The Daily Dad

"It’s exhausting to be a kid. Because they’re clever and creative and you’re not. Because they’re pure and idealistic and you’ve been hardened by the world you’ve seen. Because they’re still uniquely themselves, yet to be beaten down or corrupted.  'Grown ups never understand anything by themselves,' the always childlike Saint-Exupéry would write, 'and it is exhausting for children to have to prov...

"What kinds of books do dads like? Well, according to the displays at Barnes & Noble and Costco, it’s almost exclusively books about war and history. Have you ever wondered why that is? Why did your dad—who maybe didn’t read that much—still manage to get through one or two 500-page biographies each year?" Find out why—and what you can learn from this fatherly practice—on today's Daily Dad Podc...

"Sometimes, when parents fall down on the job, it falls to someone else to do the job. The primary and most important influence on Queen Victoria, for instance, was not her mother but her beloved governess Baroness Lehzen, who later became her adviser and friend. It was from Louise Lehzen that Victoria got the backbone that made her one of England’s great queens—one who ruled for some 63 years, mo...

"In August 1933, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a letter to his young daughter Frances who was away at camp. It's a beautiful, personal letter from a man who was flawed—failed by his own parents—but tried, especially at the end of his short life, to step up and do the right thing." Learn more about what Fitzgerald tried to teach his daughter, and what you can learn form his example, in today's Daily Da...

"There are a few versions of history you can tell your kids. You can tell them the propaganda version—the fables, the self-serving myths, the lies that dictators or the jingoists like to traffic in. You can tell them the dark truth version, the almost-nihilist 'People’s History' version that is resurgent today—that everything is bad, was done with evil intention, that all of history is a cover for...

"Parenting just demands so much more of you, just more than you ever even thought yourself capable of giving. You do it because you want to, because you love them, of course, but also because you have no choice. This just is what it is." Ryan describes the obligation that all parents now share on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review...

"There is a reason that this metaphor keeps popping up. Cormac McCarthy talked about 'carrying the fire' in his haunting novel The Road, which he wrote for his son. Now Alanis Morissette puts her own spin on it in her beautiful song, 'Ablaze,' which she wrote for her two children." Ryan explores this metaphor further in today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love f...

"We’ve come to call them 'Karens,' but the truth is that being an entitled, obnoxious ass transcends gender. It has nothing to do with the haircut, and everything to do with thinking that you’re the center of the universe and that your kids matter more than other people’s." Ryan describes what makes Karens tick and how you can avoid becoming one on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed thi...

"We tell our kids a lot of things.  We tell them that we love them. That we’ll support them no matter what. That they can come to us with anything.  We also tell them little things: We tell them we’ll be home by six. We tell them that if they clean up their toys they can have a treat. We tell them that sure, next time we’re here, we can do what they want. We tell them when they’re older, they can...

"Maybe you’re an introvert and your daughter turned out to be an extrovert. Maybe you always hoped for a daughter and ended up with three sons. Maybe you wanted an athlete. Or you wanted someone to hand over the family business to. Maybe, sometimes in secret, you wish you had a kid who was easier. Who didn’t struggle as yours does. Who was closer—in this way or that way—to some image you always ha...

"Especially in the early days, it can seem like being a dad is to assume the role of perpetual third wheel. You can’t nurse. You can’t magically comfort your baby. It’s not you they’re crying for in the middle of the night.  So where can a dad contribute?" Find out a great way a dad can contribute to the household in today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for...

"Maybe you have to travel a lot for work. Maybe you take an occasional vacation. Or you’re on the road a lot with one of your older kids for sports or school or whatever. The point is: You’re away from your kids. What should you do?" Ryan describes the simple thing you can do to stay close to your child when physically far away in today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast,...

"How do you tell your kids how you feel? How do you say what needs to be said? There are so many moments where words escape us. Because we’re stunned. Because we’re scared. Because we’re angry in the moment and it overrides what we wish we could tell them, what we know they want to hear." Ryan explains what you need to do to surmount this difficulty on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed...

"Do you remember the best piece of advice you got from your dad? Are there sayings from childhood that have stuck with you? That time you were getting teased and Dad told you that it was what was on the inside that counted. That time when you were drifting toward the wrong crowd and Dad reminded you that we become like our friends.  That advice is seared in your memory. It was a pivotal moment." R...

"In 1952, Margaret Thatcher’s father was driven out of office when a rival political party won a majority in the election. His position wasn’t a particularly partisan one, so it surprised him and most people when his head came up on the chopping block.  Her father was upset. He was hurt. And he could have reacted in a way driven by those emotions. But he didn’t." Find out about the lesson that thi...

"It’s a touching scene. The father in The Road is giving the last of the hot chocolate they had found to his son. He pretends to make a little for himself, but he’s really giving it all to his son, who is but skin and bones at this point.  But he can’t quite pull it off." Ryan describes the lesson that a particular scene from Cormac McCarthy's work of post-apocalyptic fiction has for any parent in...

"In the spring of 1921, a young ballplayer named Louis Gehrig had a tryout for the great John McGraw at the Polo Grounds. McGraw was the manager of the New York Giants and one of the greatest evaluators of talent in the history of the game.  It was a good tryout. Gehrig hit a few deep balls. He was lively and quick. He was already showing off his almost inhumanely large lower body, which was so ke...

"You have things you want to do in this life. Maybe you want to write a book or you’re in the middle of starting a company. Maybe you’re trying to win a championship or run for president.  You want to be a great dad too, but is it possible to do all these things at once?" Ryan talks about the pressure to accomplish great things as well as be a great a parent, and how those two desires mesh, in tod...

"There is so much you want to teach them. When they’re little. When they’re teenagers. When they are out of the house and about to get married. When they are struggling at their job. When they are raising kids of their own.  What’s the best way to do that?" Find out how to teach your kids everything they need to know on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love f...

"For some of us, it could be easily deduced that our kids have no hands. And no brains. We put on their clothes for them. We make their decisions. We clear the road in front like a snowplow. We hover like a helicopter, just in case something goes wrong. We do everything for them." Ryan tells us why it's important to let your kids do their own work on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed t...

"C’mon, Dad, again! One more time! Can we keep going a little longer? Let’s start over! I don’t want to stop! You’ve heard all these things more times than you can count. The request for one more book before bed. One more time riding on your back. To watch that funny video one more time. To sing that song once more from the beginning. To hear the story over again. To jump in the pool one more time...

"Nothing about Marcus Aurelius’ reign was fair. Fate tested him with one catastrophe after another. The Parthians invaded and triggered a war that would last five years. Then the River Tiber flooded, destroying homes and livestock, causing a famine in Rome. Then, after victory against the Parthians, Romans brought back a deadly contagion, which became known as the Antonine Plague. Then, crippled b...

"You work very hard and are able to provide. Not just the basic necessities, but all sorts of extras. Because of you, your kids have a swimming pool. They have nice vacations. They have their own room. They have a big TV downstairs with lots of channels. They have all this and more. And yet, it doesn’t matter." Ryan describes the limitations of what your money can buy you on today's Daily Dad Podc...

"How do you get through to your kids? How do you show them what’s right? How can you make sure they know how much you care about them? That you’re there for them? The answer is simple: You can be there. A lot." Ryan talks about why there's no substitute for your presence in your children's lives in today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a revi...

"It feels elitist to say this, but it’s true: Public education is built for the lowest common denominator. It has to be. One of the beautiful and powerful things about public education is that it’s for everyone. And to be for everyone it has to average out needs and skill-level and that means neglecting what is superfluous or advanced.  This is not a criticism. It’s just a reality." What does this...