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.

You don't have to have the words.

How do you tell your kids how you feel? How do you say what needs to be said?

There are so many moments when words escape us because we're stunned, because we're scared, because we're angry in the moment, and it overrides what we wish we could tell them what we know they need to hear.

It's important to know that this is okay, although it would obviously be better if in that moment

when they came to you about the thing they did, about the thing they needed to tell you,

about the thing they're struggling with, that maybe you didn't mess up. But that doesn't mean

the end of the conversation. The words can escape you in the moment, but as long as you keep

talking, as long as you don't bury your head

in the sand and pretend it never happened, you can make up for it in quantity, in beating around the

bush what you missed in that one quality conversation. Don't agree? Okay, then what's the alternative?

Giving up because you messed up? No, you need to keep talking, keep hinting. Explain yourself.

Explain your thinking. Don't you think Pete Buttigieg wishes his parents had kept trying?

You think Ted Williams' daughter liked that her dad just accepted defeat and his limitations?

No, she wanted him to keep trying. She wanted to know that he was trying because that's what matters more than the words do anyway.

Thanks for listening to The Daily Dad podcast.

Please leave us a review.

It helps.

Tell your friends, share this with other dads.

...