Positively Dad

If you'd ask Jon and Brittany Brooks they'd tell you their life is awesome. Great marriage, successful business and a new baby girl. They'd also admit that the last year has been a "beautiful disaster." Jon and Brittany joined us to share their story of the last year and all they've learned about balancing family and business.

If you’ve been listening to us for a while, you know that learning about others, understanding diversity and getting to know people from different cultures, religions and backgrounds, is important to us as a family. https://twitter.com/SaadiaFaruq (Saadia Faruqi) is the author of the popular https://www.saadiafaruqi.com/fiction/ (Yasmin children’s books) and her mission is to educate others about different cultures, religions and people. The Yasmine books are about an Muslim-American girl navigating second grade and Saadia’s goal is to teach us that we’re more the same than we are different. It’s important conversation for parents too – Saadia says there are so many misconceptions about Muslims in America – mostly because of the September 11th attacks. She says we can do more to get to know each other.

New dad Glen Bulloss couldn't figure out why he wasn't happy after he became a dad. What was supposed to be an amazing time in his life didn't feel like one. It turns out he, like many new parents, suffered from postpartum depression. Yes, dads experience it too. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2018/07/30/new-fathers-should-be-screened-for-postnatal-depression-too-study-finds/#787081fb51b6 (One study says it's actually just as common with dads as moms.) Glen listened to an earlier https://positivelydad.com/podcast/episode-9-postpartum-depression-for-dads/ (Positively Dad episode called When Dad is Depressed) where we talked with Indiana University's Dr. Erika Cheng about postpartum depression. That's when Glen realized he needed help. Glen joined us to tell his story and share how he hopes to help other families. https://secure2.wish.org/site/TR?px=5105175&fr_id=3471&pg=personal (You can support Glen's Trailblaze Challenge here.)

Parenting isn't easy and it's making you unhappy. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/parenting/news/a33900/parenthood-happiness-study/ (One study says 73% of parents were happier before kids.) Woah. Happiness for parents is complicated and we found an expert to help. https://twitter.com/kjdellantonia (KJ Dell'Antonia) wrote the book on it, https://kjdellantonia.com/ (How to Be a Happier Parent) and she joins us this week for a conversation with dads.

The entire world was shocked with Sunday's news. Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in southern California. Since then we've heard so many stories about how important being a father was to Kobe. One man got an up close look at Kobe the dad. His name is Russ Davis and he's the head coach of the women's basketball team at Vanguard University. Kobe often held practice for his daughter's team at the Vanguard facility. We talked with Coach Davis about his relationship with Kobe and what he learned from him as a man, coach and father.

We're just about a month into a new year. How's it going? Chances are you planned to make some changes in 2020, https://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/why-set-yourself-up-for-failure-ditch-new-years-resolution-do-this-instead.html (yet most people fail to pull off those New Year's resolutions.) https://twitter.com/mikeashcraft (Pastor Mike Ashcraft) was curious on why so many fail and decided to change things. Instead of focusing on a resolution he chose to pick just one word for the year. A word that would represent what you'd like to see happen. He's shared this idea with his church for years and even http://myoneword.org/ (turned it into a book.) We talked with him about how selecting one word in 2020 may help you and your family.

Kelly McCann made a major shift when his daughter was born. He gave up the big career to focus on being a dad. Now, this dad of four is both - a great dad and a successful business owner with his wife Leah. He shares how he changed his focus and began living his life by design.

Sexual harassment is real and it’s happening earlier in life than you think. https://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/everything-kids/sexual-harassment-is-common-among-middle-school-children-study/ (A recent study says more that 40% of middle school students said they’ve been victims of sexual harassment.) That along with the #MeToo movement prompted children’s author http://www.barbaradee.com/ (Barbara Dee) to write a novel called https://barbaradeebooks.com/books/maybe-he-just-likes-you/ (Maybe He Just Likes You). She takes a look at harassment and #metoo through the eyes of a seventh grader. We're releasing this encore episode as a follow-up to https://positivelydad.com/podcast/a-call-to-dads/ (last week's conversation with Tony Porter from A Call To Men.) While men are making progress in supporting women, there is still work to do. It’s an important conversation for all parents and one Barbara says we must have and an issue we must address.

What does it mean to be a purposeful parent? Father of two, Ladd Gasparovic believes he knows and he says it's important in raising his kids. This week he shares how all of us can be purposeful with how we engage, support and spend time with our families.

Dads, it's time we have a real conversation about fatherhood and manhood. Are we truly being the best we can be or are we falling prey to old stereotypes? Could we be causing harm without even realizing it? Are we really supporting our partners and children? We'll answer these questions in our conversation with https://twitter.com/tonyporteractm (Tony Porter), CEO of A Call to Men. Tony gained massive attention after his https://www.ted.com/talks/tony_porter_a_call_to_men?language=en#t-707 (2010 TED Talk at TEDWomen.) It's been watched nearly 3 million times. We talked with him about some classic traps of manhood and how we can truly make a difference in our families and the community.

Gary Brackett keeps beating the odds and he says his mindset is the reason why. Now he's made it is mission to help others do the same. Gary went from walk-on at Rutgers to team captain and from undrafted to Super Bowl champion with the Indianapolis Colts. We talk with Gary about how we can think like a champion and help our kids do the same. As a father of three, he knows just how important it is for us to help our children think big.

The popular motivational quote says, "failure isn't an option." Well, that's not true. It IS an option and sometimes it may be a better one.https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/early-setbacks-failure-career-success ( A study from Northwestern University shows failure may be better than just barely succeeding.) We talk with Dr. Dashun Wang about how we learn from failure and how to use it to move you forward as a parent, partner and person.

https://twitter.com/kennycurtistalk (Kenny Curtis) has one wonderful, unique and very large family. He calls it "a tribe" and it's a tribe with a story that will amaze you. The SiriusXM host of "The Animal Farm" on https://www.siriusxm.com/kidsplacelive (Kids Place Live) truly has a heart for kids and family and it shows.

With 2019 coming to a close we thought it would be nice to share some of this year’s best episodes with you. The episodes you hear over the next few days should help you and your family gain focus in 2020. The balance between family and work is a challenge for so many and Dr. Scott Behson is making it his mission to help. As a father, he knows the battle and that’s why he wrote http://workingdadssurvivalguide.com/ (The Working Dad’s Survival Guide). Dr. Behson joined us for a Dad Talk episode to share what he’s learned about making it work.

With 2019 coming to a close we thought it would be nice to share some of this year's best episodes with you. The episodes you hear over the next few days should help you and your family gain focus in 2020. How do we make it all happen? The demands of life… work, family, kids, the house, money, and more. This week we take a look at how you can live an amazing life and reach your goals in the areas that matter. We talked with Jay Papasan, co-author of the best-selling book http://www.the1thing.com/ (The ONE Thing). Jay, and his wife Wendy, have two kids and he gives great examples on how they make it work and how you can too.

With 2019 coming to a close we thought it would be nice to share some of this year's best episodes with you. The episodes you hear over the next few days should help you and your family gain focus in 2020. It’s a legendary scene in a classic movie… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXjz-M_6eN8 (when Ray Kinsella meets his dad in )Field of Dreams. Dwier Brown plays Ray’s dad, John Kinsella, in the movie and that role changed his life. It led him to write a book https://www.dwierbrown.com/ (If You Build It… A Book about Fathers, Fate and Field of Dreams) where he shares the story of his father and the stories of so many others he’s met. It’s a powerful conversation about the relationship between a father and his children.

With 2019 coming to a close we thought it would be nice to share some of this year's best episodes with you. The episodes you hear over the next few days should help you and your family gain focus in 2020. Today is about relationships. Just a few years ago, Lance and Brandy Salazar were on the brink of divorce. They lost touch in their marriage and were ready to go their separate ways. Just before they were going to call it quits, they decided to give it one last shot. Five years later their marriage is the best it’s ever been and they want that for you too. This week we talk with Lance and Brandy about their story, how their relationship has changed and how it’s impacting their family. We’ll also talk about the book they wrote earlier this year with author Hal Elrod, https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Morning-Couples-Legendary-Connections/dp/1942589298/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=The+Miracle+Morning+for+Couples&qid=1565149474&s=gateway&sr=8-2 (The Miracle Morning for Couples.)

With 2019 coming to a close we thought it would be nice to share some of this year's best episodes with you. The episodes you hear over the next few days should help you and your family gain focus in 2020. We're starting with our conversation with Craig Zuber. He, his wife Nicole and their two teenagers live a life by design. It’s important to Craig and Nicole that their kids set goals and achieve their dreams and that’s why the did the unthinkable. They packed up and left Boise for Hawaii while the kids were in middle and high school. That year in Honolulu made a huge impact on their family and taught them many lessons. Craig shares those in one of our Dad Talk Episodes.

We talked with journalist and author https://positivelydad.com/podcast/lauren-duca/ (Lauren Duca last week about the relationship with her father after the 2016 election.) It's a story she shares in her new book https://www.amazon.com/How-Start-Revolution-American-Politics/dp/1501181637 (How to Start a Revolution.) This week, we talk with her father, Ralph about why things got so tough and how they repaired their relationship. It's an amazing story between a father and a daughter that everyone should hear. We highly suggest you listen to our conversation with Lauren Duca before listening to this episode.

Teen suicide attempts are going up. https://positivelydad.com/podcast/episode-13-teen-suicide/ (We did a podcast on it earlier this year.) Would you know if your child was depressed or considering suicide? https://mottpoll.org/reports/recognizing-youth-depression-home-and-school (A new study from C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan) says most parents think they'd know and yet they still have some uncertainty. We talked with Sarah Clark, co-director of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health about the study, what parents should know and how they can help their teens.