The Daily Dad

Who cares? Not you…because you assume someone else will care.

It can be revealing, when you put it all down on paper. Whether it's looking at your monthly spending or your daily eating habits, sometimes you don't know until you see it all recorded.

Sure, more money is better than less…but only to a point, only within reasonable boundaries. Full episode with Ron Chernow: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube

Our job is to support our kids, to root for them, to let them become who they are. But that's not a blank check.

Kids approach creativity with a freedom most adults have forgotten. In this episode, Ryan talks with bestselling author Austin Kleon about why having children can enrich your creative life, finding time for creative work, and why parenting and creativity do not have to compete with each other.Austin Kleon is a writer, author, artist, speaker, and blogger. He is most known for his New York Times bestselling books Steal Like An Artist:10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative, Show Your Work!, Keep Going, Steal Like An Artist Journal, Newspaper Blackout, and now his new book: Don't Call It Art: 10 Ways To Create Like A Kid Again

While we don't have our families as much as we like, as inevitable as partings are, as constant as the missing is, we do get to carry them with us

Right now, you have them. That does not last forever.

Our kids don't always need another lecture. They don't always need us to explain it one more time. They need us to help them see it.

Where could you be more affectionate and connected and loving? And more importantly, what do you think it would change if you did?

You don't have to spoil your kids, but as we've said, you can and must take them seriously.

Long walks, travel delays, upset stomachs, public meltdowns, and at least one parent swearing they are never leaving the house again. In today's episode, Ryan and Sam talk about why the hardest trips often build the most character and somehow become the memories everyone wants to relive.

We all wrongly think of these milestones as points our kids will reach someday, as opposed to transitions that are already ongoing.

You deserve time with them. But you're going to have to fight for it and protect it.

You only get so much time with them. This is how you're going to spend it?

Constantly fretting and being anxious about your kids does not make them feel like you care about them and doing it now certainly doesn't compensate for any neglect in the past.

Your emotions, moods, choices and the examples you set are affecting your kids, always.

A family road trip will test your patience, your plans, and your ability to stay calm when everything starts going sideways. In today's episode, Ryan reflects on the unexpected problems, meaningful moments, and parenting lessons that came from driving the West Coast with his family. He also shares the rule he tries to follow so that, no matter what happens, everyone still wants to take the next trip.

Every family has an uphill they're climbing, even as we're climbing our own.

Our job as parents is to give our kids access to ideas and worlds, to surround them with books, to encourage them to go where their interests take them—even if we sometimes disagree, even if some of them make us uncomfortable.

Don't wait. Don't hold back. Tell them. Tell them again.

Make the memory. Play the game. Because this is what it's about.

If the point is for our family to be together, if the point is for us to have fun together, to relax together, to get closer together, we need to start much earlier.

Your kids don't need you to pretend you have it all figured out. In this episode, Ryan talks with Jon Gustin, creator of The Tired Dad, about losing your temper, apologizing, repairing after mistakes, and why showing your kids that you're human can make them feel safer, not less secure. Jon Gustin is the founder of The Tired Dad LLC and the voice behind The Tired Dad, a movement built around showing up for what matters most. His book, The Tired Dad.: 100 Reflections on Showing Up for What Matters Most, is out now!Follow Jon Gustin on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Listen to The Tired Dad & Tired Mom Podcast | Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube

What matters isn't how you see yourself or how others see you. What matters is that you be what, and who, they need you to be.

You can always find a way if you try. And it's going to be an important moment.

It's not our job as parents to give them everything they want. It is our job to help them with these very reasonable feelings. Listen to the full podcast episode with Dr. Becky Kennedy

 How many of us wish we could tear ourselves away from our phones and spend more intentional time with our kids and families?

Children are a ticking clock. They are on their way to not being children.

Family fun hits different when there's a flight to catch. In this episode, Ryan and Sam talk about what happened when a spontaneous stop at a state park turned into tired kids, dragging feet, a looming flight, and Ryan suddenly rushing everyone through the family detour he had been excited for.

It can seem like they don't like what you like. It can even seem like they don't like you. That's what children do, after all, they try to discover what they like.

We say our kids are important—but words don't matter. Our choices are what matter.

They need literature. They need to know the myths. They need to know the riveting moments of human history.

How often are you saying “no” when they want to connect, when they want to do something, when they ask for attention or time together?

Our job is to drag them around, to expose them to things, to get them to where they need to be…but aren't they also doing the same thing for us?

Kids have big emotions. Parents do too. The work is not pretending those feelings are not there, but learning how to stay in the driver's seat when they show up. In this episode, Ryan talks with Dr. Becky Kennedy about deeply feeling kids, why so much “bad behavior” is really a lack of skills, and how parents can respond with more patience.Dr. Becky Kennedy is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and the founder and CEO of Good Inside, a parenting platform that gives parents practical tools for raising emotionally healthy kids. Named “The Millennial Parenting Whisperer” by TIME, Dr. Becky is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be and host of the chart-topping podcast Good Inside with Dr. Becky.

Enjoy it while you have it. Because you're losing a little bit of it everyday.

Are you stuck in your comfort zone? Are you practicing good boundaries? Are you challenging yourself to grow and change? Every day presents us with plenty of opportunities to make beautiful choices.

If being understood is not in our control, there is something quite wonderful that is in our control: Understanding.

Their feelings are reasonable. They're just struggling a little bit at dealing with them, at understanding how to express them and how seriously to take them.How to Feel Everything Without Losing Control | Dr. Becky Kennedy

They were kids, just recently! But now they're grown up.

Kids don't come into the world knowing how to handle disappointment, frustration, or overwhelm. In today's episode, Ryan and Sam talk about executive function, big feelings, and the difference between telling our kids something and actually helping them process it. They also talk through something every parent runs into: when do we help our kids calm down, and when do we just let them feel what they're feeling?

They're growing up before your eyes. Make sure you see it.

You might think your house is a mess. You might be a little embarrassed to have people over. But you shouldn't be.

We are not meant to parent alone. We are not enough people to possibly handle this responsibility alone.

Has there ever been a parent who didn't yell, who didn't lose their cool? Probably not.

There are a million reasons not to go. But it's worth asking, as you run through these excuses, how much longer will they want to do this?

In honor of Father's Day weekend, Ryan talks with Lieutenant General (Ret.) Mark Hertling about fatherhood, legacy, and the lessons we hope our children take with them. During a wartime deployment, Mark began writing a journal for his sons in case he did not return home. What started as a way to leave them guidance became a reflection on character, failure, leadership, and what it really means to be a father.Lieutenant General (Ret.) Mark Hertling served 38 years in the U.S. Army, rising from tank platoon leader to commander of U.S. Army Europe and the Seventh Army. His career included combat tours in Desert Storm and Iraq, where he commanded the 1st Armored Division, prepared U.S. and allied forces for deployment, and helped support military transformation across Eastern Europe.

Let them live their life. Let them make mistakes. That's the whole point.

We want to make sure our kids have opportunities in life. But sometimes, we neglect one of the easiest ways to help them get ahead.

You've got a long commute to school and then the office. They never sleep. There's drama in the mom or dad group. It's a lot. It's also nothing!

Plato, with total seriousness (and probably a bit of humor too), said that “of all the wild things, a boy is the most difficult to handle.” A lot of parents would agree to that.