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.

It's hard to be them.

It would be nice if the world was nice.

It would be nice if it was easy to be a kid.

Unfortunately, it isn't. It's hard to be the smart kid. As Stefan Zweig said, no one suffers more than the gifted pupil in an average world.

It's hard to be different. Each of your children is different. In fact, each one is totally and utterly unique. If only they knew why

and then how to embrace it. It's hard to live with you. What? It was hard for you to live with

your parents and you think you're a walk in the park. Think again. And let's not even get into

this pandemic, this time of political polarization, the stresses of modern life

on your kids, as they struggle with the instinct to fit in and the desire to stand out.

This isn't news to you undoubtedly, but it still all bears repeating because it's easy to forget.

You think they have it so easy with all this technology, with all this privilege, with all

these things you do for them,

with all the things you never had. No, those are all the reasons it's hard to be them. Whether they

realize it or not, those things are all burdens on a kid in one way or another, just as you had

burdens when you were growing up. It's hard to be a kid. It always has been and always will be.

Understand that. Empathize. Go out of your way to let them know that you know. Do what you can to help. No parent can make the world easy

and nice for their kids, but we can appreciate what they're going through. We can try not to

add to their troubles. We can try to be there for them just as they wish someone was

...