Positively Dad

Guy Patton decided to leave his job when his son was born and stay at home. https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/educationfamily/stay-at-home-dads-redefining-fatherhood (He joined a growing, and still small, group of dads who are choosing raising a family over growing a career). Now that his son is in school he's back on the job hunt and it surprised on just how tough it's been to get to work. https://www.parents.com/parenting/dads/101/im-a-stay-at-home-dad-trying-to-get-back-into-the-workforce-and-i-see-why-moms-say-its-so-hard/?utm_campaign=parents_parentsmagazine&utm_term=BE788CF4-1B72-11EA-9307-3CD14F017A06&utm_content=link&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social (He shared his story last week with Parents) and talked with us about his journey.

Lauren Duca was devastated on election night of 2016. She couldn't believe Donald Trump won and was disappointed her father voted for him. That disappointment eventually turned to frustration and anger. About a month after the election, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/donald-trump-is-gaslighting-america (Lauren wrote a story for Teen Vogue called Donald Trump is Gaslighting America) and that only made things worse between Lauren and her dad. She joins us to talk about the last three years, her relationship with her father - and how they repaired it - and about her mission of empowering young people to have a voice in American politics. She shares thoughts from her book How to Start a Revolution and how dads can support their kids, even when the disagree. It may be the most powerful Positively Dad episode yet and a must listen for every father.

Pat Mancuso and his family experienced something no family wants to experience, the loss of a child. That loss adjusted Pat's perspective and changed the lives of his family. He shares how he's been purposeful in being present with his family while still having a big business life.

https://assets.aspeninstitute.org/content/uploads/2019/10/2019_SOP_National_Final.pdf (Nearly 70% of American children participate in sports) and https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/21/health/kids-youth-sports-parents/index.html (almost all of them will quit before they're a teenager.) Why? Parents are the likely reason. Experts say we may not be setting our kids up to win. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-growing-trend-of-youth-sports-specialization-300608434.html (A 2018 study showed nearly 60% of parents are encouraging their kids to specialize in one sport) and nearly every expert says that's a really bad idea. https://news.psu.edu/story/545136/2018/11/07/research/rushing-kids-specialize-one-sport-may-not-be-best-path-success (This week we talk with Dr. Matthew Silvis from Penn State University about his study on specialization.) He shares why parents should wait to let their kids focus on one sport and when it's OK.

Jared and Amber Rutherford have four kids age 10 and under and they are very purposeful on how they parent. It's something that's evolved over the years. Jared says he has one major responsibility as a dad - to teach his kids how to think. He shares his story and gives us some great ideas on this week's Dad Talk Episode.

Life isn't perfect and we all have tough times. How do we get through? How can we support others when they experience loss? This week we talk with Dr. David Wheeler, a Psychologist from Baton Rouge about grief and family. He shares how we can get through those times and how we can support our friends and family when they are suffering. Dr. Wheeler shares his own story of losing his wife in an auto accident and how he and his three children moved forward.

We have a special episode for you this Thanksgiving. The entire Positively Dad family shares some thoughts on gratitude. We're thankful to all our listeners and trust you'll enjoy this look at gratitude from James, Terri and Naomi Shaw.

People get emotional. It's part of life. How do you handle your emotions and are you a great role model for your kids? How do you respond when your children get emotional? We answer these questions and more in or conversation with Dr. Marc Brackett from the http://ei.yale.edu/ (Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence). He shares amazing insight from his book Permission to Feel that every parent should hear. Find out if you're a scientist or judge parent. You may be surprised!

Andrew Haddad says he has the perfect family. Not because they don’t face challenges, but because they do. After their daughter Charlie was born they had hopes to have another child. Like many families, they struggled with becoming pregnant. That struggle took them on an adventure that changed their lives and the life of a baby girl in Japan. He shares the journey and how they are purposeful in living a life by design.

We talk A LOT about kids and screens. What about us? Is your “screen time” style, “do as I say, not as I do?” If we’d like to raise children to have a healthy relationship with screens, we must have one. We continue our conversation with http://www.anyakamenetz.net/ (Anya Kamenetz on her book )The Art of Screen Time, this time talking about us. What things should parents consider to avoid addiction and to stay present with their families? https://positivelydad.com/kids-the-art-of-screen-time-e38/ (It’s a follow up to our episode on Kids & The Art of Screen Time).

Mike and Katie Richardson had it all planned out. They got married, got their lives started and were ready to start a family. That’s when it didn’t go as planned. Like millions of American families, they struggled with pregnancy and that’s when they decided to take another route. That route changed their lives and the lives so so many kids. Mike shares his story and their journey to adoption.

It’s one of the biggest debates in American homes… screen time. Are they on their devices too much? What are they watching? Are their brains going to mush? And on and and on and on. There are a lot of rumors, myths and fears about screens and kids. This week we attempt to get through the clutter and get to the truth. We talked with NPR’s http://www.anyakamenetz.net/ (Anya Kamenetz about her book The Art of Screen Time.) She lays out what parents need to know and what boundaries they should consider.

“There is no cure. It is fatal.” That’s what doctors told Joel and Andrea Clausen last November. Words no parent wants to hear. The doctor was talking about their youngest son Bryce. He was diagnosed with https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/krabbe-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20374178 (Krabbe disease – an extremely rare condition that affects the brain and nervous system.) Doctors told them Bryce had just a few months left and that they should enjoy the time they have together. Joel, Andrea, Bryce and their oldest son, Levi, did the best they could. They cried and spent time together and then decided they would turn their tragedy into something good. https://www.facebook.com/groups/783052145361791/ (Bryce’s Battle) became a mission – a mission that could impact families around their home state of Indiana. We talked with Joel about Bryce, their journey and how they got lawmakers to make sure fewer families will experience what they did.  

It happens to all of us, we have a great idea or set a big goal and then get stopped somewhere along the journey. Why does it happen and what can we do to actually get it done? This week we talk with https://www.productiveflourishing.com/start-finishing/ (Charlie Gilkey about his new book Start Finishing) where he looks at how to survive the “messy middle” and how to beat the five challenges that stop us in our tracks.

David and Toni Zarghami are the parents of two young kids and they, like all of us, want their kids to grow up in to successful people. That’s why they are intentional about helping their son and daughter think with a growth mindset – seeing opportunity in everything and focused on using words and language that moves them forward. We talked with David about how that impacts his relationship with his kids and his wife.

Did you know that babies as young as six-months old notice differences in skin color? https://positivelydad.com/episode-4-born-with-bias/ (We did a podcast on that study earlier in the year) and that lead us to this week’s conversation. Knowing that kids may show a preference to those who look like them, how do we introduce our kids to people who don’t look like us, become aware of bias and learn to love others? We talked with Andrew Grant-Thomas, founder of http://www.embracerace.org (EmbraceRace) about dad’s role in raising kids who are welcoming of others.

Dustin and Stacy Grove have three kids under the age of 11 and they lead busy lives. Both work very fluid schedules and still manage to get it done. Dustin says it’s important to him that he spend quality time with each of his kids. We talked with him about how he does it and why he believes it’s so important.

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. It’s an important conversation for all parents and one Barbara says we must have and an issue we must address.

Craig and Nicole Zuber 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 this week’s Dad Talk episode.

Chances are if you’re listening to this podcast, you’d like to be an amazing dad. Not all kids have that. Thousands of children grow up in abusive homes. When the state steps in to protect those kids, they often get help from a Guardian ad Litem. This week we talk with the Executive Director of the https://galf6.org/ (Guardian ad Litem Foundation of Tampa Bay) about what they do and how you can be a hero to these kids and your own. Positively Dad is a sponsor of the annual Superhero 5k in Safety Harbor that’s a fundraiser for the foundation. We’re honored to help and happy to devote an episode to learning about GAL, finding out how we can get involved and learning what we can do to be even better parents.