Brett Favre had a tough father. He never let his kids have it easy. He pushed them. He didn’t accept excuses. He didn’t want to see them cry. And he definitely didn’t let them whine. 

But once, after a bad game, in which Brett had thrown multiple interceptions, Farve overheard his father say to an assistant coach, “I can assure you one thing about my son—he will play better. He will redeem himself. I know my son. He has it in him.” 

He has it in him.

You can imagine how loved the young Favre felt in that moment. You can imagine where that hit him. You can probably also imagine how much he craved to hear his father say something like that to his face sometime. You can imagine what that would have meant to him.

We’ve talked about this before: You can’t wait until you’re on your deathbed to let them know how you feel about them. You can’t wait until you’re dead and gone and they go through your stuff and find the news clippings you kept and finally see that you were proud of them. You can’t just hope they overhear you saying it to someone else. You can’t just assume they know. 

They need to hear it from you. They need you to be direct. Not just once, but consistently over time. Let them know that you know them. That you see how good they are, what they mean to you. Let them know what a fan you are. They deserve it. Because they’re doing it—whether it’s playing football or doing 4-H or dancing or playing music—for you as much as they’re doing it for themselves.

P.S. This was originally sent on October 28, 2020. Sign up today for the Daily Dad’s email and get our popular 11 page eBook, “20 Things Great Dads Do Everyday.”