Daily Dad
Daily parenting meditations and advice for fathers; frequent prompts on presence, discipline and emotional intelligence.
Choose Your Mentors, Not Your Ancestry
We can't choose the family tree from which we spring. But as parents we can choose who in our family tree we look for guidence.
Parenting: Choose Thoughtful Responses Over Reflexive Reactions
As parents, we have to choose our responses wisely, not reflexively. We have to suspend judgement, listen, and think things over.
Choosing Patience over Anger when Kids Borrow Cars
When your kid is home from college and scratches the car while borrowing it for the weekend, what if you don't get upset?
You Choose the Parent You Want to Be
You get to decide what kind of parent you want to be. ( cc @joshkrameryoga )
Parenting: Prioritize Children’s Growth Over Self‑Interest
My wife and I, our whole job is to provide, to protect, to. love, to facilitate....It's to find out who our children are, find out their likes and their dislikes, and try to help them through life, to find themselves,...
Break the Cycle: Stop Passing Shame to Children
Shame is inherited. It is passed along, often by parents, on the back of cutting remarks, unnecessary judgments, and thoughtless choices. It's up to you to not let your children inherit shame.
Parenting: Love and Patience Over Impossible Demands
Our job is to love our kids and to be patient with them, not to demand the impossible from them.
Kids Mirror Your Actions, Not Your Advice
Your kids won’t become what you tell them to be. They become what they watch you be. ( @arthurcbrooks )
Prioritize Family Time over Higher Income
We can spend more time with our kids. We can be there more than we are. We just have to be comfortable making less money.
Say Yes: Embrace Challenges, Remember the Joy
Say yes. Even when you’re tired. Even when it’s expensive. Even when it ends in a meltdown in the parking lot. You won’t remember the hard parts. But you’ll remember this.
Mastering Parenthood: Be Present, Be World‑Class
Your job is: being a parent. Being there for them. Becoming world class at being Mom or Dad
Don't Stifle Kids' Passions over Fear of Mess
Life is too short to nix your children's interests because you don't want to del with mess afterward.
Greatest Musician's Top Role: Parent, Not Performer
Even the greatest musician of all time is more important as a parent to his children than he is an artist to the world.
Cut the Nonessential, Gain Time and Tranquility
"Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you'll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, "Is this necessary?" -Marcus Aurelius
Kids Thrive when Seen, Heard, Loved, and Known
Your kids need to be seen. They need to be heard. They need to be loved. They need to be known
Model Responsibility: Be Careful, Stay Prepared
Show them what responsibility looks like. Show them how to be careful and how to always be prepared.
Start a Judgment-Free Home: End Bullying, Opinions
The world needs less judgment, less bullying, fewer opinions, period. Can you start this trend at home?
Let Kids Be Themselves, Not Your Reflection
Maybe you're artistic and your kid is not. Maybe you're athletic and your kid is not. Maybe you're liberal and your kid is not. Whatever it is, let them be who they are. Let them experiment. Let them discover themselves....
Every Child Follows a Unique Timeline, Not a Benchmark
The comparison trap starts at the first pediatrician visit and never really stops — percentiles, milestones, other people’s kids on bikes. But every child has their own timeline, their own trajectory, and their own potential.
Define Yourself by Virtues, Not by Others' Standards
One of the most interesting passages in Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is this one: Epithets for yourself: Upright. Modest. Straightforward. Sane. Cooperative. Try not to exchange for others.
It's Not Results, It's Who Your Kids Become
Results don't matter-not the obvious ones, anyway. What counts is the person your kids are shaping themselves into and the things you do along the way to help them.
Fatherhood: Tough Challenges, Unmatched Joy
Being a dad is hard but it’s one of the best things ever. ( cc @brentrichard_ )
Guide, Don't Yell: Connection Beats Control
Remember- your children need your guidance, not your yelling. Your connection with them matters more than temporary control.
Daily Dad Offers Timeless Parenting Wisdom
Todays excerpt from The Daily Dad: 366 Meditations on Parenting, Love, and Raising Great Kids
Pause, Notice Gratitude Before Resentment and Anger
Before resentment, before anger, before envy, pause. Look around. There is more here to be grateful for than we often allow ourselves to see.
Switch Roles, Discover Hidden Strengths and Empathy
Parenting experiment idea from @RyanHoliday Switch roles for a day. Track heart rate. Compare notes. You might think you’re better at what your partner does… until you actually do it.
Teach Through Stories, Let Answers Reveal Themselves
Stop thinking about giving them all the answers and start thinking about stories to tell that make the answers self-evident.
Parents Embrace “Daily Dad” As Morning Ritual
Just like so many people read The Daily Stoic each morning, thousands of parents around the world now start their day with The Daily Dad. If you want to check out the new leather edition, you can find it at dailydad.com/leather.
Stay Strong: Bad Days Don't Define Parenting
You can't let a bad day or bad person prevent you from being a good parent.
Be Present and Cherish Every Moment with Your Kids
Important reminder to remain present and enjoy every moment you have with your kids. ( cc @thecinematicdad )