Not all relationships work out. That's not a surprise. What may be a surprise is just how that is impacting our kids. With divorce rates going up during the pandemic, it's important we understand how any conflict with our partner, or former partner, is affecting our children.

We talked with Dr. Karey O'Hara from Arizona State University on the mental and physical health challenges kids face when their parents are divorced, separated or struggling in their relationships.

Have you ever had a tough day – a super stressful one – and tried to hide it from the kids? After all, we don’t want them to worry, right? Turns out – they can tell. They know when something is up. And, lets’ face it, often times Dads could teach a MasterClass in hiding emotions. Turns out – hiding our emotions and suppressing our stress – is – well – stressing our kids out.

The last year has been a challenging one. It was right around this time last year that COVID became a real and major issue in this country. Schools started to close, sporting events were cancelled, offices shut down. That brought a lot of uncertainty and stress to many families – stress on top of the traditional day-to-day issues the average family faces. Terri and I were certainly worried about what was ahead – could we stay safe… what was going to happen with by job that required weekly travel and speaking to groups of 100+ daily. As I reflect on this time last year… well, life was stressful. And I did everything I could to keep Naomi from knowing about it. Well – it seems like she knew something was up. A study from Washington State University says our kids can tell when we’re stressed and TRY to hide it which – in turn – can make them more stressed. Truth is – we can and should be more open with our kids on how we’re feeling – especially right now – in the middle of a global pandemic.

That’s what we’ll talk about today with Dr. Sara Waters – our stress, our kids’ stress and how to help all of us work through our feelings.

As we celebrate two years of Positively Dad, we're also are close to another anniversary, a year of COVID in the United States. Our lives have been so different over the last 12 months and it comes with so many challenges.

Justin Su'a is all about keeping focused in the face of adversity. He's the mental performance coach with the Tampa Bay Rays and a father of three. He shares his strategies that help elite athletes that can help you too.