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.

Think about how you would feel.

If your kid got sick, you'd feel terrible.

Not just terrible because you don't want anything to happen to them because their pain is your pain,

but because as you held their weakened body, as you comforted them or held their hair back,

as you watched them sleep fitfully or gave them

their medicine saw that flash of fear in their eyes you'd be racked with guilt when our kids are

not feeling well not their full energetic chaotic selves we are reminded just how small and defenseless

they are it's in those moments that it strikes us just how hard we are on them just how small and defenseless they are. It's in those moments that it strikes us just how hard

we are on them, just how much we ask of them, and how meaningless and stupid and unnecessary.

Most of the things we get upset with them about clearly are. How little we care about the stuff

we once cared so much about. All we can feel is regret and guilt.

In the beautiful and haunting book, Death Be Not Proud, Johnny Gunther's mother reflected at the end of her son's

tragically short life that all she could think of was that she wished she'd loved him more.

And so it goes when our kids are sick and struggling. It's not that we'll wish we'd love

them more. They're still right here with us. We'll just wish we hadn't been so damn hard on them.

So instead of waiting for that guilt for those conflicted feelings when they have a bad fever or

getting an x-ray or in the hospital coming out of anesthesia from having their appendix out,

try to relax now. Be kind to

them now. Go easy on them now. Have some empathy now. Let things go. Hey, thank you for listening to

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