Welcome to the Daily Dad podcast where we provide one lesson every day to help you with your

most important job being a dad. These are lessons inspired by ancient philosophy, by practical

wisdom, and insights from dads all over the world.

Thank you for listening, and we hope this helps.

Feelings are not indictments.

One of the things you have trouble adjusting to when you first have

kids is the crying, not just because it's loud, but because it feels like you're being stabbed

in the heart. We are not meant evolutionarily to be good at ignoring crying babies, especially

ones we are related to. It provokes us in a very deep place, and that's a good thing. But as they get

older, you'll have to learn how to manage this, because it's inevitable that your children will be

upset, even cry throughout their lives. Your son will fall and hurt himself. Your daughter will be

angry that are toy broke. They'll be sad, they'll get dumped, they'll be heartbroken, they'll

get fired, and they will fail. As a father, you have to understand this critical lesson.

Tears are not indictments. They are facts. They are not problems for you to solve or charges

for you to defend yourself against. They are pronouncements. What your kids need for you to do is listen to them, to hear what

they are saying. No more, no less. They don't need a lecture. They don't need you to tell them how they

can avoid this next time. They definitely don't need to be told how this is not a big deal. Or conversely,

how this is a huge deal and totally their

fault. They just need you. They need dad to understand. Got it? By the way, this advice should apply

to your marriage and relationships too. Thank you for listening to the Daily Dad podcast. You can also

get an email version of these podcasts at Daily Dad.com.