The Daily Dad

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. ✉...

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...

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...

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 , YouTube See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19....

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 wonderfu...

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...

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 o...

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 , YouTube See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my...

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...

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: Tw...

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. ✉️ S...

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.c...

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 📱...

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 , YouTube See 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...

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 , Inst...

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 , YouTube See Privacy Policy at https://art19...

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 som...

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...

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 , YouTube See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-in...

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.c...

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. ✉️ Sig...

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 Dail...

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 , Instagra...

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 , Instagr...