The Power of Leading With Love, Being Present & Saying Sorry featuring Brandon Webb

In this episode, Brandon Webb — Navy SEAL, former sniper instructor, and author of the brand new parenting book Puddle Jumpers — joins a live Dad Edge Alliance Q&A to answer real questions from real dads. No filters, no talking points. Just a man who has raised three extraordinary kids through divorce, business failure, and years of hard-won parenting lessons, going deep on the questions most dads are quietly carrying.

The questions cover everything — what to tell your younger self as a new dad, how to act vs. wait when stakes are high, how to build confidence and resilience in your kids without SEAL-level pressure, how to get a reluctant 12-year-old to open up, what ordinary magic looks like in everyday parenting, and how to co-parent well when your ex has moved on and moved away.

Brandon's philosophy is simple, practical, and backed by research: get to the why before you drop the hammer, let your kids do small hard things on their own, teach them to use their voice rather than your own, and remember that your voice will become their inner voice. He also drops one of the most memorable parenting wins on the show — a handwritten note from his 22-year-old daughter that he read four or five times and has carried ever since.

 

Timeline Summary

[0:00] Introduction to the Dad Edge Alliance Q&A — and why this is what happens inside the Alliance every month

[3:33] How Puddle Jumpers came to be — three kids, a divorce, a business failure, and strangers asking Brandon for advice

[6:12] The mud puddle that gave the book its name — and the kind of dad Brandon decided to be in that moment

[8:29] Q1: What would you tell your younger self as a new father?

[9:22] Lead with love, be present, and choose quality over quantity — especially when you don't have much time

[11:16] Say sorry. Own your mistakes in front of your kids. They're watching conflict resolution in real time.

[13:36] Q2: How do you decide when to act vs. wait when stakes are high and you don't have full clarity?

[14:10] Get to the why of the behavior before you punish — the checklist Brandon uses from his SEAL days

[16:11] The teacher who publicly humiliated his son — and why Brandon and his ex took their son's side and pulled him out

[19:43] Getting to the core driver of the behavior before you act is the most important move a parent can make

[23:29] Q3: How do you build resilience and confidence in kids without SEAL-level pressure?

[24:36] Positive psychology from the sniper course — paint the picture of what to do, not what to stop doing

[25:46] Your voice becomes their inner voice — choose what you want living in their head

[27:00] Ordinary magic — letting kids do small tasks alone is how confidence gets built over time

[27:54] The Portland airport and the soccer team selfies — what happens when you make your kid ask for himself

[30:11] Q4: My 12-year-old is reluctant to open up — how do I get him to talk?

[31:01] Never sit them down at the kitchen table — do it in the car, on a walk, shooting hoops

[32:13] Ask ten times if you need to. Peel the layers back slowly and never make it confrontational.

[33:01] Ask better questions — Brandon has a full reference guide in the back of Puddle Jumpers

[45:00] Q5: How do you navigate divorce and still raise great kids?

[45:21] The psychologist who changed everything — happy mom, happy kids. Default to that when you're triggered.

[48:28] Agree up front to put the kids first and police your own family from choosing sides

[57:15] Get a PhD-level psychologist to help — not just a counselor. It's the best money Brandon ever spent.

[1:00:40] Lead by example, speak positively about your ex, and trust that your kids are watching everything

 

Five Key Takeaways

1. Get to the why before you punish. The behavior is a symptom — and if you react to the symptom without understanding the cause, you can push your kid away in ways that take years to repair.
2. Your voice becomes their inner voice. Think about how you want to be heard inside your child's head ten years from now. That is the standard your daily words have to meet.
3. Ordinary magic is how confidence is built. Letting your kids tie their own shoes, order their own food, and ask for their own autograph — these tiny moments accumulate into a kid who believes they can handle the world.
4. Never have the hard conversation sitting down face to face. Do it in the car. On a walk. Shooting hoops. Kids open up when their body is moving and the pressure is off.
5. If the co-parenting relationship is not adversarial, you're already ahead of the curve. Protect that at all costs. Police your own family. Speak positively about your ex. Your kids are watching you model how adults handle hard things.

 

Links & Resources

• Dad Edge Alliance — join now and get a free signed copy of The Pursuit of Legendary Fatherhood plus two bonus courses: https://thedadedge.com/join
• Car Questions — Connect With Your Kids in the Car: https://thedadedge.com/car-questions-connect-with-your-kids-in-the-car/
• Puddle Jumpers by Brandon Webb: https://www.amazon.com/Puddle-Jumpers-Simple-Proven-Confident/dp/B0FWZZKJN6
• Brandon Webb's website: https://brandontylerwebb.com
• Episode Link & Resources (Episode 1481): https://thedadedge.com/1481

 

Closing

If there's one message from this episode that stands out, it's this: your kids are paying attention to everything — especially when you think they're not.

Brandon Webb raised three extraordinary kids through divorce, business failure, deployments, and more than a few mistakes. And the letter his daughter left him before he came to New York — the one he read four or five times and still carries — is proof that the work is worth it.

Be present. Get to the why. Let them do hard things on their own. And speak the words you want living inside their heads.

Go out and live legendary.