Sometimes This Is All You Can Do

Another horrible news report about a family that lost everything in a fire. An alert on your phone about a kidnapping. The grotesque political dysfunction. The existential global threats—the climate, wars, terrorism. Another act of violence for which the only thing offered is thoughts and prayers. It’s demoralizing. It’s frustrating. We are so vulnerable as…

It’s All So Delicate

It’s wonderful. It’s the greatest. It’s the happiest you’ve ever been. You love this kid more than you could possibly express. You love your life. You love it all. As you should—it’s a postcard. You are living the dream. But you have to remember, it is a dream. We’ve been quoting recently from the haunting…

Why Do We Do This?

We get on them for things. We criticize them. We worry about this and that. Why? Because on some level, we recognize those things in ourselves. It’s both classic projection and legitimate concern. We know what it costs us to procrastinate. We wish we’d worked a little harder. We feel bad about our own weight….

They’re Trying To Tell You Something

Your kids can tell when you’re not really there. They sense it in your distracted glances, your delayed responses, your half-hearted nods. They notice when the phone has captured your attention again, when work has stolen another moment, when your mind has drifted somewhere else entirely. And they respond—not with words, but with actions. Acting…

How Else Are They Supposed To Get This?

You want your kids to be strong when they grow up. You want them to be independent. You don’t want them to just blindly follow instructions or fall for every confident, powerful person they come across. The trouble is that right now, though, you just want them to listen. This is a paradox we’ve talked…

Where To Find The Reward

All the time. All the money. All the sleepless nights. All the arguments. All the messes you cleaned up. All the yelling you had to endure. This took a toll didn’t it? It was painful. It was exhausting. The thanks for it are sporadic at best. Is the reward supposed to be that they grow…

Show Them It’s Never Too Late

We’ve talked about this a lot.  That it’s never too late. For example, we’ve talked about Nell Painter’s mother, who became an author later in life (and Nell Painter herself, who went back to school and later wrote Old in Art School) We’ve also talked about Bruce Springsteen’s father, who finally said the words Bruce…

This Is What Completeness Comes From

You feared this. You feared settling down. You feared becoming one of those parents. Would you lose your edge? Would your career take a hit? Would you get a dad-bod? Would you be bored? The answer, it turns out, to most of this is yes. You have softened a little—in all the ways. You have…

Be Ready To Use This

Parenting has never been easy, and the last few years have pushed us to our limits. The pandemic, lockdowns, school disruptions—it’s no wonder parents everywhere feel stretched thin. In Massachusetts, some parents have even started gathering outside just to scream their frustrations into the void. Who can blame them? But moments like these remind us…

They Can Hear You

It’s probably because they so rarely listen to what we ask them to do that we assume they can’t hear us. But they can. They overhear what you’re saying on the phone. They’re not fully asleep in the car, while you and your spouse talk. They catch some of what you’re muttering under your breath…

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST AND

DADS ALL OVER
THE WORLD

We’re going to tackle all the big themes of our time and of all time: Grit. Resilience. Curiosity. Compassion. Character. Unconditional love. Finding purpose. Dealing with stress. Masculinity. Female empowerment. Loss. Stillness. Truthfulness. Initiative. Creativity. Passion. Family. Fun.

Join Daily Dad now and tap into a community of dads all over the world dedicated to becoming the very best dad they can be. you’ll get a daily meditation on the above themes and more.