The Daily Dad

January 1

A Little Fellow Follows You

In 1939, nine years before John Wooden would be hired to coach the UCLA men's basketball team, a friend sent him a picture with a poem on it to celebrate the birth of Wooden's first child. The picture is a man on a beach whose son is running behind him, playing in his footsteps in the sand. Wooden hung the picture in his home so he might see it every day. The poem, which he memorized and liked to give as a gift, went as follows:

A careful man I want to be-

a little fellow follows me.

I do not dare to go astray,

for fear he'll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes.

Whatever he sees me do he tries.

Like me he says he's going to be-

that little chap who follows me . . .

You don't have to memorize these words as Wooden did, but you better internalize their message. Your sons and your daughters follow behind you. They see everything you do. If you go astray, so too will they.

January 2

Never Let Them See You Act Like This

I think of myself as a philosopher only in the sense of being able to set an example.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

There is a story in Seneca's famous essay "On Anger" about a boy who at a very young age went to live in the house of Plato to study under the famous philosopher. Returning home to visit his parents, the boy witnessed his father lose his temper and yell at someone. Surprised by this violent outburst, and with the simple innocence of a child are capable of, the boy said, "I never saw anyone at Plato's house act like that."

However we conduct ourselves in front of our children-particularly at home, in private-they will come to see as normal. If we are rude or unkind to our spouse, they will assume that is an appropriate way to treat people they love. If we are anxious and overly worried, they will come to think that the world is a scary place that must be feared. If we behave unethically or cynically, they too will begin to cheat

Ryan Holiday

"Make this book a morning ritual. Matthew McConaughey

"Parenting can be hard. We all want to do right by our kids, but it's easy to get lost in the moment. This book is a simple way to ground us, to force a reflection on the choices we're making, and the ones we want to make. And it's not just for dads."  Emily Oster, bestselling author of Expecting Better and The Family Firm

"Effective parenting often comes down to poignant, memorable moments that shape your child s thinking. This book has the recipe for creating these kinds of moments on the regular, and making the most of them."  Scott Galloway, NYU Stern professor and bestselling author of Adrift