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.

Give them plenty of these.

Queen Elizabeth has a strange job.

What does she do exactly? It's hard to say. It's easier to

describe all the things she doesn't do. She doesn't pass laws. She doesn't choose elected leaders.

She doesn't voice her opinion. She does give out lots of awards, though, like literally hundreds

of thousands of them over the course of her 69-year reign. People need pats on the back

sometimes, she once said. It's a very dingy world otherwise. Very true. And nobody needs a pat on the

back more than your kids, and there's nobody they'd rather get it from than you. An attendance

award from elementary school, a varsity letter in high school, a scholarship to

college, these things are great, but they all fade into memory. When a father tells his child how

proud he is on some random Wednesday night on the drive home from a hard practice or a good game or a

less than great performance in the school play, that moment can last a lifetime. It can be formative for each

of them, for their relationship, and for the child's future relationship with their own kids.

Take an extra hard beat today to let your kids know that you're proud of them. Let them know how

great they are. Let them know what's special about them. Give them a pat on the back.

Don't wait.

Don't assume that they know.

Don't let their rolled eyes or their yeah, yeah, yas deter you.

Tell them.

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