Field Notes

November 3, 2026 9 min read

The One Warning That Ended My Kids’ Backseat Bickering

A new survey out of Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago found that 60% of U.S. parents say they feel overstimulated. For parents with a kid under five, it’s 73%.The number one trigger? Kids arguing and whining. The third most common place it happens? The car.I laughed when I read that, because I have been that parent. Three kids in the... A new survey out of Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago found that 60% of U.S. parents say they...

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October 29, 2026 4 min read

Weekend Challenge: Let Your Kid Run the Mission (This Navy SEAL Dad Got Demoted)

I spent years as a Navy SEAL sniper instructor telling grown men exactly where to put their elbows. The hardest leadership move I ever learned came later, at home. Shutting my mouth and letting my kids lead.In chapter 2 of Puddle Jumpers I write about something researcher Dr. Ann Masten calls ordinary magic. Here’s how I put it in the... I spent years as a Navy SEAL sniper instructor telling grown men exactly where to put their elbows....

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October 27, 2026 3 min read

A 7-Year-Old Saved His Parents’ Marriage With One Sentence. Here’s What He Understood That They Didn’t

A close friend told me a story last week after I took him flying, and I have not been able to stop thinking about.He and his wife had spent most of the summer estranged. Separate homes, separate lives, the slow quiet drift that ends a lot of marriages without a single dramatic fight. They were, by his own honest admission,... A close friend told me a story last week after I took him flying, and I have not...

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October 20, 2026 4 min read

Protecting Our Kids Is Only Half the Job. The Other Half Nobody Talks About

The news breaks, another school, another unthinkable headline, and we parents feel the same sick feeling in our stomachs. You want to promise your kids nothing bad will ever reach them. You can’t. And they can feel it when you pretend.So let’s talk about both halves of the job. The safety half, and the half almost nobody addresses.First, the safety... The news breaks, another school, another unthinkable headline, and we parents feel the same sick feeling in our...

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October 14, 2026 3 min read

How to Have a Happy Divorce: My Ex and I Just Watched Our Daughter Graduate. Here’s the One Rule That Got Us Here.

My ex and I just watched her graduate from the Royal College of Art in London. 22 and has her master’s degree in design. Love her to Saturn and back. Divorce is extremely challenging; it’s Hell, even when it goes well. Here’s the one rule that got us here.Last week, Gretchen and I sat together and watched our beautiful daughter... My ex and I just watched her graduate from the Royal College of Art in London. 22 and...

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October 12, 2026 3 min read

I Raised Three Kids Through Divorce and Much Worse. Here’s What Actually Made Them Resilient.

I have been divorced. I lost my first business and my entire life savings in 2008 after leaving a successful Navy career. Our kids moved across cities and schools more times than was fair to ask of them. Before that I was deployed to Afghanistan with SEAL Team 3 when my first son was born. By every measure, my three... I have been divorced. I lost my first business and my entire life savings in 2008 after leaving...

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October 5, 2026 2 min read

Smart Phones: You Can't Unplug the World. Here's How I Prepared My Kids for It.

The smartphone fight is everywhere right now. Wait until 8th pledges. School phone bans. Parents arguing about screen limits in comment sections online. Confusion is the only thing most parents have in common. I have handed my kids a phone. I have also watched the good and the bad a device does once it is in their hands. Here’s what... The smartphone fight is everywhere right now. Wait until 8th pledges. School phone bans. Parents arguing about screen...

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September 28, 2026 3 min read

A Navy SEAL Dad's Answer to the "Should I Let My Kid Ride the Subway Alone?" Debate

An excerpt from Puddle Jumpers Every few weeks, a video goes viral. Kids riding the subway alone, or walks to the store solo, or gets dropped off at a park without a parent hovering nearby. The comments split instantly into a war of opinion. One side screams that it is neglect. The other calls it the only way to raise... An excerpt from Puddle Jumpers Every few weeks, a video goes viral. Kids riding the subway alone, or...

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September 21, 2026 2 min read

Gentle Parenting Was Never Supposed to Mean No Boundaries

Look at some of the parenting social media right now, and you will find a war that would make a Navy SEAL think twice! In one corner, gentle parenting. On the other, a growing backlash from parents who tried it and ended up with kids who run the house.Here is what both sides are missing.Gentle parenting should not mean no... Look at some of the parenting social media right now, and you will find a war that would...

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September 14, 2026 3 min read

We Only Get 18 Summers With Our Kids. We Need to Make Them Count.

That should be a cold slap in your parental face. We get roughly eighteen years of our kid/s living under the roof . Eighteen summers. You can count that time on your fingers and toes. Let that sink in…Then they walk out the door into their own life, and every bit of time you get after that is time they... That should be a cold slap in your parental face. We get roughly eighteen years of our kid/s...

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September 7, 2026 5 min read

Your Voice Becomes Your Child's Inner Voice. A Navy SEAL on the Words That Shape a Kid for Life.

How many of us can still hear our parents in our heads throughout our daily lives? I hope you read this and it helps you think about the kind of voice you want to be for your child. Enjoy the read, Brandon PUDDLE JUMPERS EXCERPT“The everyday inputs we give our kids, our words, our tone, our expectations, matter more than... How many of us can still hear our parents in our heads throughout our daily lives? I hope...

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September 4, 2026 14 min read

The Navy SEAL Mental Tools for Raising Resilient Kids: Read the Puddle Jumpers Introduction Free

Over twenty years ago, Gretchen and I stood in front of a television and watched the second tower fall. I turned to her and said, “I have to go.” We were married then. We are not now. But we raised three kids together through deployments, distance, a divorce, and plenty of hard times, both emotionally and financially. And somewhere in... Over twenty years ago, Gretchen and I stood in front of a television and watched the second tower...

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August 24, 2026 8 min read

A Demanding Career Doesn’t Have to Cost You Your Kids.

I originally wrote this for SOFREP.com and titled it: Deployment Doesn’t Have to Cost You Your Kids. A Navy SEAL Dad’s Guide to Staying Close.Writing it, I realized that the same can apply to parents with incredibly demanding careers, or the single mom working two jobs and holding everything together. So when you read it, just replace military deployment with... I originally wrote this for SOFREP.com and titled it: Deployment Doesn’t Have to Cost You Your Kids. A...

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August 18, 2026 9 min read

PUDDLE JUMPERS: Powerful Mental Techniques from a Navy SEAL Performance Coach and Father of Three

Puddle Jumpernoun | [pud-el jum-per]Brave, joy-seeking souls, especially children, who leap into life’s messy, muddy moments with full-hearted abandon.They see a half-frozen mud puddle and run for it, not from it. They’re not scared of getting dirty, falling down, or looking like a lunatic while chasing what lights them up.They live fully, laugh loudly, and remind the rest of us... Puddle Jumpernoun | [pud-el jum-per]Brave, joy-seeking souls, especially children, who leap into life’s messy, muddy moments with full-hearted...

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August 13, 2026 4 min read

The Performance Tools Olympic Champions and Navy SEALs Use. Here's How to Teach It to Your Kid Before School Starts.

Before we implemented performance psychology into the brutally challenging Navy SEAL sniper program, we had a 30% failure rate. And these were highly trained and motivated Navy SEALs but, 30% were doomed to pack their bags, heads held low, in the walk of shame back to their SEAL Teams. What happened after? We started graduating everyone!Yes, there were exceptions, and... Before we implemented performance psychology into the brutally challenging Navy SEAL sniper program, we had a 30% failure...

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July 31, 2026 3 min read

Snowplow Parents Are Raising Kids Who Fall Over the First Time Life Pushes Back

First things first…be kind. I’m a little behind this week’s post because of my ortho procedure, but I am firmly back in the cockpit and firmly at the controls as of today. Now onto this week’s parenting chat…There is a name for the parent who clears every obstacle out of their kid’s path before the kid even reaches it. Snowplow... First things first…be kind. I’m a little behind this week’s post because of my ortho procedure, but I...

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July 24, 2026 7 min read

The Kid I Almost Lost in Eighth Grade Just Took Care of Me When I Couldn't Take Care of Myself.

I recently had a medical procedure in New York. An old night parachute training injury that finally came to collect its due. It also forced me to accept the hard truth, some things you cannot do alone. You need help. Actual help. The unglamorous kind that involves someone getting you from point A to point B when your body is... I recently had a medical procedure in New York. An old night parachute training injury that finally came...

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July 13, 2026 9 min read

Don't Check Your Kid's Grades. Check Their Group Chat.

I am going to tell you the single most useful thing I learned about predicting how your kid turns out, and, hold onto your coffee mug, it is going to make some parents uncomfortable.Grades? Mildly important but not a main factor in outcome. What is?Check their group chat or their core friend group. You can hire tutors. You can set... I am going to tell you the single most useful thing I learned about predicting how your kid...

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July 7, 2026 2 min read

Why Your Kids Need a Leader at Home, Not Just a Parent

Your kids are looking for leadership. Nature does not tolerate empty space. Neither does your kid’s brain. If you do not fill that gap with solid leadership, something else will crawl in and make itself comfortable. An algorithm. A stranger online. A peer of theirs with worse judgment than a drunk uncle at a wedding. Kids are not blank slates... Your kids are looking for leadership. Nature does not tolerate empty space. Neither does your kid’s brain. If...

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July 1, 2026 10 min read

How a Ghost Airport in Poland, a Jammed GPS Near Belarus, and a French Pilot Made This the Most Memorable Flight of My Life

There is a moment somewhere over northern Poland, dodging rain showers low enough that you can see individual cows getting nervous about the weather, when you start asking yourself serious questions about your life choices.I was not asking those questions because I was scared. I have been in worse spots than a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza skimming under a gray ceiling... There is a moment somewhere over northern Poland, dodging rain showers low enough that you can see individual...

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