Shazad Carbaidwala, a father, author, coach, and longtime prison visitation volunteer, joins the show to talk about the role that matters most to him: raising his eight-year-old daughter as a single dad. He opens up about what he wants her to see most when she looks at him, and why that shapes everything else he does.

From there, Shazad walks through the daily work of co-parenting: staying transparent with his ex-partner, building a support system around his daughter, and learning to give her more independence as she grows older.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

00:00 Shazad shares what he wants his daughter to see most when she looks at him as her father

03:38 Why transparency and constant communication with an ex-partner became the backbone of healthy co-parenting

07:00 The support system it takes to stay grounded through separation, from therapy to leaning on a trusted circle

16:09 The one thing Shazad hopes his daughter will always bring to him first, before anyone else

24:45 What keeps Shazad up at night when he thinks about his daughter's future relationships

29:36 The real trap doors in co-parenting, and why compromise matters as much as communication

34:04 Shazad's definition of being present, and why he keeps his phone out of the moments that count

36:26 The one area Shazad's ex says he still struggles with, and how he's working on it

If this conversation hit home, subscribe to the Ambitious Dads Podcast and share it with a dad in your life who needs to hear it.

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