The Daily Dad
Episodes
Take Their Pain Seriously
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We all have some version of this memory: We didn’t feel well. We fell awkwardly on our wrist. We hit our head. We told our parents, but they didn’...
It’s For Parents Too
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Aristotle wrote his famous Nicomachean Ethics for his son, Nicomachus. Seneca was given a philosophy teacher by his father. Cato too, was given the ph...
There’s Enough To Worry About Already
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Being a parent is terrifying. Joan Didion’s famous line, as we talked about recently, is that once you have kids you are never not afraid. We are ho...
Can Your Kids Say This?
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You are not perfect. Nobody would argue that–least of all your kids. But are you better? Better than you were when they were younger? Better than yo...
Ryan & Sam On Solving The Problem First
28 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on the unexpected things in life we can’t prepare for, the anticipatio...
You Need To Calm Down
27 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Your kids are going to make bad decisions. They are going to do things you disagree with. They may well grow up into someone you don’t understand.Th...
You’ll Only Hear It If You’re Really Listening
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a noisy world out there… and most of us add to the din. We chatter on social media. We chatter on the phone. We chatter over email.Even as pa...
If You Can’t Do That, Do This
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Maybe someday, you’ll get there. It’ll probably be too late–your teenager will be grown up, the phase will be over, things will have calmed down...
This Power Corrupts
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It happens so often that you hardly even notice it anymore. Your kids said they weren’t hungry and now of course they are. You told them to go to th...
What Do They Think When You Come Home?
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s a test of your own childhood: Imagine you’re sitting on the couch watching TV. You’re in the kitchen making a snack. You and a friend are...
Ryan And Wife Samantha Holiday On Emotionally Matured Parents
21 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on starting with the idea that your kids are good inside, what truly i...
Our Kids Owe Us Nothing
20 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Family is wonderful. None of us would be here, the writer Aaron Thier once put it, if people hadn’t taken care of us when we were small. Somebody bi...
You Need So Little Now
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We had this idea of what we wanted, needed our lives to be. How much money we wanted to make and through what career path. We wanted a new house. We w...
No Need To Make Excuses
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Yeah, some people won’t get it. Yeah, some people think it’s weak.But you? You know it isn’t.Which is why you make no secret about your other li...
Every Step Comes With This
17 Oct 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.”There ...
How Long Can They Hold Out?
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We all want better for our kids. We want them to have a better life than we had. We want them to have better parents than we had. That’s why we’re...
Ryan Holiday And Steven Rinella On Recapturing Important Moments With Your Kids
14 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks to Steven Rinella about the sense of wonder, respect & adventure for nature, spending time ...
Teach Them To Put Their Energy Here
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There is so much we want to teach our kids—so much that fathers are expected to teach their kids. How to ride a bike. How to swim. How to throw a pu...
It’s Made You Stupid (But Better)
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The last book you read was Goodnight Moon. The last series you binged was Harry Potter. You know more about the latest scandal at your daughter’s hi...
This Is Everything You Ever Wanted
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The two boys who look just like you. The daughter who lights up when you pick her up from school. The teenager who wears your old band t-shirts. The m...
Are You Good At Hearing?
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“She’s not good at hearing people,” the musician Mikel Jollett writes of his mother in his haunting memoir Hollywood Park. “If we tell her we’...
They’re Probably Just Tired Of This
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When they’re grouchy, when they’re glass-eyed, when they’re stuck, when they’re making choices that don’t quite make sense…there could be ...
Ryan Holiday And Christina Pazsitzky On Making Kids Priority
07 Oct 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 Were Given Something Special
06 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You knew it that day in the hospital. You felt it the first time they threw their arms around you. You are reminded of it every time they do something...
This Is Always The Goal
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When your teenager sits you down to come clean to you about something…When you’re on vacation and wondering whether you should try to squeeze one ...
It Can All Go Away In A Second
04 Oct 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.”It’s...
This Is How To Hold Them To You
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you want to spend more time with your kids, as we said recently, the important thing is that you don’t drive them away. Yet that’s what so many...
You’re Going To Regret This
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine you’ve come to the end. You’re leaving this world, leaving your kids behind. Or worse, more unthinkably, your kids are leaving you. They’...
Ryan And Wife Samantha Holiday On Being Challenged More In The Parenting Domain
30 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on stepping outside of our own upbringing and challenging the conversati...
Store These Moments In Your Soul
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This change we’ve made, this decision to become dads—it has uprooted everything. It’s like we were hit, suddenly, with a crossfire hurricane. Th...
You Won’t Be Able To Get It Out Of Your Head
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You weren’t wrong. You did have some experience on the matter. You only wanted what was best for them.You wanted them to stay in school. You didn’...
Do They Get To See This Too?
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
They see you disheveled and groggy. They see you busy and preoccupied. They see you argue with your spouse. They see you burned out after a long week....
It’s Just Too Much For Them
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The amount of choices we have today is not normal. Certainly, it’s quite new. When you were a kid–which was not that long ago–there were how man...
This Is Something You Should Do
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When they’re young, when they’re asleep, when they’re older, when you’re old, when you’re on vacation, after a big Thanksgiving meal, early ...
Ryan And Wife Samantha Holiday On The ability To Handle Frustration
23 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on being the model for our kids and the ultimate skill on the ability to...
Don’t Let Your Curiosity Atrophy
22 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
By now, you’ve almost certainly lost count of how many questions you’ve been asked by your kids. From the moment they can talk, that’s what fath...
Are You The Splendid Or The Vile?
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1940, as Nazi bombs rained down on London, an observer noted the contrasts between the “natural splendor and human vileness.” This idea (which ...
It’ll Come To You Later
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the moment, it seemed like a big deal. In the moment, you just needed them to understand your concerns. In the moment, the phone was ringing. In th...
There Are Only Hard Decisions
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wouldn’t it be nice if everything was simple and straightforward? That’s what we’d like the job of a parent to be. We’d like there to be a blu...
This Is A Very Underrated Skill
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are parents who pay for music lessons so their kids can play an instrument. There are parents who tutor their kids in a foreign language. There ...
Ryan Holiday And Paul Kix On Balancing Techniques And Being Self-Conscious
16 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of the Daily Dad Podcast, Ryan talks to Paul Kix about enjoying the time we do have with our kids, while being self-conscious of what ...
It’s Not Too Late To Make Improvements
15 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
F. Scott Fitzgerald knew the long term damage of being spoiled rotten. Not only was he a prime and painful example himself—as we’ve written about—...
You Can Give Them This
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Your kids ask for a lot. Money. Patience. They ask for toys and games and attention. They demand chicken nuggets after you hand them the hamburger the...
You Must Study The Greats
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Study any great leader, artist, athlete, or parent, and you’ll find that they had a hero, a mentor, or a model. Some were lucky enough to study dire...
Take This Seriously
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
They’re scared there’s something under their bed or in their closet. They tell you they don’t want to go to school today. They tell you they fee...
You Always Have Five More Minutes To Give
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
They were traveling with their three-year-old son. They boarded their flight in Boston. They were heading back to Los Angeles after visiting family in...
Ryan And Wife Samantha Holiday On Taking Advice And Understanding Parenting Phases
09 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on experiencing parenting versus taking the advice and understanding the...
Give What You Didn’t Get. Forget What You Did.
08 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As we’ve said before, each of us as parents have to try to give what we didn’t get as kids. The attention. The support. The understanding. Whateve...
You Won’t Let Them Do This To You Anymore
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Before, you were a glutton for punishment. You were tolerant. You were accepting. If the boss wanted it, if the customer needed it, if it could help y...
Give Them A Little More Than Feels Safe
06 Sep 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.”It’s...
Is This A Family Habit?
05 Sep 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.”Even a...
These Experiences Are Both Cheap And Rich
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The pressure to do is one that rests heavy on all parents. We plan that big family vacation to Disneyland. We put everyone in the car and drive like a...
Ryan And Wife Samantha Holiday On Normalizing The Parenting Journey
02 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on men having the conversation and creating the proper space for fatherh...
The Difference Between Schooling And Education
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You send them to great schools. You make sure they do their homework. You drill them on their flashcards. You are saving for college. You are not goin...
You Won’t Regret This
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are a lot of things that don’t age well. Tattoos done late at night, on impulse. Trendy haircuts. Lots of things we think are important, that ...
It Is A Temple
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The house is noisy. It is messy. It is expensive, and not easy to maintain. It’s filled with toys, and sharp Legos that you step on in the middle of...
This Is Your Advantage Now
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Your career used to be the only thing you had. It was just you. You had your ambitions. You had as many hours as there were in the day. And you were w...
You Can’t Do It For Them?
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you had an early flight, you’d get up no problem. If you had a chance to go see old friends or your favorite band, you’d stay up late without e...
Ryan Holiday And Casey Neistat On Building Better Parenting Routines
26 Aug 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.”Visit ...
They Are Clay In Your Hands
25 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Each of us, no matter how old or successful, has things we wish we knew how to do. We wish we could speak another language, or change the oil in our o...
You Already Blew Up Your Life
24 Aug 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.”Yes, i...
You’re A Hostage To Fortune Now
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After having kids, every parent quickly realizes just how much less freedom they have. Your schedule is different. Your sleep is different. What you c...
Guilt Is Not Productive
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You hear people talk about “mom guilt”–the feeling that moms get for not being perfect, not measuring up to their own impossible standards, or t...
This Is How They Can Be Great
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Visit mylifeforce.com and receive $200 off your membership today.We talked recently about the Spartan who pointed out that it wasn’t right to say th...
Ryan And Wife Samantha Holiday On Building Courage And Exploring Curiosity
19 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on the skill set that comes with exploring curiosity, and teaching our...
It’s OK That They Make You Crazy
18 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes it’s good to acknowledge our biases. And one of the biggest biases in our lives is our kids. Not just a bias in the sense that we prefer t...
This Is A Sign You’re Doing Great
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We all sit up at night and wonder if we’re doing a good job, if we’re failing our kids, if we’re raising them right. We kick ourselves for what ...
You Started Over
16 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It doesn’t matter how many decades old you were. It doesn’t matter what you’d experienced, what you knew, how smart or powerful you were. A turn...
Give Into This
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You have a very important job. You have so much going on. That’s the terrible part about having kids, for both men and women–for most of us, it co...
How To Think About Your Approach
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It was Seneca who said that a wise philosopher doesn’t just study in their particular school of thought, but surveys widely, taking and absorbing id...
Ryan Holiday On Illustrating Better Values To Our Kids
12 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of the Daily Dad Ryan talks on the importance of illustrating different versions of ourselves while away or on vacation, and how you...
They Need Their Space
11 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Visit mylifeforce.com and receive $200 off your membership today.You have to give them space. Not just space right after school or soccer practice, as...
It’s Not A Pretty Picture
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine that you’re gone and able to look down now and see your kids from above. Or imagine that somehow you had magical powers and could see inside...
Kiss It While It’s Here
09 Aug 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 th...
You Don’t Just Get To Leave
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Visit mylifeforce.com and receive $200 off your membership today.Marriage is hard. Perhaps yours is especially hard. You both work very hard…or m...
These Two Traits Are Enough
07 Aug 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.”There’...
Ryan And Wife Samantha Holiday On Setting up Flexible Boundaries For Our Kids
05 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on unavoidable reality, flexibility within their household, and creating...
You Come From A Strong Tradition
04 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode is brought to you by LifeForce.Visit mylifeforce.com and receive $200 off your membership today.If you’re in your 30s, then your p...
You Can Make A Break
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been this way for a long time. Parents who ignored their kids. Parents who were too busy working, surviving, to be there emotionally. Parents w...
Take Them Seriously
02 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes just a title, just a concept can be enough. Wherever You Go There You Are is a great book…and a great mantra. The Obstacle is The Way, and...
You’ve Already Gotten The Gift
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Visit mylifeforce.com and receive $200 off your membership today.Nothing keeps us up, nothing haunts us like the thought that something could happen t...
It’s This Intention, This Choice That Matters
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are a lot of kids out there. There are fewer parents. Not just because most families have more than one child, but because unfortunately, tragic...
Ryan Holiday And Matthew McConaughey On Being Present and Measuring Happiness
29 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with actor Matthew McConaughey about his new course: Roadtrip – the Highway to More, the im...
Are You Making It Easy To Be A Kid In Your House?
28 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Seeing your own parents now, as an adult, is stressful. There’s a great Ram Dass line that the comedian Pete Holmes has used in relation to his own ...
We Corrupt Our Children
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We say we’re trying to raise kids who are kind, who help others, who are generous, who are not selfish, who are not cruel, who treat everyone equall...
You Don’t Have To Squeeze One More Thing In
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, it’s true you only get so much time with them. Yes, it’s true you flew halfway around the world for this trip, you took time off work. Yes, i...
Can You Imagine?
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In some ways, the ancient world seems so remarkably similar to ours. Marcus Aurelius has a passage in Meditations pepping himself up to get out of bed...
What Are You Optimizing For?
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Health matters. Wealth matters. These things matter not just to us, but to our families. You only have to look around to see people who don’t optimi...
Ryan And Wife Samantha Holiday On Self Awareness and Generational Impacts
22 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan talks with his wife Samantha on a second round of doing less and seeing the results, and how self-awa...
You Never Know What You’re Comparing Against
21 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You’re wondering if you’re doing something wrong because your kid can’t ride a bike. You’re wondering why they’re not more athletic…or mor...
These Are Your 5 Choices
20 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The hot button political issue of the day is “parental choice.” In Florida and D.C., Chicago and California, parents of differential political per...
All Their Dreams Are A Parent’s Fears
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There is an inherent tension, a conflict of visions even, at the heart of every family. They want to live happy, fulfilling, interesting lives, and as...
It’s All Bubbles
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It was a timeless scene, one that might have happened in your house just this past afternoon. The kids are playing with bubbles. They are laughing and...
Have You Shown Them What Greatness Looks Like?
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Do you know the story of Cincinnatus? He was a Roman general who had retired to his farm until he was called to rescue his country from an invasion. M...
You Can't Have It All
15 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this weekend episode of the Daily Dad, Ryan shares an article from a Father's Day read from The Free Press on the upstream choices we have to mak...
In The End, It Doesn’t Even Matter
14 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Being two minutes late to school. The fourth discussion about cleaning up before company comes over. The grouchy tone. The broken vase. The mischief w...
You Can Have More Time If You Do It Right
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a good reminder, one that we can zip past too easily because we’re busy, because we have so much on our plate: You only get 18 years with you...
It’s Your Job To Help Open Their Eyes
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Almost every talented and successful person can remember their introduction to whatever it was that became their thing. In Mastery, Robert Greene expl...
The Words To Notice
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As a society, we have very attuned ears for what words are offensive. There are words that religious people find offensive. There are the words that c...
You Are Never Not Afraid
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It would be wonderful if it ever eased up, but it doesn’t. You worried when they were in the womb, and here you are all these years later, still wor...