Lead Dad 101

How To Make a Tough Choice: Say It Aloud

Do I support my wife and her business at her work dinner? Or do I go to an event to talk to a group of senior female executives about how to get their husbands to be more supportive? Once I put it that way the decision was obvious. But it started off as one of […]

Parents Can Advocate for Reading As A Civil Right

What if we reframed children learning to read as a civil right? Would that change how schools teach our children, particularly the 1.6 million kids in the U.S. with dyslexia? On Friday, I went to the premiere of the documentary “Left Behind”. The documentary follows a group of mothers of dyslexic kids in New York […]

How To Encourage Companies To Give Equal Parental Leave

Companies that do not have equal leave policies are implicitly discriminating against their female employees. Companies that don’t train managers – who rose through the ranks in a different work culture – to message leave policies positively are holding back men and women. Here’s how to change this.

I Gave Up Complaining. Here’s A Better Strategy

This is my dog, Annie. She works with me most days. At night, she sleeps in my daughter’s room. She doesn’t ever complain. What she does[…]

What’s Worth Waiting For – and What Isn’t?

At the holidays, there’s good waiting and there’s bad waiting. If you’re a kid who celebrates Christmas, waiting for Santa is good waiting. If your stove stopped working right after you pulled out the Thanksgiving turkey and the appliance repair guy keeps ordering parts that don’t actually repair it, and if he never shows up […]

What Grit Looks Like In A Kid

This is what grit in a kid looks like. Nothing forced. No tutors. No coaches. No overbearing parent. Just desire and opportunity. My youngest daughter has been an indifferent ice skater, content to slide around with a green-plastic frame. She doesn’t fall. She goes pretty fast. But she really isn’t skating. She’s sliding. And that’s […]

A Reminder: Being Present Is Better Than Being Perfect

At dinner on our 17th wedding anniversary, my wife handed me a card and laughed. It was very sweet on the outside, and on the inside, it read: Happy Valentine’s Day. Our anniversary is in December. I smiled. It was the perfect card for us, two working parents with three kids and three dogs and […]

7 Reasons To Be Grateful For Your Partner This Thanksgiving

What am I most thankful for this holiday season? My relationship with my wife, by far. Without her, none of the other really great things…

5 Tips To Be A Different Type of Provider

I missed International Men’s Day. The irony is not lost on me. Why? I was focused on being a provider all day. Before your hypocrisy meter…

What Being A Member of The Most Exclusive Club For Working Parents Reminded Me

For a fleeting moment I was a member of an exclusive club that I’ve long aspired to be a member of. It wasn’t social club. It wasn’t a…

A Conversation For My Daughters

Election night was my turn to put our 7yo daughter to bed. My wife and I trade off, just as we did with our other two daughters until…

Education Empathy Transitions Trust

Why Community Matters for Dads

I got an email from a conference I attended two weeks ago that prompted me to think about the most important takeaway from that day…

Sign up for The Dad.

QUICK LINKS