What Daughters Never Tell Their Dads | With My Daughter Ava
Lights On with Carl Lentz
B-Side
4.8 • 797 Ratings
🗓️ 24 December 2025
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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In this raw episode of Lights On, Carl Lentz sits down with his 21-year-old daughter Ava for the conversation most dads are too afraid to have. What does my daughter actually need from me? The answer will challenge everything you think you know about strength, protection, and what it actually takes to lead your daughter well.
Drawing from their own journey of rebuilding after public failure, Carl and Ava expose an uncomfortable truth. Your daughter's inner world is far deeper than you realize. And two things can be true at once. A dad can be trying his best AND his daughter can be starving for real connection.
Ava shares what she needed most as a little girl but never said, including the moments Carl's "strength" actually created fear instead of safety. Carl delivers the perspective most dads never hear. What it is actually like to let your daughter see you broken, and why that vulnerability became the foundation of their relationship today.
From the power of the words that follow "you are" to why your best parenting will feel like friction in the moment, to the question every dad should ask his daughter, this episode delivers practical truths for fathers who want to stop performing and start connecting.
This episode will challenge any dad who believes he needs to have it all figured out.
Follow Carl at https://www.instagram.com/carllentz/
Follow Ava at https://www.instagram.com/avaangellentz/
Supported by Plana https://plana.org/ Supported by God Behind Bars https://godbehindbars.com
CHAPTERS
00:00 The Conversation Most Dads Avoid
02:40 This Is Not Pressure It Is Presence
05:18 What Ava Needed Most As A Little Girl
10:07 Why Vulnerability Made Them Closer
14:37 God Behind Bars Partnership
16:02 The Worst Advice Dads Receive
19:26 Your Words Become Her Inner Voice
22:00 The Dad Mistake That Creates Fear Not Safety
25:00 When Trust Is Crushed Daughters Need Honesty
29:50 Confrontation Is Not The Enemy Of Connection
31:01 Truth 1 Her Inner World Is Deeper Than You Know
34:24 Plana Partnership
36:22 Truth 2 Your Best Parenting Feels Like Friction
38:59 Truth 3 Humanity Strengthens Leadership
43:26 Truth 4 The Power Of You Are
45:07 Truth 5 Legacy Should Always Be Growing
46:59 What Daughters Wish Their Dads Would Ask
49:49 Final Words For Dads Ready To Lead Differently
54:06 Whatever You Avoid Controls You
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Transcript
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