The Daily Dad

This is that weird time of year where we start to think about how we want the following year to go. We start thinking about what we call “resolutions”—the promises we make to ourselves about what we’re going to do in the next 12 months.Why is it that we wait to demand the best for and of ourselves?✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It can sometimes feel like everything is falling apart. No one is behaving. No one is listening. Everyone is yelling. Causing problems. Making messes.In exasperation you find yourself shouting What is going on? Why is everyone giving me such a hard time today?✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Here on Christmas, and throughout this holiday season, take some time to think about what it will take to have that. Think about the choices you’re making with your kids now so that they’ll choose to fly from their homes to yours when they’re older and have families of their own. Think about the gifts you have to give them today—your love, your support, your presence—to receive the gift of a crowded table in the future.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad Podcast Ryan shares a compilation of his best thoughts on how to form the best habits from this past year. Ranging from journaling, rules and expectations, and how to cultivate good physical and mental health, Ryan provides these excerpts to help prep you for what parenting in 2023 will bring you. Sign Up For New Year New You Challenge Here!✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When we think teacher, we think classroom. When we think leader, we think the corner office or the lectern or a general in front of their troops. But the truth is that a teacher can do their job anywhere and in many forms, just as a leader can.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nobody wants to be like their parents…or like the adults they remember growing up. The ones who were clueless…or uncool. The ones who seemed to forget what it was like to be a kid. The ones who rhapsodized about the good old days and the way things used to be.But here’s the cold hard truth: You’re not different.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You weren’t the parent you wanted to be in 2022. You weren’t the person you wanted to be in 2022. Almost no one was. And anyone who thinks or says they were is lying.None of us were perfect. We all screwed up. We all back-slid. We all picked up bad habits. And as a parent, that means our kids picked up those bad habits too. Because, as we’ve said before, behavior is the language of children.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nobody’s listening. Everyone is grouchy. Grades are slipping. Siblings are fighting. What is happening, one spouse says to another. Why are the kids such a mess today?The answer is there in plain sight: The kids are a mess because *things are a mess.*✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We encourage our children. We want to set them up to succeed. But we can’t merge their glory into our own. We can’t let them think they have to impress us, make us proud, or worry that they have let us down or failed us.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan speaks with Susan Cain about parental relationships, not just with their children but their own parents and how past grievances can influence your role as a guardian.Susan Cain is a long time friend of Ryan, she also is the author of the bestsellers “Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverted Kids,” and “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can't Stop Talking,” which is in its eighth year on The New York Times bestseller list and was named the best book of 2012 by Fast Company.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Way too many parents are competitive. They see the car their neighbor is driving and they want to get a better one. They hear that a friend’s kid got into a fancy school and they think, “My kid is smarter. I’ve got to get them in there too.” We want to make more money than other parents, we want our kids tobeat other kids in sports, we want our kids to be cuter than other kids, we want our houses to be cleaner.Needless to say, this is mostly toxic and negative. Where should we channel it?📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Epictetus said that the root of beauty was beautiful choices. “If your choices are beautiful,” he said, “so too will you be.”It’s simple and it’s true. You are what your choices make you, nothing more and nothing less.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re rightfully disappointed when we hear about a kid getting caught cheating. Whether it’s on a test or a violation of some NCAA policy, it’s good that we take these things seriously. The problem, of course, is the lack of self-awareness–on our parts. We must ask ourselves where did they learn this from?✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We all know how hard our home life is, we know how it affects us–weighing on us, distracting us, making us act out. Well, we can safely assume that the same is true for everyone else. So we should then act with the corresponding empathy and understanding.Everyone is going through something. They don’t need more crap from you.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s a haunting thought that, in the busyness and day-to-dayness of parenting, we can so easily forget the little things. The chubby hands of our toddler. The squeaky voice of our teenager. The clear skin of our little boy or girl. The days when we could easily pick them up and carry them. The days when they needed us to drive them around or make their Halloween costumes.That will soon be gone.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad Podcast, Ryan talks to Steven Rinella about his new book Outdoor Kids in an Inside World: Getting Your Family Out of the House and Radically Engaged with Nature (which you can pick up at the Painted Porch), making sure your kids aren't spending too much time on screens, and how to find the right balance between pursuing your purpose and spending time with family. Steven is a conservationist and host of his own show MeatEater. ✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s a story as old as fatherhood itself. The son or daughter kills themselves to win the approval of their dad, which never seems to come. There is pain, resentment, bewilderment. I have worked so hard to make you proud, am I just not enough? Only at the end, or after the parent’s death, is it revealed: The child had the thing they wanted all along. They just never knew.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You’re just trying to keep them safe. You’re just trying to help them. You’re just trying to look out for them. So you say or scream or text.Be careful!But you know what you’re really doing?✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One thing that hits you from the very first moments of being a parent is the noise. Your children come out screaming and they don’t stop. It makes you realize how quiet life was before—a quiet you will never know again, except for those few odd hours in a hotel room on a business trip and the precious evening hours between their bedtime and yours. However, we must hear every one of these wonderful sounds. We must appreciate what each one represents and says to us. We must listen to them.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You work hard. It keeps you busy. You are trying to provide for a family after all–to keep them safe and secure, so they never have to want or go without. That’s why you come home late, after they’re all asleep. That’s what has you rising early and heading to the airport, before anyone has stirred.It’s beautiful. It’s inspiring. It’s your job. It’s also sad. Very sad. And very easily the sign of something very broken.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s not easy, this thing we’re trying to do. You’d think it would be: Billions of people have done it through history and the survival of our genes literally depends on it…yet here we are struggling. In need of all the help we can get.Today, we wanted to put together a list of stuff that has been of use to us here at Daily Dad over the years. Some books. Some items to carry with you or to keep on your desk. Some make for great holiday gifts. Some you might want to share with new or expecting parents.Check them out…and share them if they work.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad Ryan compiles advice from his Daily Dad newsletter, podcasts, and interviews to share a highlight reel of 5 Parenting Don'ts. ✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Stoics remind us not only to focus on what’s in our control, but specifically in regards to aggravating people, they tell us that the best revenge is to not be like them. Don’t be angry. Live well. Don’t get sucked into a negative world, commit more deeply to a positive world that you do control–the one you live in with your family. The one where your children will not exist forever—so enjoy it now while you can.Put that energy where it counts. Put it where it makes you better.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’ve said before: kids do well when they can. When you give them the opportunity, kids generally do the right thing. You don’t have to scream. You don’t have to force them to do their homework. You just have to give them the opportunity to show you they know what’s right…sometimes they just need one more chance to get there.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When our kids mess up we say: Aren’t you a little old for that? And we have all sorts of rules of thumb for what things are age appropriate or not—what age they should stop having accidents, what age they should stop throwing a tantrum just because they’re tired, what age it stops being okay for other people to have to pick up after them.You’re too old to act this way. It’s time to grow up.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s strange. The things we’re upset about–with our spouses, with our children, with our siblings. They feel like they matter so much in the moment. With time or distance though, these feelings always fade. And what’s left when we’ve acted on them? When we let them get the better of us in the moment? Sheepishness. Regret. Damage that cannot be undone.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s the moment we dread. Our son is dating someone we know is bad for them. Our daughter is about to change college majors and throw away years of work. Our toddler has started biting or hitting or shouting some curse words.We have to think about correcting behavior as nudging our children, not forcing them. We have to persuade, not overpower.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this weekend episode of The Daily Dad Ryan talks about being an "activity addict" and how he and his wife balance knowing when it's time to just rest. ✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You want to raise kids who aren’t entitled. Who are self-sufficient. Who are decent and kind, part of the solutions not the problems of the world and of their generation. Successful or struggling, you want your kids to be generous. With their time, with their money, with their talents. Rather than let the Black Friday spirit of materialism and selfishness infect us, let us contribute to something bigger than ourselves. Let us be good Stoics today, just head over to dailystoic.com/feeding—together we can contribute a small amount to help fight a big problem.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today and always we should be grateful. To choose resentment or envy, bitterness or fear, anxiety or anger–because your flight was delayed? Because your band teacher is a jerk? Because your marriage fell apart? This is to spit in the face of so many people who have so much less.Gratitude, always. That is the way.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeWe are thankful today and every day for all of you. Thank you for being a part of the Daily Dad community!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pretty much every parent wants to raise kids who turn out to be good people. So it's important to show them that moral excellence is what matters. That being a good person is not just what you pay lip service to, but what you are always thinking about.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We sweat so much. Whether we’re on our phone too much, when we could (and should) be playing with our kids. Whether their lunch yesterday was perfect. Whether we attend every dance recital and graduation. Whether we’re doing enough. Whether they’ll hate us forever for not letting them go to this school trip or that sleepover. Whether they’re scarred forever because we lost our temper or forgot something they needed or couldn’t afford something they wanted because everyone else has one.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Your son failed a test. He hit his brother. Your daughter forgot to do her homework. She scratched your car and lied about it. They are acting insane and you need it to stop. You just desperately want them to grasp the stakes of what’s happening.So you yell. You threaten timeout. You threaten to ground them. You don’t hold back. But it doesn’t work. Of course, it doesn’t work.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this weekend episode of The Daily Dad Ryan riffs about how he handled his kids outgrowing their stroller and his clever way to get them excited about exercising. ✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As it happens, this is good advice for fathers as well. It’s easy to go into it thinking that you know. Because you’ve read the books. Because you’re on your third kid now and have it handled. Because you and your spouse have a plan for how to do it all right. And then guess what? Unavoidable reality quickly humbles anyone with this kind of certainty.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Across cultures, across generations, across politics and moments in time, this having kids thing–it just cuts through everything. You probably know very little about the Easter Uprising in Ireland. You don’t have to know who Michael Mallin was. You don’t have to know what motivated him to join an armed revolution against the British. You don’t have to know what he did as one of its leaders.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You’re pretty sure you know what’s best for your kids. You’re sure something they are considering is a bad idea. You’re sure they shouldn’t drop out of school. You’re sure they shouldn’t hang out with that kid. You’re sure they should take this job instead of that one. And usually you’re right. Usually, you know better.But do you know best? Really? How can you be so sure?✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It can feel like there is never enough time as a parent. And it’s true, there isn’t…yet part of this is our fault. As Seneca would say, it’s not just that life is short, it's that we waste a lot of it.As parents we have to look for opportunities to save time…so we can spend more of it with the people we love.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’ve said before that parenting is a grind. It’s exhausting. It can all seem so humdrum, even a burden. Staying up with an overtired toddler. Staying up until curfew to check on a teenager. There will come a time that you’ll look back on even the most difficult moments of this journey and be nostalgic for it.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan recaps his trip to Disneyland with his family and how he was able to teach his kids about the importance of gratitude. ✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s interesting to think about the steady decline in expectations for our kids when it comes to reading. Sure, we want them to be able to read earlier than ever, but what about what they read?✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You wouldn’t think of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius as a parenting book.The former Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said all entrepreneurs, economists and politicians should read Meditations (and several American presidents have too). General James Mattis said every soldier should read Meditations. Actors recommend it to others in show business. Athletes recommend it to others in sports. Writers recommend it to other writers. Founders recommend it to others setting out to start a business.But every parent should read it too.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This seems like such a fraught moment in time. There was a pandemic. There’s been civil unrest. It feels like institutions are falling apart. Naturally, this scares us as parents. We’d like to look at the world before us is with fear and anger. But there's another way: gratitude, and determination.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today is Election Day in America (and countries all over the world will have theirs sometime soon). If you don’t vote, if you can’t be bothered to participate, then how can you say you really want your kids to have a better life? How can you really say you’d do anything to protect them?Do this for them. It’s literally the least you can do.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Each of us goes into this with opinions–so many opinions. Not just about parenting but about other parents. Parents who let their kids have lots of screentime. Parents of kids with “ADHD.” Divorced parents. Parents who ply their kids with soda and sugary cereals to get them to behave. Because we think we know better, or at least we’re confident that we know “the right way” to do things.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ryan talks about a recent chaotic travel week when he was reminded about how easily life can take you away from what actually matters.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com Check out the Daily Dad Store https://store.dailydad.com 📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You’re not a babysitter. You’re not some lesser figure in your kids’ lives. When you are with them—and when you are not with them—you’re their father. That matters. It’s an important job, one that you should take seriously and never demean (and not let others demean, either). You’re doing it because you love it, because you get something out of it, and you know what kind of impact it has.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The famous screenwriter’s maxim is “show don’t tell.” Marcus Aurelius said it’s a waste of time to speculate or argue about what makes a good man, a good athlete, a good teammate, a good parent. Our job, he said, was to be one. We can have great conversations. We can give them a great lecture. But what matters is what we model.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Not every parent is a public figure, but each of us are constrained by the same amount of finite energy. And it could be argued that in a world of social media, we do have a presence on platforms with the potential to expose us to endless amounts of people who disagree or dislike us.The question is: Are you going to get bogged down by this or ignore it?✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s impossible to do this all, isn’t it? We have all the tasks, responsibilities, and aspirations we’ve always had–eating and sleeping and working and paying our taxes and taking out the trash and following our dreams–but now we have little people to care for on top of all that. Little helpless people with infinite needs. How can we do it all?✉️ Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com📱 Follow Daily Dad: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.