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.

Never make fun of them for this.

Your kids will do all sorts of ridiculous things.

They will trip and fall, and yes, you will sometimes laugh. You will tease them about this and

that. They will make hilarious mistakes. They'll look back on their own childish ridiculousness

with bemusement. Your family will have all sorts of inside jokes, and this is fine.

It's wonderful. It's what binds people together, the ability to bust each other's balls,

to share memories and experiences. But there's one thing you should not tease your kids about,

as the now famous and anonymous quote goes. Never make fun of someone

if they mispronounce a word. It means they learned it by reading. Remember, you are trying to raise a

reader. You are trying to introduce them to the dangerous world of ideas. And that's going to mean

pronouncing things wrong. That's going to mean confusing

the meanings of seemingly obvious things. It's going to mean being laughably off base about things.

No one has ever learned any other way. So it's essential that your house and your relationship

is a safe place for that to happen. Do not make them

feel self-conscious about reading, about tackling topics outside their comfort zone. This is how

they grow. This is a tightrope they are walking. And if you knock them off, they might never want

to get back on. Encourage them, tease them, and have fun about many things. But this,

respect it. You're listening to a Daily Dad podcast, one meditation a day inspired to help you do

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