Navigating Emotional Rivers: Understanding Avoidance in Parenting

🔥 PART 2 is here! Dr. Jake Smith is back with the game-changing attunement triangle that will transform how you connect with your kids.

70% of Christian leaders don't finish well as dads. Don't be part of that statistic.

In today's episode, you'll discover:

✅ The 4 components of attunement that create lasting relationships

✅ How to escape the "smothering grind" before it destroys your family

✅ Why behavior modification is sabotaging your connection with your kids

✅ The difference between "crushing life" and actually living it

The battle for your attention as a dad is real, and 70% of Christian leaders won't finish well. In part two of this critical conversation, Dr. Jake Smith reveals the attunement triangle that creates lasting relationships with your kids and how to escape the smothering grind that leads to burnout, flame out, or tap out. You'll discover why seeing your kids underneath their behavior changes everything and how to move from survival-mode parenting to deeply connected fatherhood.

• Attunement is the key to all healthy, deeply connected relationships: "I see you, I feel with you, I suffer alongside you, and I delight in you."
• The smothering grind pushes 70% of dads toward three outcomes: burnout, flame out, or tap out—and none of them are acceptable.
• Stop teaching your kids to survive you and start teaching them to thrive in the world by moving beyond behavior modification.
• The attunement triangle consists of attunement at the top, with containment and repair as the foundational supports.
• You have two escape routes from life's river: hyperphoria (crushing it through activity) or hypophoria (checking out through apathy)—both lead to destruction.
• Your kids need you to stay in the river of life, feeling what's yours to feel and facing what's yours to face.

Dr. Jake Smith is a licensed professional counselor, author, and the founder of Plumline Ministries. He specializes in helping men navigate the challenges of modern fatherhood while maintaining their emotional and spiritual health. Jake has extensive experience in counseling Christian leaders and is passionate about helping dads finish well in their most important relationships. 

• Learn about the next DadAwesome Accelerator Cohort

• Subscribe to DadAwesome Messages: Text the word "Dad" to (651) 370-8618

• Download a free chapter of the DadAwesome book

• Plumb Line Ministry (HEART)

• Plumb Line Ministry (SOUL)

• Episode 311 | Managing Triggers, Providing a Secure Beginning, and The North Stars of Parenting (Dr. Dan Allender)

• Episode 398 - Part 1 of conversation with Dr. Jake Smith

• Dan Allender resources on attunement

• Chip Dodd - Euphoria River framework

1. "I see you, I feel with you, I suffer alongside you, and I delight in you."
2. "70% of Christian leaders don't finish well—don't be part of that statistic."
3. "Stop teaching your kids to survive you and start teaching them to thrive in life."
4. "Are you crushing life or is life crushing you?"
5. "The goal isn't perfect parenting—it's staying in process."
6. "Attunement is the one thing that ensures relationships last."
7. "Your kids don't need behavior modification—they need you to see them."
8. "Escape the grind before it leads to burnout, flame out, or tap out."
9. "Great parents don't always have great kids—but connected parents do."
10. "You don't have to be a perfect dad—you just have to be present."