Welcome to the Daily Dad podcast, where we provide one lesson every single day to help you with your most important job, being a parent.

I'm Ryan Holiday, and I draw these lessons from ancient philosophy, modern psychology, practical wisdom,

and insights from parents just like you all over the world. Thank you for listening,

and we hope this helps.

Remember who sets the curve. It can seem like parenting is a rather perilous thing, right? The statistics

come at you like daggers to your heart. How many kids die each year in this kind of accident or that one?

How many kids are injured doing this or that? The world feels so dangerous, so terrifying. And it is true, there are real dangers

out there. Some are random, some are merciless, some are impossible to prevent or protect yourself

against. But that is not the norm at all. Most dangers are not like random kidnappings or freak

cancer diagnoses. A lot of them are more like the tragedies

involving guns left out in the home or kids riding a bike without a helmet or getting them

measles for which you can be easily vaccinated. It's not knowing how to install a car seat

properly or not taking your time with it. It's not teaching a

high schooler about safe sex or the dangers of fentanyl. It's worth remembering who is

included in all these statistics that scare us so much also because it can help calm you down.

Who is included? Everyone. And that includes the parents you see at the store or on an

airplane or at your own kid's school, the ones who aren't paying attention, the ones who let their

kids do insanely dangerous things, the ones that willfully reject science or basic rules.

We have to remember that these people, these deniers, the negligent, the reckless,

they are included in every statistic and they bring down the averages or they bring up the

averages. They make it seem like it could happen to anyone, but not everyone lies or acts that

way, ignores the consequences that way. The world is dangerous, sure,

...