A dad is his kid’s own version of a mighty superhero, only without the elaborate costume and the universal cape. This is because most of the time, his kid sees him do the repairing, fixing, and heavy lifting at home!

Then again, a dad does more than that: he also works to provide for the family, helps mom with doing the chores, making decisions, and raising their own mighty kids. A dad’s words and actions matter, and his kids are watching with hawk-like eyes!

If you’re a dad and you feel like your kids don’t pay attention to what you do and say, think again! We asked kids the best lessons they learned from their dads, and their answers will definitely surprise you and melt your heart!

It’s not just moms who attend to the nitty gritty of their kids’ every day! Take it from these kids who shared with us how the little things their dads teach them every day made it to their “life manual.”

I learned from my dad to cook my own food.
I learned from my dad to do school myself.
I also learned from my dad how to feed the dogs.
I learned from my dad how to take care of myself.
And then I learned from my dad to do hard things!
Taziana, 7

I learned from Tatay always to be brave and I learned from Tatay not to be scared of numbers.
I learned from Tatay to be sweet and not to lie.
I learned from my Tatay to be always kind and care for other people.
I learned from Tatay to always be brave when I’m scared and also to pray every night.
Tamika, 8

The best thing I learned from Daddy is to be responsible. Daddy is telling me to take care of my things like, “Stacey, look at your toys. Put them in the toy box.” “Stacey, there’s a lot of trash. Pick it up and put it in the trash can.” Daddy wants me to be an independent ate and he also wants me to be independent when I grow up!
Calla Stacey, 8

The family is a child’s first example of building good relationships with other people. What do kids see and hear from their dads at home that they would never forget?

The best thing that I learned is to have good manners everywhere I go and to love and care for everyone else around me. Also, I have to make sure to do my chores every day to have a beautiful and clean environment. I also learned to balance schoolwork and screen time, and lastly, to be confident in myself.
Romejn Jerci, 11

The best thing I’ve learned from my father is to always be kind to everyone, even to yourself. I also learned to be friendly and to be a good role model to inspire and give a comfortable feeling to everyone, so they know they belong here. Love you, Tatay!
Ethan Jae, 13

Time is running every second and every second means different things for people. Because my dad always leaves the house an hour before the time set, I learned from him to value the time of others. Like if you’re meeting people, they use their time to prepare, travel, or wait just to see you. In exchange, you have to move fast to be there ahead of time. My dad would always say, “If you’re on time, you’re late.”
Jada Carlize, 12

Being kind, humble, a critical thinker, and open-minded are the best things I learned from my dad. My dad taught me to not be full of myself and to be kind to all people. He always reminds me to forgive the people that wronged me and always say ‘thank you’ even if it’s a small gesture. He also taught me to be a critical thinker so I can understand and evaluate the situation or information better, and not be irrational. My dad is very open-minded about everything. I wasn’t like that when I was younger, but as I grew older, I became open-minded because it can help me put differences aside and cooperate well. There are so many lessons from my dad, all of them are important to me but these are the best ones in my opinion.
Bianca, 13

Of course, there is no shortage of sports lessons from dads!

The best thing I learned from my dad is probably basketball. He taught me to play and love basketball. I also learned from him to not fight my brothers and be respectful to them, to always be nice to my Lolo and Lola, to never give up when times are hard, and to work hard at school so I can be successful in life.
Marcus Enrico, 9

My dad is very good at playing badminton and has already gotten so many awards and trophies from it! When I was 6, my dad would bring me and my mom to the badminton court. At first, I would just watch him play, but eventually, I tried it and enjoyed it too. In time, I got better and better. At age 8, I already knew how to play the sport. My dad would always play with me if he had free time because he is always busy at work. Now that he is in Singapore for work and has very limited time with us, he bought me my own pair of rackets and shuttlecocks so I can play here with my friends and family. So yes, I would say the best thing I learned from my dad is playing badminton.
Jarl Rouisse, 10

Focus on the thing/s you want to achieve! Kahit imposible, kahit mahirap, basta magtiyaga lang at magkaroon ng disiplina sa sarili. Favorite sport ko po ang basketball. Gusto ko pong mag-basketball not only as a hobby. Gusto ko po talaga maging varsity player ng isang school, at mag-compete sa iba. Tinuruan po ako ni Tatay ng mga do’s and don’ts sa basketball at maging disiplinado sa sarili with our everyday trainings. Now, I’m part of UB Brahmans Highschool Basketball Team!
Romwel Dronze, 13

The best thing I learned from my dad is the importance of self-defense. My dad enrolls me in different martial arts classes like jiu-jitsu and capoeira. I am a sporty girl, so I do some sports with my dad. He is the one who taught me boxing so I did not have to enroll in any boxing class. My dad teaches and enrolls me in martial arts because he wants to keep me safe.
Jarynne Qavah, 9

Dads work hard so they can afford to send their children to the best school. Most of the time, they don’t focus much on the grades but on the life lessons their children will learn in their journey.

There are many things that my dad taught me and my siblings. He taught us something today when they paid for our tuition. He said that it’s ok for him and mom to exhaust all their hard-earned money for us because as parents, that’s their responsibility. Even though we are not rich like other families, what matters is that my siblings and I are comfortable, loved, and happy. He said that we should never stop learning. We must be eager students even if we are done with college. My dad said that learning a new thing is like an hourglass. Each sand grain is a little of what we learn and soon it will become a pile of sand, a collection of learnings, experiences, and challenges that will help shape our lives.
Stella Caroline, 10