What I wish Ronald Reagan had told me about fatherhood

Ronald Reagan was well known for his keen insights on many important and complex subjects. Parenting was not one of them.

That’s not a knock on him by any means — he raised four very impressive and successful children, two daughters and two sons. Nonetheless, the subjects with which his wisdom was most associated, and on which his advice was most often sought, were along the lines of how to deal with the Soviet Union, how to stimulate a stagnant economy, how to repair a neglected military, and how to restore a sense of pride and optimism in our country, not raising kids.