Dadicated Joe

Sex education can still be such a taboo topic that by the time we talk to our kids about it we may avoid, freeze, or fumble, and even accidentally pass down the same shame we grew up with. In this episode, I sit down with Megan Brinkerhoff, a mother of two, to talk about what actually helps kids feel safe, informed, and confident in their bodies. We get into why naming body parts early matters mor...

Parenting feels hardest on the days when you are already running on empty. I used to think my daughter was just being difficult. Something as small as her spilling a drink could send me over the edge. What I eventually realized was that a lot of what was driving me crazy had nothing to do with her and everything to do with what was being reflected back to me. In this episode, I break down the four...

Survival mode, self-sacrifice, and avoidance are not strengths. They are the drift. Fatherhood doesn't fall apart all at once, it erodes quietly. You keep showing up, you keep providing, you keep telling yourself this is just a season, and then one day you realize you're exhausted, disconnected, and not totally sure how you got here. In this episode, I sit down with Larry Hagner, host of the Dad E...

Moms spend between 400 and 650 hours breastfeeding in the first six months alone. When my wife, Serenity, started breastfeeding our daughter, I had no idea how hard it actually was. How many things can go wrong? I've always wanted to be an involved father, but like a lot of men, I assumed breastfeeding was mostly her thing and that my role in it would be minimal. Watching her deal with pain, latch...

​​​​Fatherhood starts way before the delivery room, but most dads don't realize it until the stakes get high. Sometimes conception may feel like luck, pregnancy like something mom handles, and birth like the starting line. Then we wonder why we feel behind once the baby is here. In this episode, I sit down with Ben Greenfield, a health consultant, New York Times bestselling author of Boundless and...

It's been said we're the first generation reparenting ourselves at the same time we're parenting our kids. Becoming a dad didn't just change my schedule. It exposed parts of me I didn't know were still running the show. A wounded inner child is desperately in need of a loving parent. My parents did their absolute best, but just didn't have the tools and skills we have today to allow for feelings a...

It is largely just accepted that new parents don't sleep for a year. But does it have to be that way!? Sleep deprivation does more than make us tired. It messes with our heads, our patience, our relationships, and our general sanity. When I became a dad, I accepted exhaustion as part of the deal. I assumed this was just how newborn life worked and that struggling through it was normal. Dr. Harvey...

The workload of the holidays hits moms everywhere. Whether consciously or unconsciously, they take on the lion's share of the planning, the meals, the gifts, the travel, the traditions, the emotional labor — all while I stayed focused on logistics. And then rather than share in the fun and excitement the holidays are supposed to be about, they can end up stressed out, resentful, and just wanting i...

The school system really messed me up. I would not fit into the standardized box they try to jam kids into, and was deeply wounded by them trying to hammer me into it. This left me passionate about changing the way we treat kids. I tried to create my own school for Della, but it was VERY HARD. So I was so lucky to find the Whole Life Learning Center, founded by Micheal Carberry for his two boys, n...

Parents often have so many questions when it comes to choosing a school, and it's easy to get confused about what is important and what isn't. These days, kids are usually measured by report cards and behavior standard benchmarks that rarely reflect who they are or how they're actually growing. But underneath all of that is the real question we should be asking as parents: What is school actually...

This is a subject my wife and I became accidental experts on when we went looking for foods for our baby and didn't like what we found. We (meaning my wife) did enormous research on infant nutrition, which became the foundation for our baby food company Serenity Kids.  Starting solids is an exciting time that dads can help with a ton! Doing the research, purchasing ingredients, mashing up soft foo...

After battling years of infertility & having a miracle baby, Skylar Nelson set forth to overhaul the pre and post natal supplement industry.  Skylar is a registered dietitian and co-founder of I Am Nurtured, a prenatal and postnatal supplement brand born from personal struggle. Together, we unpack the hidden side of male infertility, the emotional toll it takes on couples, and how nutrition and su...

When my wife was pregnant and postpartum she was a snacking monster, and then my toddler became the endless blackhole of snacks. Keeping up with the sheer volume is hard enough, but then we are also health conscious and both my wife and daughter are super tasters, so finding healthy snacks that actually tasted good felt impossible. Most packaged snacks are either loaded with sugar or taste like ca...

I used to think gut health was something you worried about after a bad meal or too many antibiotics. Turns out, gut health starts at birth and can affect them their entire life! Their gut microbes in the first 1,000 days of life can lay the foundation for everything—immunity, digestion, even emotional regulation—and they're influenced by choices we make as parents from day one. In this episode, I...

Being a girl dad is the greatest joy—and the greatest responsibility—of my life. From the moment Della realized she was her own little person, she's been a daddy's girl. She'll tell you herself: Mommy's the best at boo boos and boundaries, and Daddy brings the fun, the wrestling, and the big questions about life. I knew that moms and dads sometimes parented differently, but I underestimated how sp...

Divorce can tear families apart, or it can be the start of something new. For Josh Cearbaugh, father of five in a blended family, it was both. In this episode, I sit down with Josh Cearbaugh, a father of five in a blended family with kids ages 7 through 16. Josh has walked through addiction, divorce, and the painful work of rebuilding trust. What I love about his story is how real it is. He doesn'...

Most of us want to make toddler tantrums stop. I sure did. But tantrums are actually essential, developmentally appropriate signs of healthy growth and development, and the way we respond can determine how safe our children feel experiencing their emotions for life. In this episode, I share the five-step process I use with my daughter Della when she melts down over everything from chocolate to not...

We may think a lot about what foods our kids should eat, but what about what we DON'T want them to eat? I'm not just talking about junk food, but junk that ends up in what would otherwise be healthy food.   In this episode, I sit down with my friend, fellow food entrepreneur, and health warrior Parker Brooks, father of two and founder of Lovebird cereal. Parker left his career at General Mills aft...

What struck me most about this episode was the fact that choices parents make in pregnancy and early childhood can deeply affect their child for LIFE! So while I knew this period of my child's life was important, I was surprised at how much I can (and therefore must) influence their lifelong trajectory with a few smart choices at the very start.  In this conversation, I sit down with Dave Asprey,...

Resentful women. Resentful wives. Resentful moms. This has become normal. Men hate it, feeling like they can never do enough and are always being criticized. Women hate it, feeling like they are constantly abandoned and left to do everything on their own. It seems impossible, but there is a solution!  I've dealt with my wife's resentment for years, and am happy to say I have reduced it by at least...

Most of us think we're failing as dads when we lose our temper or feel disconnected. But what if the real work starts way before that, inside the relationship, inside the tension, inside ourselves? In this episode, I sit down with relationship coach Scott Wild to unpack what it takes to co-parent without drifting apart. Scott and his wife Mel, have two kids under two. They're in the thick of it. A...

Our birth didn't go as planned. We wanted a peaceful home birth. We ended up in the hospital In the middle of the night getting a C-section. And you know what? It was still a great birth—because we were prepared. I was prepared.  I spent months learning everything I could about childbirth. I talked to midwives, studied birth plans, and mapped out every possible scenario. Not because I wanted contr...

Jason Bronstad thought he was doing everything right—executive title, steady paycheck, hustle mode always on. But when his four-year-old son told him his "dad voice" was what hurt him the most, it shattered the illusion. What followed was a total redefinition of fatherhood—from suppressing emotions and prioritizing work, to sitting on the stairs and asking his kids what they really feel. In this b...

Sleep is one of the MOST challenging aspects of having a new born. And yet it is so important for babies development, and for parents' physical and mental health!  I used to think constant exhaustion was just part of new fatherhood, but the truth is, poor sleep breaks everything: our health, our patience, our connection, even our sanity. In this solo episode, I share the sleep strategies that help...