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Navigating the journey of fatherhood comes with unique joys and profound challenges, especially when it comes to building lasting, meaningful relationships with our daughters. In the latest episode of the Dad and Daughter Connection podcast, Dr. Christopher Lewis welcomes Daryl Potter—a seasoned banker, published author, and devoted father—for an inspiring conversation about the realities and rewards of raising both neurodivergent and neurotypical children.

Right from the start, this episode sets a heartfelt tone about the power of presence, vulnerability, and intentional connection. Dr. Lewis reminds us that fatherhood isn’t a quest for perfection, but a continual commitment to showing up, listening, and learning alongside our children. Daryl echoes this philosophy, sharing deeply personal stories from his nearly 30 years of parenting—a journey shaped by both typical milestones and unexpected challenges. His openness about raising a daughter with a degenerative, nonverbal condition is both moving and eye-opening, reminding listeners that every child’s journey (and every dad’s, too) comes with its own unexpected plot twists.

A central theme of the discussion is the idea that parenting is storytelling—not just the stories we tell our kids, but the stories we live alongside them. Daryl explains how he intentionally crafts and shares stories about his own mistakes, growth, and childhood, giving his children not only a sense of family identity, but also permission to be imperfect, learn, and evolve. Just as importantly, he emphasizes the impact of the “stories” parents tell through their actions: how we handle spilled milk, failed attempts, or tough seasons. Our reactions can either instill shame or build resilience and belonging.

The episode is packed with practical wisdom: the importance of consistency, the transformative power of focused listening, and the annual necessity of “rewriting” our own parenting narrative as our children grow. Daryl shares beautiful examples—like letting his daughter choose her own socks, even when communication is limited—that illustrate how honoring a child’s agency and individuality nurtures their confidence and sense of self.

For dads seeking actionable inspiration and heartfelt encouragement, this episode is a must-listen. It’s a testament to the fact that connection isn’t about being the perfect father—it’s about showing up, embracing the journey, and learning to see the world through your daughter’s eyes.

Ready to go deeper? Listen to the full episode of the Dad and Daughter Connection and discover more stories, challenges, and wins from fathers on the same path. Your journey to a deeper connection starts here.

If you enjoyed this episode we ask you to take a moment to take our Dad and Daughter Connection Survey to let us know more about you as a dad. You can also sign up to get our newsletter to stay connected to our community and we will send items of interest to you to help you to be the dad that you want to be. Feel free to follow me on the following social media platforms: Facebook, Facebook Group, Instagram, LinkedIn, X.

TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:02]:
Welcome to the dad and Daughter Connection, the podcast for dads who want to build stronger bonds and raise confident, independent daughters.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:12]:
If you’re looking to build a stronger bond with your daughter and help her grow into a confident, independent woman, you’re in the right place. I’m Dr. Christopher Lewis, and the dad and Daughter Connection is the podcast where we dive into real stories, expert advice, and practical tips to help you navigate the incredible journey of fatherhood. In every episode, we’ll bring you conversations that inspire, challenge, and equip you to show up as the dad your daughter needs. So let’s get started, because being a great dad isn’t just about being there. It’s about truly connecting. Welcome back to the dad and Daughter Connection, where every week we have an opportunity to be able to delve a little bit deeper into the relationships that we want to build with our daughters. And every day we’re going to be pushing ourselves to challenge ourselves to be that much better.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:08]:
And we have to be willing and open to learn and to grow and to be able to know that we don’t know everything. We’re flawed. We’re going to make mistakes along the way. And that’s why this show exists, that’s why this podcast is here, and that’s why I love every week being able to talk with you, to be able to walk with you on this journey. You know, I’ve got two daughters, many of my guests have daughters. And in this journey that you’re on, be open, be open to listening and hearing what people are saying. Doesn’t mean that you’re going to take something out of every episode. I hope you do.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:40]:
But you’re going to hear things. You’re going to be able to learn things from every person that’s on. That’s why every week I bring different people on, different people with different experiences that can help you to be able to learn, to grow, to learn something a little bit new that you can put into that toolbox of your own. Now, today’s guest is Daryl Potter, a seasoned banker, published author, devoted father who spent nearly 30 years balancing demands of a high level career and the joys of challenging. The joys and challenges of raising both a neurodivergent child and a neurotypical one with grown children and a strong, enduring marriage. Darrell brings a unique blend of wisdom, humility, and heart to this parenting conversation. I’m really excited to be able to have him here, to be able to talk not only about his own experience in raising a daughter, but he also talks about the fact that he believes that parenting is storytelling both the stories we tell our kids and the ones we live ourselves. So today we’re going to be talking about that and delving a little bit deeper into the stories that we are sharing, but maybe the ones that we want to share as well and how we can better create stories to make us better parents in the end.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:02:55]:
Darrell, thanks so much for being here today. I’m really excited.

Daryl Potter [00:02:59]:
Pleasure to meet you, Chris, and to be here.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:03:01]:
We start our episodes with an opportunity to delve a little bit deeper into you as a dad. I said you have a daughter. And I guess one of the things that I want to know first is every father has a unique relationship with their kids. You have a unique relationship with your daughter. What is one of the most meaningful moments you’ve shared with your daughter and what made it so special?

Daryl Potter [00:03:24]:
I got 24 years of experiences to try to filter in a hurry. To be honest, the probably the best experience is really one of the first because it was formative for setting me up for the following almost quarter century. And that is I can remember we described when she first came home as it being like a baby honeymoon. And when you think about when you have a newborn daughter, she offers you nothing except noise when she’s hungry and smelly bits at certain times. And I can just remember those first few days of we’d take naps, my wife and I, in the afternoon and we’d settle her in beside us and I’m a little larger than my wife and and so she’d roll towards me and she’d wind up with her head pressed into my ribs, just quietly breathing to the rhythm a little quicker, but to the rhythm of my ribs. And I, I couldn’t fall asleep. I’d afraid of rolling over on her. And so we would just lay there.

Daryl Potter [00:04:15]:
She’d sleep and I would just feel her against me. And I think that’s been the I’d never had an experience like that in my life before, and it shaped the following 24 years because I recognized that I have to come to where you are right now. And at three days old, what she needed was a warm body to press against while she slept.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:04:36]:
Now, with our daughters, there’s always a balance. There’s a balance in being able to guide our daughters while also giving them independence and allowing them to grow into the people that they’re becoming. Talk to me about what you did to balance that for yourself.

Daryl Potter [00:04:54]:
So it’s interesting. I want to answer that question two ways because as you mentioned, I have A neurodivergent and a typical child. My son is the one who’s typical. So I’m a big believer that, you know, my wife and I have talked about we’re raising adults, not hobbies or reflections of ourselves or what have you. And so early on we had that really as a mindset to be thinking about the future as we transition through toddler to school to, you know, on and on. With our daughter, it’s quite different because she out intellectually, physically at about eight years old, her condition kicked in and more strongly and it’s a degenerative condition. So by age 12, she stopped talking. By age 14, she stopped walking, even with a walker and, and so on.

Daryl Potter [00:05:40]:
So the, a lot of, so it requires in, in her case, so much more deliberateness. But it’s the same philosophy as with our son. So as we, you know, for example, getting her dressed in the morning, it’s so important to let her choose her own socks. She can’t talk anymore, she can’t get around by herself. But we can bring to her a, a options and she can still pick. I want the pink ones today. You know, obviously with our, with our son it’s a, it’s a totally different, you know, game and, and I would love to have had the opportunity to do the same thing with a daughter because I think it’s so. It’s so needed in today’s society for females to be raised, for girls to be raised to be not adjuncts to the men in their lives, but to be their own person.

Daryl Potter [00:06:42]:
And as much as we can, we try to do that for our daughter. It’s just very difficult when she can’t even dress herself anymore. So it’s a different scenario.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:06:50]:
Definitely challenging. And I can only imagine, you know, trying to understand her needs and being able to truly be able to still build that bond while interpreting what is needed. So I guess in thinking about that, when as you said, she’s, she’s non verbal and she can’t do many of the things that like you said, your son can do. What are some intentional ways that you had to work and maybe you still are working today to continue to strengthen that bond with your daughter, especially during these challenges, the challenging times that you have.

Daryl Potter [00:07:36]:
Yeah, I think one of the challenges that certainly I was, I would have had going into fatherhood and I think I’ve observed around me in society, friends, what have you, is that I do think men, particularly when they start having children or at a life stage, career wise, marriage wise, personal maturity wise, very goal Oriented, very driven, whether it’s by, you know, family of origin issues or ambition issues or what have you. And there can be a really dangerous trap of missing moments, maybe even missing seasons. Our daughter was 10 days old when she we discovered that we had problems and we, we were event took a while to get a diagnosis. She essentially wasn’t supposed to live past age 3. Definitely wouldn’t make it into the teen years. The fact that she’s 24 makes her a bit miraculous. But what that did for me early on is I had those as I described moments few days old of like bliss and imagining the future. And you know, all I have to do is just lay here quietly and she’ll sleep to like literally a week later discovering she’s going to be gone before long, like weeks or months.

Daryl Potter [00:08:57]:
And it had, I think it could have many impacts denial or what have you. The effect it had on me was like reaching into my chest and just grabbing my heart and squeezing and I was like, I have to know you, I have to connect with you, I have to. You might not even live to language so I have to eye contact, physical touch. You must know that I love you and I must be able to read you before you’re gone. Now the little turkey wound up going on for almost 25 years now. And you know, so that was, that’s been false alarms every few days for 24 years, which is its own version of trauma. But it taught me how to be a better dad to my son as well, that need to learn focus. And I had a friend remind me of it actually quite explicitly maybe half a decade later in a situation where he reminded me, you know, they’re not going to be five forever.

Daryl Potter [00:10:00]:
A year from now you won’t have a five year old anymore. So if, if you want to get to know your five year old, one.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:10:05]:
Of the questions that I guess that comes to mind is as you’re continuing to support and to help your daughter now into adulthood and doing what you can to be able to probably still push her, challenge her and help her in many different ways to be able to live the best life that she can, what’s one way that you consistently are showing your daughter that she can always count on you?

Daryl Potter [00:10:31]:
You know, you used the key word there is consistency. For her to be able to count on us and it applies to neurotypical children just as equally if not more for her to know that she can count on us, we have to be consist whether it’s sleep deprivation or moodiness or what have you an Inconsistent parent is an inconsistent reality when a child is very young. And that can lead to a very unstable understanding of how to trust, how to relate, how to read, how to enjoy. It can have really long reaching implications. And a child at 10 may start to become cynical if the parent is too unpredictable. On the other hand, a child at 10 can just become hopelessly enmeshed in trying to adapt in well meaning but ultimately unhealthy ways that have to be undone later in adulthood if they’re going to have healthy relationships. So I think that consistency is absolutely essential, obviously positive consistency, but being reliable in your engagement that even I think sometimes. For example, I got a buddy of mine who I did a lot of camping with, family camping, and he was great because he had two rules, no falling in the fire or drowning in the lake.

Daryl Potter [00:11:43]:
Like those were his two rules when he was camping. And you know, I think sometimes we make too many rules and then don’t enforce them. And so that’s a kind of inconsistency that can feel well meaning. But maybe we need to think, you know, maybe there’s more rules than just not falling in the fire or drowning in the lake. But you know, that’s not a bad target to, you know, especially when they’re really young to help them understand and then be consistent. Like seriously, thou shalt not fall in the fire. But maybe let tripping over the 10 peg go is not exactly a crime.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:12:27]:
Now, you know, I, one of the things that also comes to mind is as your kids get older, you, you mentioned earlier, you’re not trying to create a replica of yourself, but you inevitably, as your kids are growing, you have dreams for, you have ideas for them, you have a picture in your mind’s eye of where you think they may be and then the reality sits in of where they end up. It may be very different as, as we, we’ve heard in the story of your daughter as well. So in talk and thinking about who your daughter is now, who she was as she’s grown up, how do you, I’m going to use that word, consistency. How do you consistently support your daughter and helping her to pursue her passions and dreams even when she can’t speak or do some things that you know, she wants to do.

Daryl Potter [00:13:16]:
If you think about it, verbal or nonverbal, we learn a lot about what our children want by watching them. How old is a child before they start really talking in a way that really makes sense? We might say two, but is it, isn’t it closer to four before it’s like okay, now I’m really fully getting cognitive communication here. But we don’t wait till 2 or 4 to understand what they want. And I think a parent who’s paying very close attention is not just listening, they’re watching. They’re being sensitive to the non verbal cues that their child is giving. As a matter of fact, your child is more likely to tell you the truth and the most intimate parts of what they want to express non verbally when they tell you yes, but their body says no. Once they’re past age 4 or whatever the age is, you can start pulling on that thread a little bit and teaching them how to communicate, teaching them that it’s okay to express, you know, a negative emotion or what have you. So in terms of how to help them onwards towards their dreams, sometimes that’s just helping them understand it’s okay to verbalize those dreams.

Daryl Potter [00:14:27]:
So do you want to go with your friends to do such? No, no, no, I don’t want to do that. But why that tone? Why that body language? Why that? And maybe it’s not, we have to learn some parenting skills. Maybe it’s not a frontal assault to challenge what doesn’t sound like a totally forthcoming answer, you know, and then to discover there’s a rupture in the friendship, or there’s been a hesitation as to whether they feel like they have what it takes or maybe like you don’t want them to do such and such and to be able to draw that out in dialogue because, you know, we’ve had these sort of conversations with my son and engaging with my daughter where they want to do things that they’re not going to be allowed to do. But by teaching them that it’s okay to have the conversation and not be in trouble for wanting what they’re not allowed. And we can talk through it and there may be alternatives.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:15:09]:
Now, I talked about the fact that you describe parenting as storytelling. What does that mean to you? And how has that idea shaped the way that you’ve raised your kids, especially your daughter?

Daryl Potter [00:15:20]:
One of the strongest ways, I think we first connected over a book that I’ve written, something more, Living well in a Broken World, that was published last year. Kind of a deep dive on the whole topic of storytelling as a process of unpacking. Call it the meaning of life, living well in a broken world. How to navigate the hungers and dissatisfactions and complexities of being an adult on a planet that doesn’t always do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. And so for the storytelling Aspect both in the book and in life. We’re storytelling creatures. We remember stories. I could give you a whole list of facts, but if I gave you a brief story, you know, a week from now, you might.

Daryl Potter [00:15:59]:
You’ll remember none of my facts, but you’ll remember the story. And the book starts with one of my kids asking me a question that leads to a story which led to the writing of the book. I see it working in a couple different ways. One is for myself. What story do I tell myself about my stage of fatherhood, about where my kids are at, about my role in my kid’s life? How can I take the present moment and tell a story to myself about the future and where. If this was a. I’m a novelist on the side as well, so. So the, you know, how would this plot play out if my actions with my child today were the opening of chapter one? Where is this relationship going? Based on how Saturday afternoon’s conversation went, it’s also incredibly powerful as a parenting tool by telling stories about ourselves to our kids.

Daryl Potter [00:16:49]:
Our kids are fascinated by the fact that their adult parents used to not know how the world worked. Surprise. Kind of still don’t. But we used to not know at the level of a 7 year old or a 10 year old. And the mistakes we made, what we learned from them. They learn so much from that. They learn our biographies. They learn a little bit of their own identity because if they’re not adopted, they probably share some genetic traits that are similar.

Daryl Potter [00:17:14]:
They learn also humility by accident because they hear you tell how you tripped and fell and how you overcame a particular situation or how a bad choice led to some extra work. So the process of telling stories about ourselves is deeply interesting to children and deeply memorable. I can remember stories my parents have told that tell many, but I think I remember every one of them from their childhoods.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:17:38]:
So as you think about stories, what kind of stories did you find yourself telling intentionally or unintentionally as your kids grew up? How did those stories impact their sense of identity and belonging?

Daryl Potter [00:17:52]:
The stories that were told about self for the benefit of their growth. So that was quite explicit. One of the biggest stories we tell is the ones that are also non verbal. So for example, child messes something up at the table, knocks the glass of milk over and breaks the glass and kind of screws up dinner a little bit. You tell a remarkably impacting, potentially decades long impacting story by how you respond. Are they a stupid person for knocking the milk over? Are they lectured for I told you not to put the milk at the edge of the table that how many times have we had this conversation? Or are they oh, did any of that glass get on you? Don’t move. Let me make sure we get pick up the glass first. Just make them feel protected.

Daryl Potter [00:18:37]:
Or is it funny? Holy cow, you hit the dog. Like what story do you tell by your natural reactions? Now the challenge with those kind of stories is they’re often immediate and not thought out. And therefore my advice to dads is you gotta a therapy term would be to do your work. You’ve got to really kind of unpack a little bit of maybe self. If your immediate reactions to unpleasant events tell the story you’d actually don’t like that plot on There may be a little bit of work unrelated to even being a dad needing to be done before but even those situations can be fantastic self storytelling opportunities to realize ah, I don’t like that the milk got spilled and I made it about something negative. It’s just milk. If the kid’s done it five times this week, maybe it’s time to get them a plastic tumbler A little too quick out of the sippy.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:19:26]:
Because I mentioned earlier and we’ve talked about this, that you’ve raised both a neurodivergent and a neurotypical child and that brings unique challenges. How did the story that you told yourself as a parent help you stay grounded and connected through those differences?

Daryl Potter [00:19:43]:
I’m going to slightly change your question or my answer, but I will touch on what you’re talking about because what I found was I had competing stories, particularly with my daughter, because I think society tells us stories. Some of them can be just quite negative and sexist in terms of she needs to be look a certain way, she needs to have a certain type of interaction model. A tomboy girl’s not acceptable, you know, what have you. But step beyond that. For a parent with a special needs child, there can be a story that some part of your psyche might tell yourself that you did this somehow or this somehow reflects on you like your child is your resume. And I was somehow didn’t produce a good one in terms of the society’s expectations of being tall and beautiful and smart and volleyball team and whatever is going on in your particular culture and neighborhood. So there’s a lot of competing stories that we have and then we have our family of origin stories in terms of what’s expected with the style of respect to grandparents or the type of clothes they wear or all sorts of things. There could be such a loud chorus of conflicting stories for us to filter through that.

Daryl Potter [00:20:54]:
Some of the most important story work I felt that occurred was the turning off everything and just learning what story matters to me and then learning to rewrite that story. So in my daughter’s case, when it became apparent that she wasn’t going to join the Olympics or the debate team, I needed to make sure that my story didn’t have Olympic athlete or verbal jiu jitsu star anywhere in my internal makeup. The end goal to the story of my daughter, this is her life, her health, her biology, and in the case of, of my typical child, I think more in terms of also their dreams and their specific intellectual gifts and so on. And I need to help them achieve their story, not play out one of the many, including some that might be just my own personal stories that I want them to wish fulfill.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:21:45]:
And thinking about that, I think sometimes we think of storytelling as something that we do for our kids. But how can dads listen for the stories that their daughters are trying to tell about themselves and the world around them?

Daryl Potter [00:22:04]:
I love that you asked that question because I really believe that sometimes and this doesn’t just apply to parenting, this applies to marriage and being a manager at work and whatever else. Honestly, in so many situations, loving comes down to listening. The time given to letting another human being know that you have my full attention. And this was true when my kids were young, before smartphones were a thing. I think it’s just heightened now in an era of smartphones to really know that I put that thing down and we have eye contact. In the case of my daughter, it also helps with physical contact. She responds very well when I’m with her. Sit cross legged in front of her and hold her hands.

Daryl Potter [00:22:43]:
She’ll let me know if she’s not in the mood for that today. But that bonding is so important to the sense of connection. Humans need to be listened to and children all the more. Prior to being your child, they didn’t exist. You are shaping their understanding of how reality, reality works and whether or not they matter in that reality. And that bank is being filled up one coin at a time with every second you give them.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:08]:
Now, looking back, were there moments where you had to rewrite your parenting story? Maybe a time when you realized that the narrative you were living no longer served your daughter or your family 100%?

Daryl Potter [00:23:22]:
I would say there is at least an annual exercise like that, because my wife and I have described the whole process of parenting as being one long process of letting go. When a child is born, you decide everything they can cry if they want, but you’re still the one deciding if the bum gets changed or the tummy gets fed. The micromanaging control that a parent has at birth is just kind of bizarre. But by the time they’re 20, they should be adults. They should be able to, if they’re not in school, pay the rent if they are in school, show up to classes on their own and have a plan for the future. And not mom and dad’s plan. They should be having their own plans and putting those plans place. But the bridge from infancy to 20 can’t start at 18 or 12.

Daryl Potter [00:24:09]:
Our son got his first chores when he was 4 and a half or 5. So that every single year we have had to have a process of telling ourselves a new story of what parenting now means for this age group. And gradually, the way we phrased it is, is we would extend both privileges and responsibilities was how we packaged it. We would extend additional privileges, meaning like staying up later or food choices or whatever when they’re young. And responsibilities could be something essential, simple as taking the recycling to the garage or whatever, but pairing privileges and responsibilities together as the children advance through the years. So it’s not just a case of hey, I’m your chauffeur from 8 to 16 and then you’re on your own. But there’s a real intimate connection between their expanding maturity and their expanding responsibility. And that starts with parents telling themselves the story of they turned seven, I don’t have a six year old anymore.

Daryl Potter [00:25:03]:
What does talking to a seven year old sound like? Because if it sounds a lot like six not growing as a parent or helping them grow, and if I’m only responding to them, I’m probably going to eventually frustrate them and we’re going to get into some negative pushback come teen years if I’m always the one lagging as they grow.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:25:20]:
Very true. So we already mentioned your daughter’s 24, your son’s 21. Now that your children are grown, how do you see the stories that you told and lived echoed in the people that they’ve become? And what legacy do you hope that those stories leave behind?

Daryl Potter [00:25:36]:
Wonderful question. They are easier when we talk about my son because he’s neurotypical. But I think that it’s true for my daughter as well. They are more confident in themselves, in their place in the world, in their ability to navigate within the limitations of their life situations. My daughter being the one more limited. Of course, my son’s limits tend to be more economic because he’s in third year university. But as a result of that they always have known they are loved. They always have heard stories to learn from our mistakes so that they could avoid them.

Daryl Potter [00:26:11]:
We have worked very hard to not let that spilled milk be be an opportunity for verbal abuse or just using that as an illustrative example and letting them advance from age 6 to 7 and then making sure 8 looks different. The result is neither one of them are socially desperate. Neither one of them in the way that I would describe myself at that age or, or I think I can speak for my wife in terms of her background. Neither one of them are socially insecure. Neither one of them are I’ll speak more for my son now socially inept. My daughter’s. Well, she has seizures and stuff so that kind of screws up social interaction when you you throw that in with non verbal but the point is even with my daughter at times I look at her and I think you are more secure with us than I can ever remember being growing up and I know my wife could ever remember being growing up and she hasn’t been able to say a word to us for over a decade and I don’t know how much of what we say to her she fully understands anymore because there’s a cognitive decline there. Although she’s cheeky by nature.

Daryl Potter [00:27:13]:
So I think sometimes she pretends she doesn’t understand just she’s still got a personality. So I think that that process on the other side. First of all, parenting is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Tied maybe for doing a decent job of marriage, fantastic. But requires a level of engagement that didn’t exist when I was a bachelor, it’s very satisfying to come out the other side and to see a lot of hard work pay off. Now when you’re dealing with a special needs child, payoff looks differently than it does on our son who’s going to head off to fourth year before long. But nevertheless payoff in emotional rewards and practical rewards as we see them develop.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:27:49]:
Now we always finish our interviews with what I like to call our dad Connection six where I ask you six more questions to delve a little bit deeper into you as a dad. What’s one word that describes your relationship with your daughter?

Daryl Potter [00:28:01]:
Close.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:28:02]:
What’s the best piece of dad advice you ever received?

Daryl Potter [00:28:05]:
When my son was in his Pokemon phase and one of my camping buddies took me aside and said you better learn to love Pokeman now or he will talk about it with his friends instead. And by the time he gets to 10 you will have trained him not to talk to you.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:28:20]:
What’s one activity that you and your daughter love doing together?

Daryl Potter [00:28:23]:
Going for walks in the woods. Ever since she was a baby she’s loved trees and I’m a bonsai guy. So between the two of us, she might get that from me.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:28:29]:
If you could give your daughter one life lesson in a single sentence, what would it be?

Daryl Potter [00:28:33]:
Your mom and dad love you unconditionally and adore you. You don’t measure up to the mentioned the Olympics and the debate team. It doesn’t change our love for you for a second.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:28:45]:
What’s one thing that you’ve learned about yourself since becoming a dad?

Daryl Potter [00:28:50]:
But love isn’t about what you get, it’s what you give. Infants teach you that, but so do 10 year olds when they’re a little self and you start to realize I love you anyways.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:29:01]:
And finally, what advice would you give to other dads who want to build a lasting and meaningful relationship with their daughters?

Daryl Potter [00:29:09]:
Get down on their level, like literally sitting on the floor if they’re really young. Get that eye contact and learn to understand the human behind those eyes as opposed to society or our wishes or whatever else might impose between as a filter. Strip away the filters and learn the human. There’s so much to be discovered and behind a daughter’s eyes. And they will learn not to tell you who they really are. If you teach them that you only want to see the screen between but focus on who they really are. That’s magic.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:29:45]:
Well, Darrell, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being here today, for sharing your own ongoing journey that you’re if people want to find out more about you, where should they go?

Daryl Potter [00:29:53]:
They can find me on my website, darrelpotter.com that’s a D A1R Y L.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:29:59]:
Potterlikeharry.com Again Daryl, thank you. Thank you for being here today. Thank you for sharing your story and I wish you all the best.

Daryl Potter [00:30:06]:
Thank you Christopher. It’s been fantastic to talk to you.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:30:09]:
That’s a wrap for this episode of the dad and Daughter Connection. Thanks for joining us on this journey to build stronger bonds and raise confident, independent daughters. Remember, being an engaged dad isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being present. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and share it with a fellow dad. And don’t forget, you can find all our episodes@dadanddaughterconnection.com until next time, keep showing up, keep connecting and keep being the dad she needs.

Musical Outro Performer [00:30:39]:
We’re all in the same boat and it’s full of tiny, screaming passengers. We spend the time, we give the lessons we make the meals we buy them presents and bring your A game. Cause those kids are growing fast the time goes by just like a dynamite blast Calling astronauts and firemen Carpenters and musclemen get out and be the world to them Be the best dad you can be Be the best dad you can.