DA397 | Making Real Life More Compelling Than Screens, The Purpose of Fatherhood, and Lessons from Foster Care (Kieran Lenahan)

✅ The "wooden box method" that transforms phone habits

✅ Why asking "What's the point of fatherhood?" changes everything

✅ How foster care taught them about the infinite value of every child

✅ Why each of your kids needs different parenting approaches

 

FULL SHOW NOTES

 

SUMMARY

What if the secret to raising kids who aren't addicted to screens isn't about restricting technology—but about making real life more compelling? In this episode, young dad Kieran Lenahan shares practical wisdom from the trenches of parenting four kids under six, including foster care experiences that changed everything. You'll discover why the simple question "What's the point of fatherhood?" should guide every parenting decision, and how a wooden box might be the game-changer your family needs.

TAKEAWAYS

• The fundamental question every dad should ask and keep asking: "What is the point of fatherhood?" Let this guide your decisions rather than just reacting to whatever gets thrown at you.
• Make real life more compelling than screens by creating engaging experiences—if physical reality is exciting, screens lose their allure naturally.
• The wooden box method: Put phones in a physical container and commit to never looking at your phone when kids are asking for your attention.
• Each child needs different parenting approaches—situational leadership applies to fatherhood, so learn to speak each kid's unique "language."
• Foster care teaches you that every child has infinite value—there's no such thing as "practice" when it comes to loving and caring for any child.

GUEST

Kieran Lenahan is the founder of Malachi Daily, a scripture memory tool used by over 70,000 people to memorize Bible verses through gamified daily emails. He's an entrepreneur, coach, and father of four children under six, including children through foster care. Kieran and his wife are passionate about making real life more compelling than screens, intentional parenting, and helping families build rhythms around scripture memory. He lives with his family and leads initiatives that blend faith, technology, and practical parenting wisdom.

LINKS

• Send a Voice Message to DadAwesome

• 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

• Malachi Daily (Free Scripture Memory Newsletter)
• WhisperFlow App (Voice Transcription)
• Previous Jamie Winship episodes on Dad Awesome

QUOTES

1. "The biggest thing is thinking about what is the point of fatherhood? Let that be a really helpful guiding question as you enter fatherhood, and you can keep asking that as you go."
2. "We think that life is good and God created it in the physical real world to be good. If we can make that as compelling as possible, screens lose their allure."
3. "We will never be looking at our phone when our kids are asking for our attention. I never want our kids to feel like our phone is more important than they are."
4. "Not each of our kids needs the exact same type of parenting. The best leaders understand how to speak the language of that team member in a way that's going to motivate them."
5. "If we don't know who we are, it's really hard to live an effective, faithful, obedient life. If that's true for us, how much more true is that for our kids?"