The Daily Dad

We need redundancies. We need backups. We need flexibility.

You can do this without overreacting. You can do this without being anxious or needlessly stressed out. Treat what they're telling you with good faith.

We should try to get better at not doing this, but we also should be kinder to our kids when they're doing not only something pretty natural, but something they've seen us do plenty of times.

You wish your parents could have been different. Well, that wishing isn't going to get you far.

We spend years trying to give our kids what we didn't have, only to turn around and worry that maybe they have it a little too good. Ryan talks with comedian David Cross about raising kids who have more than you did, keeping them grounded without making them feel guilty, and what actually builds character.David Cross is a comedian, actor, writer, and producer best known for co-creating and starring in HBO's Mr. Show, playing Tobias Fünke on Arrested Development, and his decades-long stand-up career.David's latest comedy special, The End of the Beginning of The End, is available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfqMkJwVgmoHe also recently teamed up with longtime friend Bob Odenkirk for Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu, a documentary about their 2024 trip on the Inca Trail. David won a Primetime Emmy for his writing on The Ben Stiller Show and has received multiple Emmy and Grammy nominations for his television and comedy work.Follow David | @DavidCrossOfficial.Watch David's full episode on The Daily Stoic Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJAvHq9hwE

Don't you see how lucky you are? Don't you see how rich you are?

As we chase wealth, we often forget that we are rich.

There is a wall between you and your feelings. A wall between you and your family. It's time for it to come down.

Whoever you are, whatever you do, you can be someone your kids respect, someone they can be proud of.

Slow down. Be present. Be safe.

Every parent wants to raise a kid who can handle hard things. But resilience isn't built by protecting our kids from every struggle. In today's episode, Ryan shares how parents can help their kids become more adaptable, emotionally steady, and capable of figuring things out for themselves.

They are still so young, still figuring stuff out, still trying to make sense of their bodies and the world, still doing their best (even when they're screwing up, even when they're driving you crazy).

You have to decide that the kids are the center of your life—not conferences, not meetings, not being ‘in the room where it happens.'

In a world full of misinformation and misdirection, isn't this the inheritance we want to pass down? To show our children how to master their minds and hold onto their inner freedom no matter the situation?

You want to make good time. You don't want to be delayed. You don't want to linger. But why?

Make sure they know how to decide, and to be OK with it, even if they decide wrong.

Of all the things parents have to worry about, their kid picking up a banned book shouldn't be one of them. In today's episode, Ryan and Sam talk about banned books, what happens when kids discover something adults have labeled “inappropriate,” and the parenting opportunity hidden inside that moment.

You work all day. What you do is important…and more important, it's what pays for your whole life. But what happens when you get home?

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?