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 have to treat them the same.

Does your dog's gender matter to you? Like, have you ever once

thought about whether they were capable of this task or that task because of their sex? Has your

understanding of their gender changed how you play with them? Do you think about whether to get them

this toy or that toy based on its color or its name? No, of course not. In fact, you didn't even think of your

dog's gender when you gave them a name. That's why your dufous female yellow lab is named

Steve Holt or the dachshin you had as a kid was named Fing Newton. Because aside from the

question of whether it can get pregnant or not, gender doesn't matter when it comes to animals.

Well, guess what? Your kids are animals too, both figuratively and literally. We would do well to remember this. Sure, there are some

biological differences between men and women, and sure, there are systems and cultural practices

in society that we have to be aware of, leagues for boys and girls, different qualifications

for branches of the military, et cetera. But as far as the day-to-day reality of life, as far as what

individuals are capable of, as far as how a father should treat their kids, gender doesn't matter

at all. Whether you have sons or daughters, your job is to root for them.

Your job is to have expectations they'll rise to meet. Your job is to teach them to be a reader

and to ask tough questions. Your job is to introduce them to the world of ideas and the facts of

life. Your job is to challenge them and love them and support them and encourage them to be responsible for themselves.

Your job is to treat each of your kids differently according to their needs and at the same time, treat all your kids exactly the same.

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