Right now, you and your family are stuck at home. Or you trying to dig yourself out of the wreckage of a situation that wasn’t your fault, that is stressful, confusing, and overwhelming. There is a lot that is uncertain right now, a lot that we just don’t know. But one thing is a given: Your kids are watching you in this moment. 

They might not be in school. They might think that this is time off from learning, but, in fact, they are being taught so much. And you are the teacher. The question is: What is the lesson? What are you showing them?

Some Dads are, right at this very moment, teaching their children that people fall apart when things get tough. Some are teaching them terrible things about how they treat women or other people. Some are teaching them a lifelong habit of anxiety and fear. Some are teaching them to stick their heads in the sand, to be selfish, to be reckless, or to veg out and waste time. 

There’s no way that’s what you want to be doing. Instead, you’ve got to teach them how to be courageous. You have to show them that difficulties are actually opportunities to step up for the family, for the neighbors, and for the country. Show them what preparation looks like and what calmness under pressure gets you. Show them that there is always something they can be doing and that no one should waste time in this life, even when stuck indoors. Teach them that they can get through this, that they can be better for having experienced something like this. 

The most important lesson to teach them is that learning never stops. So give them a good education right now that they’ll remember forever.

P.S. This was originally sent on May 7, 2020. Sign up today for the Daily Dad’s email and get our popular 11 page eBook, “20 Things Great Dads Do Everyday.”