Explore how fathers can define their parenting goals through meaningful descriptors for their children. Drawing from Marcus Aurelius, the discussion emphasizes collaboration with co-parents to establish foundational values like kindness and integrity. Delve into unique aspirations, such as creativity and a love for learning. The key takeaway? Knowing your aims helps raise children with clear guiding principles, ensuring you're teaching lasting virtues instead of fleeting traits.
02:17
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Epithets for Kids
Define epithets for your children, similar to Marcus Aurelius' self-guiding principles.
Consider what values you want to instill, like kindness, loyalty, or creativity.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Epithets for yourself: Upright. Modest. Straightforward. Sane. Cooperative. Try not to exchange for others.
These were essentially the words he wanted to live by—his principles expressed in the fewest syllables possible. At DailyStoic.com we’ve spent the last couple years talking about how important it is to figure out what these epithets are and to make sure we are living by them.
But here is another way to look at. What if as a father you sat down—ideally with your co-parent—and fleshed out what those words mean for each of your children too? As in what kind of kid are you trying to raise? What are the watchwords that you are attempting to move them towards with your parenting?
Some obvious ones:
Kind.
Loyal.
Moral.
Honest.
And maybe some more specific ones to help them succeed in the world
Creative.
Bilingual.
Hard-working.
A lifelong learner.
Maybe to some dads it’s important for their kids to be athletic. Another, a reader. Others still that their kids live a life of service. There is a lot of room here for choice and most of the answers are right. But if you don’t know what you’re aiming for, how can you expect to hit a target? How do you know you’re not accidentally teaching them to exchange one epithet for another?
The Daily Dad