The world is a scary place right now. Your retirement accounts have taken enormous hits. Events are getting cancelled. Government officials are failing, publicly and embarrassingly, to protect us. Nobody knows quite what the next few weeks or months will look like. 

But one thing that is certain? Your kids need you to be calm. They need this as much as they need anything right now. Because this wasn’t their fault. Because they haven’t been through stuff like this before. Because they are looking to you for guidance, for an example of how to be and behave. 

If you’re freaking out, if you’re letting your anxiety run wild, what will they think? More importantly, how is that helping them in any way? People in the sway of their passions or fears don’t make good decisions. They don’t inspire confidence. They are not their best selves. 

Well, this is a moment that requires the very best of you. It requires you conquering your fear, discarding your anxiety, and focusing on the task at hand. It requires you to truly be there for your kids. To make good decisions, in the calm and mild light of good philosophy.  This is where you teach them what leadership and citizenship look like. This is where you teach them how to be strong and calm precisely when a situation most calls for it. 

They need you to be calm. So step up.

P.S. This was originally sent on April 13, 2020. Sign up today for the Daily Dad’s email and get our popular 11 page eBook, “20 Things Great Dads Do Everyday.”