad are gone? 

Do you ever feel like life is the same story – different day? Day after day after day is the same – with no real sense of direction or purpose. Or maybe you do feel like you’re living on purpose and even more clarity or direction could help you. Think about what life is like for your kids when they know why they’re here and what their life should be about.

This week we talk with Simon T. Bailey. He’s an author, speaker and dad. You may have seen his work in Success magazine. His latest book is “Be The Spark” and we talked about how we, as dads, can get clarity around the purpose of our life and how we can share that with our kids. He’ll share some powerful questions you can ask yourself and your family so you are truly have a life worth living.