As Dads, we’re supposed to be the fun parent. The parent that the kids go to when they want to expand their curiosity and play silly games.

This is the best part of being a dad.

But there might be something important missing from this picture.

Dads are the parent who rough plays with the kids and plays made-up games with them.

After a day in the office, the Dad will come home and play games and be silly with the kids.

This is fun and both the dad and kids enjoy it.

But it can’t be fun all the time. Kids are looking to their Dad to understand how they should act in the world.

If they see Dad playing with them all the time, they don’t see the hard work that goes into life.

Kids need to see more of the parents working hard and how that looks.

Say you have a hobby of building out websites. Bring your child into your office and show them the work that goes into it. Explain what you’re doing and why you care about it.

When all your hard work is in the office, kids don’t understand what hard work looks like.

This is how Dads can set their kids up for success in the future.

As parents it’s easy to let your hobbies and interests go because you’re consumed with your kids.

When you do that, you’re modeling to your kids that they need to give up on their dreams when they have kids.

It doesn’t have to be that absolute. We can keep building hobbies and growing ourselves even after having kids.

It all comes down to priorities and how we use our time.

We have time for everything, we need to prioritize things the right way.

Your kids are watching. Show them that becoming a parent means adding to your life, not subtracting from who you are.

Being a great Dad means showing up for playtime and showing your kids what dedicated work looks like.

The balance isn’t easy, but it’s worth it.