Occupation: Primary Care Sports Medicine Provider with Ochsner Health
Wife: Rachel
Children: Sydney, 3; Harper, 2; and Declan, 4 months
Hobbies: Golfing, exercising, cooking, skiing, and bike riding
As a Primary Care Sports Medicine Provider with Ochsner Health, Dr. Sean Bradley is used to a structured environment and handling chaos with calm. As a father to three little ones, Dr. Bradley has fully embraced the daily surprises of fatherhood by learning to slow down, savor the small moments, and lead with intention.
WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT BECOMING A DAD?
DR. BRADLEY: Every day is like a new journey. I’m a very structured person, so for me [it’s] having something brand new that you’re not expecting. As soon as you get comfortable being a parent, they teach you something new, or you’re in a new phase or a new stage of life. That has been the biggest change or surprise. Every day is a new adventure.
HOW HAS BECOMING A FATHER CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE—PERSONALLY OR PROFESSIONALLY?
DR. BRADLEY: I think it has definitely made me slow down and really look at what’s most important in life. Being very career driven for a long time, and then, [having] kids will really make you press pause. It’s been probably one of the best things for me, both as a father, a husband, and even as like a physician, to just press pause sometimes and really be present, I guess is the best way to say it.
WHAT’S A TYPICAL WEEKEND LIKE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD?
DR. BRADLEY: Usually sleeping in, “waking up at 6:37,” but making some breakfast with the kids. Usually we’re doing scrambled eggs or pancakes, and then getting out and playing outside, whether we go to the park or wrangling up to go maybe meet one of their friends for a little playdate. And then, just hanging out at the house, really. It’s either the park or church on Sunday, and we’re cooking outside or doing something fun in the yard.
WHAT VALUES OR LESSONS ARE YOU MOST INTENTIONAL ABOUT TEACHING YOUR KIDDOS AT THIS STAGE?
DR. BRADLEY: Treat others the way you would want to be treated, right? Kind of the Golden Rule. So every day, when I drop my three-year-old off at daycare, if it’s my day to do it, I always tell her to listen to her teachers and be nice to her friends, and it’s just, like, a daily occurrence where now she actually says it back to me before I can say it. But it’s one of those things where [you] just treat others the way that you would want to be treated.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE “DAD MOMENT” SO FAR?
DR. BRADLEY: Besides, like, wrestling every night with the girls before they go to bed, I think it’s teaching the girls to cook. They really gravitated towards making eggs with me in the morning, from cracking the eggs to scrambling them to stirring them in the pan. That’s probably something I’ve really enjoyed doing with them.
HOW HAS YOUR MEDICAL BACKGROUND SHAPED THE WAY YOU APPROACH PARENTING?
DR. BRADLEY: I would probably say the opposite. I think my parenting life has probably shaped the way that I’ve become a physician. I think it’s taught me that slow-down process of life. But I think hard work and structuring definitely is important to being a parent in the background, right? So it’s being prepared for the next day, having food and meals all set up, making sure that everything’s stocked. I guess that mindset of being a physician, of always being structured and prepared, has helped me.
DO YOU SEE ANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN WORKING WITH PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES AND RAISING KIDS?
DR. BRADLEY: I think you always have to understand where they’re coming from. I think that’s a big piece of it. Understanding where your kid is coming from, or where the athlete’s coming from…because the situation may be different [in] the way that you perceive it, and then the way they perceive it, and that can really change how you treat someone in a certain clinical setting or in being a father and understanding what just happened.
DO YOUR KIDS EVER ATTEND THE SPORTING EVENTS WITH YOU?
DR. BRADLEY: They’ve gotten a couple Pelicans games in. I was a team physician for Southern University for about three years, so they were regularly out there supporting the Jags, which was fun. And then every once in a while, on a Friday night, I’ll drag the oldest to a high school football game.
WHAT’S ONE THING YOU WISH MORE PARENTS KNEW ABOUT KEEPING KIDS ACTIVE?
DR. BRADLEY: I think it started at a young age, right? The day and age of screen time, it’s so easy, and we all fall into it. We’re the parents with iPads on long car rides. You have to do it to some degree, but I think if you start your kids young [with] being outside and being active, there are great initiatives throughout professional sports that you can instill in them. My three-year-old will catch me some mornings because I get up early and work out every day, and she’ll come in and just watch me work out. Every once in a while, I’ll catch her, like, doing a plank or something kind of funny. I’ll ask, “What are you doing?” And she’ll say, “Oh, I’m working out, Daddy.” So I think those little things, kids notice everything you do. It’s really important to instill that at a young age.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT RAISING A FAMILY IN BATON ROUGE SO FAR?
DR. BRADLEY: The culture. I’m a transplant, so I think learning the different food seasons and being part of all of the different events that happen throughout the year here has been really special.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO NEW DADS?
DR. BRADLEY: I think it’s that pause, that presence. It’s intentionality with your time, because the job will never stop asking you for things, and you can continue to give and give, but at some point, you have to be intentional with that time and that balance, and understand that early, [because] all of a sudden you’re looking at them in high school and realizing that you didn’t do the time the way you wanted to. I think that’s the balance I’ve really tried to find in my life.
Rapid-Fire Questions
Favorite date night…We do date nights every Wednesday. We usually go out to eat. I’m usually trying to pick a Mexican restaurant, but whether it’s sushi or something fun, that’s our go-to Wednesday night.
Two words that best describe your family…loving and caring.
Favorite movie or television show…Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, and The Sandlot.
Favorite food…fajitas.
Hidden Talent…singing.
