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When Your Kid’s Frustration Hits Old Trauma: A Guide for Neurodivergent Dads
What if the thing that makes you lose your cool with your kids is actually the thing that broke you as a kid?
Geoffrey Griffin
August 13, 2025
Focused Content
Hey Brother,
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We have created the Dad Connection Toolkit!
You don’t need more parenting hacks—you need deeper connection.
The Dad Connection Toolkit gives you 30 days of real-world prompts, practical actions, and short reflections designed to bring you closer to your kids—even if they’re rolling their eyes the whole time.
This isn’t fluff. It’s a step-by-step playbook for dads who want to lead with presence, not perfection.
Because strong families aren’t built in big speeches. They’re built in everyday moments—if you know how to show up for them.
Today in The Focused Fool…
Focused Purpose
What if the moment that makes you snap at your kids is the echo of something that broke you decades ago?
Today, I’m sharing the story of how one pool-day promise took me straight back to middle school—and the real reason “just stay calm” doesn’t work for neurodivergent dads
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Focused Action
This month’s theme: Self Leadership
We’re laying the foundation for the man you’re becoming—one small, repeatable action at a time.
Focused Wonder
Spark connection with this question tonight:
"What’s one thing you’ve learned about how to love someone better?"
Focused Motion
What becoming looks like.
Your story is already being written. Time to pick up the pen.
Focused Purpose
What if the thing making you lose it with your kids… is the same thing that broke you as a kid?
I thought I’d buried that middle school math class forever—until my daughter asked me the same question four times in a row, and I went nuclear.
This isn’t another ‘just stay calm’ parenting pep talk.
It’s the truth about what happens inside a neurodivergent dad’s brain when our kids’ frustration feels like a personal attack… and what finally stopped me from passing that wound on to them.
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Focused Action
Every month, The Focused Fool brings you a series of Focused Actions—practical, bite-sized steps designed to help you grow as a father, husband, and man. Each theme is broken down into 12 structured actions (3 per week for 4 weeks) that build on each other, helping you grow with clarity and purpose—one small win at a time.
These aren’t lofty goals or guilt trips. They’re simple, achievable habits designed to make you more consistent, more grounded, and more present.
This month’s theme: Self Leadership
Taking ownership of your own growth and modeling it for your family.
Self-leadership isn’t about waiting to be told what to do—it’s about choosing your direction, setting your own bar, and showing your family what growth looks like in real time.
This month, we’ll help you create a personal growth system you can return to again and again.
✅ Week 2 – Direction: Create a Vision
Build a System, Not Just a Goal
Action: Write down 2–3 daily or weekly actions that will move the needle on that goal.
Prompt: Are these actions realistic with your current schedule?
Focused Wonder
Focused questions designed to spark meaningful dialogue—whether at the dinner table, during a car ride, or at bedtime. Use these questions to build trust, curiosity, and laughter in your relationships.
What’s one thing you’ve learned about how to love someone better?
Focused Motion
Curated videos to help make you think, to motivate, or to just laugh.
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