Dad Braids Club: Ask the Better Question

Estimated read time: 3 min

🧠 Today’s Idea

Voltaire once said:

That line has been rattling around in my head since this past weekend.

Because I just got back from San Antonio, Texas, where I was invited to run a workshop at HomeDadCon, a national gathering of stay-at-home dads.

And here’s the thing: these men weren’t afraid to ask the good questions.

Not just the surface-level ones — but the kind that open you up, that make you better.

Questions like:

• How do I take better care of myself so I can take better care of my family?

• How do I build deeper connections with my kids?

• And for the 40 dads in my workshop: How do I braid hair so I can show up in small, everyday ways for my daughter?

It was humbling.

These dads weren’t worried about how it looked to learn to braid. They weren’t afraid to fumble through. They leaned in, asked, practiced, and learned.

The truth is, parenthood isn’t about having all the answers.

It’s about staying curious enough to keep asking better questions.

Because when we do, our kids feel it. They see us growing. They see us trying.

And that matters more than being perfect.

So here’s today’s reminder:

Ask the better question.

Even if it makes you uncomfortable.

Even if you don’t know the answer yet.

Your kids don’t need perfect.

They need present.

And asking questions is one of the best ways to get there.

🌀 Braid of the Week

This week we went back to the basics — because sometimes the simplest things deserve the most attention.

The Polished High Ponytail 👱‍♀️

Clean, classic, and surprisingly tough to master.

It’s a reminder that even the basics can be leveled up — and when done right, they look amazing.

📷 Watch on Instagram

🎥 Watch on TikTok

✂️ Hair Hack

The secret weapon in this week’s polished pony?

The Hair Wax Stick — one of my all-time favorite tools for taming flyaways and getting that clean look.

You can find it (and all my go-to tools) right here on the Dad Braids Gear List.

📸 Community Highlights

I can’t say enough about my time at HomeDadCon.

The work of the National At-Home Dad Network is inspiring — they’ve built not just an event, but a brotherhood. A place where dads can show up, share openly, and walk away with tools and confidence to be better for their families.

I left San Antonio grateful, humbled, and deeply inspired. If you’ve never heard of them, definitely check them out. It’s proof of what happens when men come together to support each other — not in competition, but in community.

🗳️ Poll of the Week

P.S. Last week I asked: If you could wave a magic wand and make one part of dad life easier, what would it be?

The winner: more patience at home

✌🏻 Final Thought

It’s funny, we chase big milestones, but often it’s the small, repeated acts that shape our kids’ memories the most.

A polished ponytail.

A question asked with patience.

A Saturday morning without a plan.

None of it looks flashy on paper. But stacked together, day after day, it adds up to something way bigger than perfect braids or smooth mornings.

It adds up to presence.

So this week, whether you nail the pony or fumble through it — just keep showing up.

That’s the stuff that sticks.

– Strider

P.S. 

What’s the last “solution” moment you had with your kids? Hit reply — I’d love to share a few in next week’s newsletter.

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