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Boys and men are under attack, especially in elementary schools. Whether it is deliberate, or accidental, it is happening. History, very recent history, shows us what happens when men take the back seat in shaping and forming their boys as they grow into social structures - chaos. We need good men. 

Have you ever started car shopping and then all of the sudden, you see that car all over the road? Once I started researching society's attack on fathers, I couldn't help but see all the different ways this is happening. Something as small as removing dad from a simple experience is part of a bigger, nefarious, movement - which is the focus of this episode. All it took was removing two word, "with dad." Dads, fight the fatherhood marginalization by refusing to live in the margins. 

Dads take 1 day of leave for a new baby for every 20 days moms take. This is a terrible ratio! Dads need to be at home with their new babies. I discuss some of the obvious, and not so obvious, reasons to take paternity leave. Also, I dive into the reasons dads aren't taking it. 

It has been proven that having dads present in the home reduces negative outcomes in children intellectually, physically, emotionally, and even financially. Yet, society largely ignores this problem and is trying to fix other symptoms caused by the underlying disease of fatherlessness. If we want healthy societies, we need to refocus on fathers and the home. 

I overhead somebody once say, "Now that I have kids, it is scientifically impossible for me to be as happy as I was before." What a terrible thing to say. Imagine having to defend yourself if your child were to ask, "Daddy, do I make you happy?" or "Would you be happier without me?" I won't pretend kids are easy. I also don't think I can overstate the profound meaning and happiness that are possible as a parent. I dig into this topic, along with the study this person cited, and give my take on it.  

So, I just got over a nasty cold, but my voice is still struggling. I sound like a monotone frog. Thanks for sticking with me -- especially through this one. I finish up talking about the ten rules I found in an article dedicated to helping parents teach children how to have a healthy relationship with food. Turns out, the world is against us. 

As it turns out, this is a sensitive topic. I didn't really hide the ball during the last episode. I severely question the way we treat the relationship between our children and food. I think we can do so much better. I continue to explore our relationship with food by discussing a list from the Nemours Foundation detailing rules to help our children control their weight. 

So, I dug up some truth bombs about sugar. My baby's first birthday, and the expected tradition of a gluttony of cake, caused some serious reflection about my relationship with sugar and if I'm in a good spot to really teach her how to have a good relationship with sugar and food. Turns out, this is actually pretty hard to do. 

It's been a while! For those of you waiting for an episode, I apologize. Life got quite busy, which is the topic of the podcast. Being very busy with a new job caused some introspection on trying to allocate time to my family and work. Thanks for sticking with me! Also, my daughter shows up in this episode. You can hear her fussing in the background. Lucky you!