When your teenager starts reflecting your own traits back at you, parenting gets real

Michael Guidotti shares his journey raising 13-year-old Donovan, a remarkable young man who chooses family time over friends and stands firm when his character gets attacked. From sports bonding and travel adventures to navigating split households and teenage development, Michael reveals how authentic parenting means paving your own path while staying open to feedback. This fatherhood podcast explores the beautiful complexity of watching your child develop their identity while seeing yourself reflected in their choices.

Key Takeaways:

• Start becoming a parent before the baby arrives
• Kids mirror our behaviors more than we realize
• Character matters more than popularity to some teens
• Family-oriented values can emerge naturally in children
• Teenage identity development requires support, not control
• Sports create powerful bonding opportunities between fathers and sons
• Split households can still raise well-adjusted, family-focused kids
• Confidence in your parenting path is essential
• Mistakes are inevitable and valuable in the parenting journey
• Character attacks hurt deeply when integrity matters to your child

If you enjoyed The Dad Manual, leave us a rating on your podcast app! If you loved it, share this episode with a Dad! Send your questions to dadmanualpodcast@gmail.com.

Connect with Tony Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thetonycooper/

When one positive pregnancy test changes everything, transformation becomes inevitable.

Diego Kuri's life shifted the moment he discovered he was becoming a father. From addressing his relationship with alcohol to breaking cycles of rage and anxiety, Diego shares how fatherhood pushed him toward becoming his best self. Now co-parenting two strong-willed boys in Miami, he's navigating the balance between nature and nurture, breaking generational patterns, and creating a legacy of presence and unconditional love. This conversation explores the inner work required to show up authentically for your children.

Key Takeaways:

• Discovering fatherhood can trigger immediate personal transformation
• Leading by example is the most powerful parenting tool
• Breaking generational trauma is the greatest legacy we can leave
• Co-parenting requires flexibility, communication, and shared values
• Strong personalities in children reflect opportunities for self-awareness
• Inner work before crisis prevents future disconnection with kids
• Nature shapes who children are, but values guide how they navigate life
• Presence and unconditional love matter more than perfection
• Small moments of joy often become the most treasured memories
• Starting therapy or self-work early creates healthier parent-child relationships

If you enjoyed The Dad Manual, leave us a rating on your podcast app! If you loved it, share this episode with a Dad! Send your questions to dadmanualpodcast@gmail.com.

Connect with Tony Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thetonycooper/

What happens when a master of human connection realizes he's barely talked about his most important role?

Guy Sengstock, co-founder of Circling and dialogical practices expert, joins me to explore the implicit nature of fatherhood. With a 22-year-old son and a 4-year-old, Guy shares raw insights on the wonder of witnessing consciousness emerge, the profound regret of signing away proximity to his eldest, and why aggression needs socialization, not suppression. We discuss how fathers teach most powerfully when they're not trying, the cosmological significance of rough-and-tumble play, and what it means to midwife young beings into self-awareness.

Key Takeaways:

• Why parenting happens most powerfully in implicit, unplanned moments
• The respect and otherness experienced during childbirth
• How physical play socializes healthy masculine aggression
• The deep regret of allowing distance from your child
• What it means to be present with wonder as a father
• How perspective becomes a father's greatest gift
• Why ending generational trauma matters more than legacy
• The importance of being fully present at birth and beyond

If you enjoyed The Dad Manual, leave us a rating on your podcast app! If you loved it, share this episode with a Dad! Send your questions to dadmanualpodcast@gmail.com.

Connect with Tony Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thetonycooper/