Episode 012 - Comparison: Raising the Child You Have, Not the Child You Imagined

Comparison is sneaky. It steals your joy and changes the way you see your kids, your wife, and yourself as a dad.In this episode of the Relatively Functional Dads podcast, we get honest about comparison in fatherhood: comparing our kids to other kids, ourselves to other dads, and our families to ones that don't even exist. We talk about what happens when hopes become expectations, and how trading comparison for curiosity changes the way you love and lead your family. We wrap up in John 21, where Jesus answers Peter's "what about that guy?" with a simple "What is it to you? Follow me."In this episode:Big Dad Energy: a solo birthday party survival story and a last-minute birthday bike missionDad Decisions: beat your kid in any competition but tweak a muscle every time, or lose to them forever?The expectations we carried into fatherhood and the ones our kids shatteredComparison vs. curiosity: asking "Who has God made this child to become?"What Jesus says when you catch yourself asking “what about that dad?”Challenge for the week: Replace one comparison with one moment of curiosity. Instead of "Why aren't they more like ___?", ask "What is God uniquely developing in this child?"Episode Mentions:Woven by Meredith Anne MillerSubscribe for more conversations on fatherhood, faith, marriage, and intentional parenting.We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send questions and feedback to relativelyfunctionaldads@gmail.comMusic Provided By: Derek McClardy Spotify