Welcome to the Daily Dad podcast where we provide one lesson every day to help you

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.

You can educate and entertain.

You want to put them to sleep so you read the first book off the shelf. You're on the

couch with your daughter so you watch whatever movie is on TV. You want the kids to relax in the car

so you put something on the iPad. We tell our kids stories to entertain them, to connect with them,

to fill the time, but also,

also to teach them. This is what humans do. It's what we've always done. That's why the Odyssey

and the Iliad exist. It's the purpose of Aesop's fables. It's the purpose of theater and literature

to entertain, but also to teach.

2,000 years ago, Plutarch was concerned even then that lazy parents and teachers were

focused too much on the former than the latter.

We know what will get a laugh from our kids.

We know what will excite a teenager.

But our standards have to be higher than just this kind of titillation.

Parents and teachers, Plutarch writes, even in telling stories to children are not to choose at random,

lest happily their minds be filled at the outset with foolishness and corruption.

The random books your family got as birthday gifts are not

enough. Whatever is a sign in school is not enough. You can't choose books at random. You have to

curate. You have to decide what stories you're filling their heads with, how you're shaping their

...