​We’re all raising hellions​, as we said recently. There’s that part of us that dreads the trip to the grocery store, that preemptively apologizes when we go over to someone’s house, because ​we know our kids going to be crazy​. Because look, we’ve all been in public, we’ve all been on airplanes with complete disasters and we don’t want to be one of ‘those’ families.But here’s the thing, the fact that you’re even thinking about this means you’re probably not. When Steve Rinella (who has a great book for families called ​Outside Kids in an Inside World​) was ​on the Daily Stoic podcast a while back​, he joked that the people who say ​their kids are crazy are usually the ones whose kids are pretty OK​.He’s right…the parents who are raising real nightmares are raising real nightmares because they’re not paying attention at all. The fact that you are paying attention, that you notice, that you care, is a reminder your kids are probably alright.So stop being so hard on yourself and stop being so hard on your kids. Because they’re just being kids and they’re good inside, as Dr. Becky reminds us (​in her amazing book Good Inside​). We’re trying to raise well-adjusted adults, not well-behaved children. There’s going to be some bumps and screams and vases broken along the way. Embrace it. In turn, your kids will learn to embrace themselves, too.

P.S. In case you missed our announcement last month, Ryan Holiday will be in Australia this summer for ​The Stoic Life tour​! Don’t miss this opportunity to ask Ryan the questions you’ve been dying to know about parenting, Stoicism, and more. There’s a limited number of VIP tickets available to meet and take pictures with Ryan backstage after the event. ​Grab yours NOW​ before they sell out!