ABOUT THIS EPISODE
67 | NOTES & PLANS
Would You Take Your Own Advice?
As dads, we give a lot of advice.
Keep going.
Be kind.
Tell the truth.
Put the phone down.
Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks.
Take care of yourself.
Have courage.
Say you’re sorry.
Be present.
But here’s the harder question:
Are we listening to our own advice?
In this episode, we talk about the gap between the things we tell our kids and the way we actually live. Not from a place of perfection—but from the realization that our kids are learning from what they see in us every day.
Maybe being a dad isn’t about having all the answers.
Maybe sometimes it’s about finally taking some of the advice we’ve been giving everyone else.
Questions to think about:
• What advice do I give my kids most often?
• Where am I struggling to follow it myself?
• What are my kids learning from watching me?
• When I mess up, do they see me own it and make it right?
• If my kids followed my example instead of my advice, where would it lead them?
Dig deeper:
American Psychological Association — Dads as positive role models:
Dads can be positive role models
Harvard Center on the Developing Child — responsive relationships and the importance of everyday back-and-forth connection:
A Guide to Serve & Return
Harvard’s Brain Architects episode on building relationships through everyday interaction:
Listen: Serve and Return — Supporting the Foundation
This week’s challenge:
Think of one piece of advice you regularly give your kids.
Then live it yourself.
Your best conversation might be the one you need to have with yourself.
