The Daily Dad

Instead of learning everything through trial and error, we can learn from the experiences and mistakes of others. Nowhere is that more important than in parenting. In today's episode, Ryan is sharing some of his favorite parenting books and the best lessons he has taken from them.

Take the time while you can. Experience new places, new experiences together while you can.

When you look back and wonder where the time went, where their childhood went, it's going to break your heart to have to account for how you spent it, for how much of it you wasted.

They didn't understand you? Of course they're confused. Welcome to being a kid.

One of the great things about kids is that they keep you on your toes. Not just because you have to worry about them all the time, but because they give you so many more things to notice.

Some kids are extroverts. Some are introverts. But every kid needs to know how to be alone.

The kids are fine. The house, on the other hand, has raccoons in the walls and a bird flying around upstairs. In today's episode, Ryan and Sam talk about the illusion of having it all together, how often parents say no without realizing it, and one of the parenting lessons Ryan has taken from The Daily Dad Society.

Their own life is gathering up speed, their own interests and obligations are on a collision course with yours.

They are doing what kids do and have always done. And your job? Your job is to be patient and understanding.

We can get a little bit better each day. And you don't have to do it alone.

It's worth remembering, as we've said, that you'll be nostalgic for this moment later on, that you'll be jealous of this person you are now soon enough.

Look for those things that would make them happy to be with you—and use them as an excuse to spend time together. Whatever it is, get into it to be with them.

The words we say to our kids don't just disappear. They become part of how our kids understand themselves, what they believe they deserve, and what they carry into the world. In today's episode, Ryan talks with Jon Gustin, creator of The Tired Dad, about the small comments parents make without thinking, the messages kids hear underneath them, and how to create a home where they feel safe, secure, and fully themselves.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.

None of it lasts, and soon enough you will miss it.

If you're in a position to spend, to support, to give—well, now is the time.

Why are you choosing to pick this battle? Why are you on them about something so insignificant?

As parents, our job isn't just to raise kids—it's to raise confident, virtuous humans.

You don't know—nobody does—where your kids will find their thing. That thing that lights them up, that makes them think for the first time, I want to do that with my life.

Our kids are going to love things we don't understand. They're going to get into costumes, music, shoes, games, and whole worlds that aren't our thing. In today's episode, Ryan talks about taking his kids to the Renaissance Fair, resisting the urge to judge, and why one of the best things we can do as parents is simple: let them love what they love.

You get them all the time…and then suddenly this is all you get of them.

The wise don't fly off the handle. They don't say the first thought that enters their mind.

Memorize these four virtues. Act on them. Live them. Parent by them.

They're going to need to hear it explained, over and over and over.

Do you think anyone has ever really regretted choosing family first?

In today's episode, Ryan and Sam talk about one of those parenting moments that feels huge in the moment and totally ridiculous five minutes later, why kids sometimes bait us into arguments, and how easily we can turn a small thing into a battle for control.

Should we just read the latest parenting book until we have it memorized? Should we call our own parents every time we have an issue?

You tell yourself that, one day, things will calm down. And then one day, they do.

Your job is to help them become an adult…which means first being a perfect (and overwhelmingly difficult) teenager.

Ideas and discussions are not always going to be comfortable. Just like an equation, we have to work at them.

Know where they are. Know what they're doing. Let that root you, let that keep you even.

In today's episode, Ryan reflects on how quickly our kids grow up, how easily time slips by in the day-to-day routine, and why seeing other people's children get older can remind us of what's happening in our own homes. It's a tempus fugit reminder to slow down, pay attention, and not take these years for granted.

Ahead of Mother's Day this weekend, let us rectify this by looking at the woman who raised one of the great figures in all of history—and got very little credit for it.

Emotional regulation, while more difficult for some than others, is a habit like anything else. The more you practice it, the more you are aware of it, the more you reflect on it, the better you'll get at it.

Now is the time to be busy. Now is the time to have the experiences.

We want them to believe—to know—that they can contribute to that beauty in life, that beauty in the world. Because they can

Your worry is your problem. It is not a weight you get to put on them to make yourself feel better.

Some of the best parenting advice you'll ever hear is hidden in a Bruce Springsteen song. In today's episode, Ryan shares some of his favorite lessons on parenting and life drawn from Bruce's music, inspired by taking his kids to see him in concert last week.

We're not what we want to be—what we promised ourselves we'd be, what we owe to our kids. And?

Your kids are asking to do something in the real world…say yes!

Why won't they listen? Why do they do the opposite of what you ask of them? Are you just wasting your breath?

Our kids do not grow up someday. Our kids are growing up.

Your kids are a fresh start. Don't deprive them of these forces for good. Don't weigh them down with your baggage.

The best inside jokes with your kids don't just happen. In this episode, Ryan shares how a simple habit of bringing interesting stories into everyday moments has turned into laughter, connection, and shared memories with his kids.

We have done ourselves and our children a grave disservice by puncturing every myth and subjecting every story to the lens of political correctness.

We can't defer. We can't delay. We have to take the time now.

If we want to grow, we have to reflect. Not just when we blow it. Not just when there's a crisis.If today's episode resonates with you and you're interested in a structured path to becoming the parent you aspire to be, check out our Daily Dad Five Year Reflection Journal | https://dailydad.com/leather

Your priorities are clear. You have other important demands on your time. You have stuff you've gotta work around.

Your job is to show your kids the world. Your job is to teach them.

Why does parenting feel so overwhelming right now? In this episode, Ryan and David Pakman, host of The David Pakman Show, discuss how constant advice, endless scrolling, and information overload are making it harder to think clearly and stay patient as a parent. Watch David Pakman's show on YouTube @TheDavidPakmanShowFollow David Pakman on Instagram @David.PakmanGrab a copy of David's book: The Echo Machine

Don't judge. Listen. Get on their level and take a moment to get into it with them.

Our kids are kids. That means they don't always think things through.