Hi Superparents, Being a single parent requires a kind of strength that most people will never understand. You have to split yourself into multiple people: the provider, the nurturer, the teacher, and the disciplinarian. The bills double, the time shrinks, and physically, we are exhausted. We want to be present for our kids, but often our minds are stuck figuring out how to survive the month. Today, I want to talk specifically to the single dads. Growing up, most of us were given one playbook: Be strong. Don't cry. Man up. That might have helped us look tough on the outside, but on the inside, it often just made the storm stronger. Nobody taught us how to release the pressure, so we just kept sealing the lid tighter. The "Pressure Cooker" Trap: We see so many cases where single dads are judged as "aggressive" or "angry." But often, that anger isn't who they are, it’s a release valve. 🧠 Psychologists call this the "Pressure Cooker Effect" of emotional suppression. Research shows that when men suppress sadness or vulnerability to conform to traditional masculine norms, that energy doesn't disappear. It transforms. It often re-emerges as irritability, anger, or sudden aggression because the emotional "container" is simply overflowing. True Strength is Clearing the Storm Validating your emotions isn't a weakness; it is the ultimate sign of strength. When you deal with that storm inside, you clear out the debris. You make space. And do you know what fills that space? Love. When you aren't holding back the dam, you can let more love in, and let more love out for your children. "Man Up" and Cry --> It is okay to cry. You are not less of a man for it; you are a more human father. Try opening up a little today—whether it's with a friend, a family member, or just writing it down. Let them know you are working on this part of yourself. You can be tough and still feel deeply. So man up, cry it out, and come back stronger. I can't remember a time my own dad said "I love you" to me. I knew he felt it, but he never had the tools to express it. I decided to break that cycle. Today, I challenge my son to see who can scream "I LOVE YOU!" the loudest. It is silly, it is loud, and it is so much fun. But most importantly, every single day, he knows—without a doubt—that his dad loves him.

Hey Superparents, Let's take a quick trip down memory lane. How many of us heard these phrases growing up? - "Stop crying, you're fine." - "If you don't stop, I'll give you a real reason to cry." - "Lower your voice. You're making a scene." For many of our parents, the focus was on appearing like the "perfect family." An emotional or crying child was often seen as a reflection of bad parenting, so the impulse was to shut feelings down quickly. We were taught to bottle things up. The result? We may have had freedom, but many of us lacked a deep emotional connection, and we never truly learned that it was okay to be sad, angry, or hurt. We needed someone to sit with us in our pain, but our parents often didn't have the tools because no one ever did it for them. But here is where we are the cycle-breakers. What we are doing differently has a powerful name in developmental psychology: Co-regulation. A foundational article from the Institute of Child Psychology describes co-regulation as a process where a calm adult lends their nervous system to a distressed child to help them feel safe and return to a calm state. When we get down on our child's level after a fall and say, "That was a big fall, I'm right here with you," we are not just comforting them. We are literally helping to build the neural pathways in their brain for future self-regulation. You don't need to fix their problem in that moment. You just need to be their safe space. This is the gift we give our children. We are teaching them that their feelings are valid, that they are not an inconvenience, and that they will never be alone in their struggles. Every time you choose connection over correction during a meltdown, you are changing the future. Good job, Superparents. Let's keep tackling those booboo's together. ❤️