Statistically, it’s terrifying. All the things that can go wrong. All the things that can happen. The dangers at the beach. The dangers on their bikes. Drugs. Alcohol. The unknown influence from their peers, from social media, from what they see on TV.
But you need to remember that statistics are about averages. Is anything about your family average? Do you think you are doing more or less than the average parents? Statistics are skewed by the parents who can only be called “parents” in the legal sense of the word. Statistics are skewed by the people who barely show up for their kids. Statistics are skewed by the parents who don’t have the knowledge or the resources or the experience that you have.
Statistics include the stupid people, as we’ve said. They include the reckless people. They include the outright negligent.
This isn’t you. This isn’t your family or your partner. You do more than the average person, more than the average parent. You read the parenting books, you research all the baby and safety gear, you follow childhood development and parenting accounts on social media. You talk to other parents. You get advice from friends with families of their own.
You’re not average. Everything you’ve done, everything you’ve learned and taught or showed your kids is an added layer of protection against what the statistics say could go wrong. Of course, things can still go wrong. It’s just you can rest assured that you have done more than the average person to avoid the average fate.
Dedicated parents like you are the reason why we started Daily Dad Society. We wanted to create a supportive community to talk about the challenges of parenthood, share concerns, celebrate wins, get advice, and learn actionable strategies for our most important job—parenting.
On our monthly live virtual call (led by me, Ryan), we’ve met with parents all over the world and covered a wide breadth of topics, including how to model the right behavior for your kids, how to apologize and repair, and what questions to ask your kids each day to make sure they stay curious and engaged.
I welcome you to join us!
Parenting is hard. Together, let’s learn how to be the best we can be—the parents our kids deserve.
