4. Jim Angelus: Connecting with Openness, Levity and Humor

The Father Daughter Dance

Some conversations with your pre-teen daughter can be difficult and downright awkward. But what if you face them head-on – and even add a little humor while you’re at it? Listen in as Jim Angelus shares a proud-dad moment, how he connects with his daughters around the dinner table, and what he does to lighten up challenging conversations.

In this episode, Jim reflects on how he’s parenting differently than his own mom and dad. You’ll learn how a game called “High, Low, Buffalo” has opened the door to deeper insights and conversations with his daughters in an organic way that they enjoy. He’ll also share why he communicates differently with his daughters, how they’ve grown, and what he thinks about their upcoming pre-teen years – and you’ll hear a hilarious story about how he handled an awkward question from his daughter.

Here’s a glance at what you’ll learn from Jim in this episode:

• What it was like growing up in a blended family and what he learned about parenting.
• How he keeps an open door for communication with his daughters.
• High, Low, Buffalo: A dinner-table game that’s sure to help you connect with the family.
• Why he communicates differently with each of his girls.
• How he recognizes emotional growth and trust in his girls.
• A proud-dad moment and what he learned.
• The thoughts and concerns of a pre-teen daughter’s dad.
• How to notice and put on the breaks when you’re projecting.
• How he handles unexpected and difficult conversations with levity and humor.

Show Notes

• 01:00 – Introducing Jim Angelus, a father of two daughters.
• 01:40 – A lesson from my daughter on stepping back and enjoying the journey.
• 05:30 – What Jim and Tim have in common: Their first dose of the vaccines!
• 07:40 –Jim’s musical career, family, and two daughters, Vivian and Sloane.
• 11:50 – His blended family upbringing, dynamics, and communication growing up.
• 14:50 – Mental therapy walks and reflecting on his father making him run.
• 17:00 – Having an open door for communication with his daughters.
• 18:15 – On sex education back in the day and for our daughters.
• 20:30 – Navigating communication with your daughters: High, low, buffalo.
• 21:00 – The difference between how he communicates with his two daughters.
• 24:30 – Recognizing your daughter’s emotional growth and trust in you.
• 25:20 – A proud moment: Jim’s daughter recognized her wrongdoing and resolved it.
• 27:00 – How Jim shows up for his daughters in comparison to how he was raised.
• 29:35 – His thoughts and concerns about having a pre-teen entering junior high.
• 34:00 – Fears around his daughters and a funny story.
• 37:15 – The point of the story and working on projecting feelings with our daughters.
• 38:50 – The things we do in hopes that our daughters grow up to be good people.
• 39:15 – Uncomfortable and unexpected conversations.

Exercise

How can you add levity and humor to challenging or unexpected conversations with your daughter?