Dad Braids Club: What’s the Solution?

Teaching kids (and ourselves) how to respond when things go wrong.

Author

Dad Braids
September 07, 2025

Estimated read time: 3 min

🧠 Today’s Idea

We were heading out to a friend’s house for dinner, and in her excitement my daughter wanted to help. She carried our huge salad bowl down the driveway… and dropped it.

Salad ruined. (Luckily it was a plastic bowl)

She froze — embarrassed, flustered, and sorry.

I felt the frustration bubbling up, but I tried hard to stay calm. Because she was looking at me, waiting to see how I would respond.

So I asked, “What’s the solution?”

It snapped her out of it. She thought for a moment and said, “Clean it up.”

“Sounds right to me,” I told her.

She ran for paper towels. I grabbed the trash can. And just like that, we were moving forward again.

This little moment ties back to something my wife and I have been using with her a lot lately. She’s in a stage where she asks for help with everything — even the simplest little tasks. Instead of fixing it ourselves or brushing her off with “you got this,” we’ve been asking:

“What’s the solution?”

It’s been surprisingly effective. She pauses. Thinks. Sometimes she figures it out right away, other times she needs a nudge. But slowly she’s learning there’s always a way forward.

The shift matters.

“This is broken, Dad” is passive.

“What’s the solution?” is active.

We’re trying to plant the idea that she doesn’t have to wait for someone else to fix every problem. She can be part of the process.

Will it always work? Of course not. But if this mindset sticks, maybe it’ll serve her well later — when the puzzles are bigger than spilled water or tangled shoelaces.

🌀 Braid of the Week

Two braids are better than one.

These double braided pigtails look impressive, but they’re easier than you think — and they actually hold up all day.

Save this one for the next school morning 👊

📸 Community Highlights

I’ve been invited to HomeDadCon to lead a workshop next week! 🙌

It’s the annual convention hosted by the National At-Home Dad Network, and I’m stoked to be traveling to San Antonio. Follow along Thursday–Saturday as I’ll be connecting with some amazing dads.

And finally, a message that reminded me why this all matters:

Not every act of love makes the news.

But those quiet moments? They’re the ones that change everything.

That’s what Dad Braids is all about. Not perfect styles. Not picture-ready mornings. Just presence, patience, and showing up for our kids.

💡 Hair Hack

“No more morning tangles.” A quick trick to make school mornings smoother.

🧰 Product We’re Loving

Here’s my go-to: DAE Styling Cream. Three reasons I swear by it:

  • Simple ✅

  • Smells great ✅

  • Keeps flyaways down (without the crunch) ✅

Dad-approved. 👊

You can find it (and all my favorite tools) on the Dad Braids Gear List.

🗳️ Poll of the Week

If you could wave a magic wand and make one part of dad life easier, what would it be?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

P.S. Last week I asked: What’s your go-to “easy win” activity with your kids?

The runaway winner: the park 🛝 (with 75% of the votes).

✌🏻 Final Thought

When the salad bowls shatter, when the socks don’t match, when things don’t go as planned — we can choose frustration… or we can choose to ask, “What’s the solution?”

That question doesn’t just move the moment forward. It gives our kids a mindset that might carry them for life.

– Strider

French fries and milkshakes

How did you like todays newsletter?

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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.