The Daily Dad
Episodes
It’s Almost Too Painful to See
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Only when it’s over will we realize it. Only when it’s all been stripped away will we be able to see.How not present we were. How much we took it ...
Ryan Holiday And Nathan Barry On Parenting Advice And Applying Stoicism In Our Routine (Part 2)
24 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks to creator, author, designer, and the founder of ConvertKit Nathan Barry on having kids ear...
We’re In This Together
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When we say “our own” we don’t think Americans or whatever country we live in, we think race. Or we think our blood relatives. That’s awful. T...
It’s Only Been Given For An Hour
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Seneca knew from experience. In one of the most dreadful periods of his life, he lost his livelihood, his home and then his young child. He was exiled...
It’s Like This For Everyone
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We talked about Lincoln recently, who used to bring his “brats” to the office, in the words of William Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner. As much a...
You Won’t Be Able To Do This
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nobody likes it when their kids are sad. It breaks our hearts when they feel lonely, ashamed, or frustrated. We’d like to just make this all go away...
You Gotta Cut Them Some Slack
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s hard to be a kid, as we’ve said many times. It’s hard to make transitions between worlds. It’s hard to come home after a long day of beha...
Ryan Holiday And Austin Kleon On Maintaining Healthy Habits & Growing As Parents (Daily Dad Book Tour Pt 2)
17 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan speaks with his longtime friend fellow father Austin Kleon during a stop along his book tour for The Daily Dad: 366 Meditations on Parenting, Lov...
You Can Be A Parent Anywhere
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When we think teacher, we think classroom. When we think leader, we think the corner office or the lectern or a general in front of their troops. But ...
They Don’t Want This
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bruce Springsteen’s childhood was a strange one. His mother worked to support their family. His father was distant and harsh. He spent a lot of time...
Your Calendar Doesn’t Lie
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus even wrote a testament to his love for his wife and their life together in a letter to his tutor Fronto. “I call the gods to witness,” he w...
It’s Not Easy To Be Your Kid
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s not easy for lots of reasons. Gay Talese, who knew the Didion family (who we’ve been talking about a lot recently), speculates in Evelyn McDo...
The Compass That Guides Us
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
These are the Cardinal Virtues, which Zeno laid down in the 3rd Century B.C. as:CourageDisciplineJusticeWisdomWe need these virtues and we need to tea...
Ryan Holiday And Casey Neistat On The Purpose Of Parenthood (Daily Dad Book Tour Pt 1)
10 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While on tour for his new book The Daily Dad: 366 Meditations on Parenting, Love, and Raising Great Kids, Ryan met up with his longtime friend and occ...
Aren’t You A Little Old For That?
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/dailydad and get on your way to being your best self.”When o...
It Should Be Part Of Who You Are
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There’s an interesting passage in Evelyn McDonnell’s fascinating biography of Joan Didion (who we have written about many times and we also just h...
Do It While You Can
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We all feel a little self-conscious about it. Our kids don’t behave as well as we’d like. They make a mess. They make an incredible amount of nois...
You’ve Done Your Job
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/dailydad and get on your way to being your best self.”The gr...
It’s A Window. See It As A Window
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The tantrum. The whining about going to school. The punch that’s thrown. The slipping grades. The sneaking out. The lie. The shouting. The moping ar...
Ryan Holiday And Nathan Barry On Simple Parenting Techniques
03 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks to creator, author, designer, and the founder of ConvertKit Nathan Barry on having kids ear...
Your Character Determines Everything
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
These are challenging, uncertain times, no question. What’s at the root of it? How did we get here? And what can fathers do about it?The answer come...
This is Power
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rich is how much you get to see your kids, we said recently. We were redefining wealth away from material items and salary—although these things are...
You Ain’t Got Time
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Maybe you did before, but you can’t now. Before you could afford to get sucked into drama, to gossip, to get into long arguments with your buddies, ...
It’s Never Too Late To Do This
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve said before that it’s never too late. It’s never too late, as a parent, to follow your dreams—to show your kids that they can too. It’...
You Have To Come Down
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a wonderful state—being in flow. Getting caught up in your work. Getting caught up in the moment. And before you had kids, you lived for this...
Ryan and Sam Holiday on Protecting Your Headspace
27 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on how Sam prepares for writing Ryan, Integrating his routine in a wel...
Make Them Do It On Their Own
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There is a great story about a young Spartan woman, Gorgo, who would one day become queen. Despite her royal status, like all Spartans she was raised ...
Help Them Understand This Distinction
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We have emotions. We experience stressful situations. We have intrusive thoughts. So really what we have to teach our kids, Dr. Becky writes in her i...
You Can Go In A Different Direction
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our parents weren’t everything we needed. Maybe it was more time we needed. More understanding. More kindness. More support. More love. More just th...
You Gotta Let Them Do The Rest
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
George Dewey was a kid who got in trouble a lot. His father was always bailing him out. Finally, as a last ditch effort, he secured his son entrance i...
All They Wanted
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The bike was nice. So was the trip to Disneyland. So was being able to graduate from college without student debt. They appreciated the presents. They...
Ryan Holiday And Dr. Becky Kennedy On Emotional Vaccination (PT 2)
20 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad Podcast, Ryan talks with clinical psychologist Dr. Becky Kennedy on how we emotionally vaccinate, the ability...
It’s a Long Run We’ve Signed Up For
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The career opportunities are hard to turn down. It’s hard in the moment, as we’ve talked about, to be able to think too far into the future. It’...
Rules Are Important
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You didn’t like rules when you were a kid. Your parents had too many. Your school was a prison of pointless, arbitrary ones—how you could dress, w...
Show Them Like This
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are lots of ways to read, ways that have improved the experience and opened up the world of literature to people who otherwise would have missed...
You Owe Them This
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You know your kids are good. You’ve seen their sweetness, their cuteness since the beginning. You’ve seen them try. You’ve seen them feel shame ...
Being This Young Is Art
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/dailydad and get on your way to being your best self.”How fl...
Ryan and Sam Holiday On Creating Better Systems In 2024
13 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on Their word for 2024 being systems, designing the system around people...
They’re Doing What They Do
12 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The late Paul Woodruff told a wonderful story in his episode on the Daily Stoic podcast. Before he died, he loved birdwatching and had a bird feeder i...
Help Them Become Who They Are
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bruce Springsteen has three children: Evan, Jessica, and Sam. One of them is an Olympic-level equestrian (which can not have been a cheap or easy inte...
What Are You Playing For?
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It can be hard in the moment to think of anything else. You have lunches to make. Practices to get to. Birthday parties to plan. Work to do. Childhood...
Rich Is How Much You Get To See Your Kids
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are lots of different trappings of wealth. A big house. A nice car. Exotic vacations. First-class flights? Private flights? Not everyone can aff...
Don’t Send Them In Defenseless
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Your kids are going to face stuff in life. Big stuff for sure–failing tests, being made fun of, getting fired, losing something important to them. W...
Ryan Holiday And Dr. Becky Kennedy On Emotional Vaccination (PT 1)
06 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad Podcast, Ryan talks with clinical psychologist Dr. Becky Kennedy on how we emotionally vaccinate, the ability...
Show Them What They’ll Get Out Of This
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most schools and most parents teach reading all wrong. They bully kids into doing it. They pressure them. They tell them, “Reading is what smart and...
This Is What We Have To Try To Get Better At
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We spend so much time at the office, trying to get better at our jobs, trying to make a little more money, trying to climb further up the ladder. We s...
You Have To Know How These Things Land
03 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It doesn’t feel like they listen. In fact, we have pretty visible evidence that they don’t. We tell them not to do this or that and then we watch ...
This is What It Costs
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve been quoting recently from the old children’s story The Velveteen Rabbit, about a toy that’s so loved by a young boy that it becomes real....
Show Them It’s Not Too Late
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We talked recently about what Dr. Becky Kennedy always tells parents: it’s never too late. We’ve talked about Nell Painter’s mother, who became...
Ryan and Sam Holiday on The Importance Of Routine
30 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on finding common ground and learning to empathize after they had kids...
Why Are You Trying To Make This Go Away?
29 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve said this before, but one of the things we need to constantly remind ourselves of as parents is that our kids are just being kids. If we’re ...
Reform is Necessary, Despair is Criminal
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You weren’t the parent you wanted to be in 2023. You weren’t the person you wanted to be in 2023. Almost no one was. Anyone who thinks or says the...
The Debt Is Paid Forward
27 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We do so much for our kids. We drive them around. We provide for them. We entertain them. And of course, there are parents who do even more. Parents w...
[Good Inside] It’s Never Too Late
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Every parent wishes they could have done some things differently. Maybe you wish you were around more when they were a toddler. Maybe you wish you wer...
This Is a Gift To Give Yourself (And Your Family)
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today we wanted to run our favorite entry from The Daily Dad: 366 Meditations on Parenting, Love, and Raising Great Kids, a helpful reminder on this d...
Ryan and Sam Holiday on Recognizing The Most Important Thing
23 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/dailydad and get on your way to being your best self.”On thi...
You Must Give Them This Gift
22 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Theodore Roosevelt lived an incredible life. He was an author. A naturalist. A rancher. A police chief. A cowboy. A hunter. A governor. A soldier. ...
You’re Made Not Born
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There is a beautiful passage in The Velveteen Rabbit where the young rabbit asks one of the seasoned old toys in the playroom whether ‘becoming real...
Are You Modeling This?
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Beauty to the Stoics was far deeper than appearances. “If your choices are beautiful,” Epictetus said, “so too will you be.”It’s simple and ...
You’re Responsible Too
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Each of us is responsible for what we do as parents, but we’re also responsible for the dynamic that exists in our homes and in our relationships. J...
It’s Ultimately This That They Judge You On
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There’s no question Hemingway was a great writer. He was the voice of a generation—The Lost Generation. He redefined prose style in the English la...
Ryan Holiday And Whitney Cummings On Self-Awareness And Better Parenting Habits
16 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks to American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, director, producer, and podcaster Whitney Cummi...
This Is Something To Be Glad About
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It can be hard to express your feelings as a father sometimes. Not so much because men are expected to bottle up their emotions, but because the emoti...
Don’t Try To Make Them Happy
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A parent is only as happy as their unhappiest child, goes the expression. And even if that wasn’t true, even if it didn’t directly impact our own ...
Why Not?
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
He was a young man fresh out of the Naval Academy and a stint in the submarine service. He was being interviewed by Admiral Hyman Rickover for a covet...
Let Them Know They Have It
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We wanted it so badly and we never got it. We still haven’t got it. Dad was withholding, dad was hard to please—we wanted to make him proud, but w...
You Have This Freedom Now
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are things you would have never done before. You’d never have sung a crazy song in public. You’d never have painted your nails. You would ha...
How To Raise A Resilient Child
10 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/dailydad and get on your way to being your best self.”On thi...
Don’t Let Your Kids Be Worse
08 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve talked about this before: Being a father is a second chance. It’s a fresh start. It’s an obligation to work on yourself so your kids pick ...
It Doesn’t Happen All At Once
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
No one is the parent they want to be. That’s the bad news. The good news is that most of us are better parents than we were.We’ve talked a lot ...
This Will Make Your Life (And Kids) Better
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Most times, we’re in need of all the help we can get. We read parenting books, or watch parenting videos, trying to find those keys to make our live...
They Are Doing Their Job
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve been talking about Dr. Becky’s wonderful book Good Inside recently (a must read!), and she has a great little section where she’s talking ...
They Deserve To Know
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s dark stuff. It’s not pleasant. We wish it wasn’t true.But that doesn’t mean we can hide it from our children. Because it did happen. And ...
Ryan And Sam On Who Makes The Decision
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on understanding the alternatives later and making the decision, while t...
You’re Making Them Hungry
01 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It does work. We have to concede that. For generations, some parents have tried withholding praise, withholding pride, withholding approval so that th...
What Legacy Are You Providing?
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Harry Truman was not a good businessman. The clothing shop he opened with a friend was a disaster—and he was paying off the debts through his senate...
What Do You Want Them NOT To Say?
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We know what we want our kids to say about us when they grow up. We want them to say that we were great parents, that we did our best. We want them to...
Teach Them This To Give Them That
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We want happy kids, obviously. But as we talked about recently, you can’t make your kids happy. Certainly, you can’t always keep them happy.So wha...
You Gave Up This Right
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Being a parent doesn’t mean you give up on your dreams. We’ve talked about this many times. What kind of message would it send to your kids to see...
Ryan and Sam On Reflecting Through Parenting And Solving The Problem
25 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on breaking constraints, finding the solution to the problem, and the ...
How To Raise Generous Kids
24 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a world with too many problems. It’s a world with too much suffering. It’s a world with too much selfishness. We can’t fix all of this as...
No One Has It Better Than You
23 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Things could be so much better. This could be a world that takes care of parents and families. It could be a world with a better safety net. It could ...
It’s Been Like This A While
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kids have always been like this. They’ve always been crazy. Always had trouble sleeping at night. Always liked to play and explore. They’ve been o...
This Is What To Train Them In
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s easy to forget it when you see them hitting a sibling. Or when you catch them in a lie. When you hear them say something mean. When the call co...
How To Care Less What Others Think
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We used to need so much to be happy, as we talked about recently. We needed things to go well. We needed excitement and success. We needed people to l...
Ryan & Sam On The Right Way To Praise
19 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on staying consistent to the system, the results to bad decision makin...
It’s Not Annoying, It’s The Job
17 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/dailydad and get on your way to being your best self.”Someti...
You Don’t Have The Time
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We talked recently about some of the folks who comment on the Daily Dad Instagram (do follow us!) or reply to these emails. Sure, some of the response...
Only They Can Say
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Gandhi was a saintly man, but he was not a particularly great father. He was too demanding of his children, too controlling, too quick to push them aw...
You Can’t Fault Them For Your Hypocrisy
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/dailydad and get on your way to being your best self.”The au...
Try To Get To This Place
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The thing about parenting is that it’s always thrusting us into situations we have to deal with, we have to solve, we have to correct, we have to st...
Ryan Holiday And Adam Grant On Creating Your Own Momentum
11 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan speaks with organizational psychologist and book author Adam Grant on seeing things in the context of...
Do You Know Your Purpose?
10 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What gives you the right? What’s your purpose on this planet? Why do you work so hard, why do you fight for the causes you fight for, why do you put...
Beware This Energy
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You think it’d be pretty non-controversial. Over on the Daily Dad Instagram (you should follow us!) we’ll post something about having fewer opinio...
How Much Of This Do You Give Them?
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You give your kids a lot. You pay for everything. You sacrifice so much–parts of your career, your health, your hobbies. You drive them around, you ...
It’s The Worst Lie
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“I do it all for them,” we say. We tell ourselves that’s why we’re getting on the plane, that’s why we’re spending another long night at t...
It Will All Be Past Tense Soon
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It sort of sneaks up on you, doesn’t it? For years, you literally fell asleep next to this person. They fell asleep on you. You were the last thing ...
Ryan & Sam On Emotional Vaccination
05 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on the difference between expressing pride and relief, and practicing mo...
They Need This, Whether They Know It Or Not
04 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Stoicism 101: Philosophy for Your Actual Life It’s an awesome, accessible, and practical two-week deep dive into philosophy that every parent (and ...
You Still Have Time To Avoid Those Regrets
03 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On their deathbeds, fathers think about a lot of things. They think about the world they’re leaving to their sons and daughters. They think about ho...