When Your Kid Says “I Hate You, Dad” – Call With Dads
When Your Kid Says “I Hate You, Dad”
Call With Dads | October 28, 2025
It stings. You come home after a 60-hour week, the nanny just quit, the prototype client wants four new restaurant layouts by Friday, and then your six-year-old looks you dead in the eye and says, “I hate you, Dad.”
On the latest Call With Dads livestream, Eric Maynard, Mr. Pancakes, and Tom (EarnHerRespect) broke it down raw—no sugarcoating, no therapy-speak, just three fathers trading war stories and hard-won wisdom.
1. It’s Not About You—It’s About the Standard
“She’s mad because I took away her dolly… or made her sit at the table. I care more about proper discipline than the whiny feelings of a six-year-old.”
— Mr. Pancakes
Mr. Pancakes recounted the cold-shower incident: daughter stalls, water runs 25 minutes, he physically walks her in, scrubs, dresses, and plants her at the dinner table. Cue the dagger: “I hate you.”
Reality check: Kids don’t hate you. They hate the boundary. The rule. The expectation. And that’s exactly why you don’t fold.
- Discipline > momentary comfort.
- 10 minutes later? Hugs and kisses. The storm passes.
2. The Three-Stage Cycle Every Dad Lives
Tom laid out the universal arc:
- Idolize (ages 0–6) – You’re Superman.
- Demonize (7–18) – Every rule is tyranny.
- Humanize (adulthood) – They have their own kids and finally go, “Oh. That’s why.”
Your job in the demonize phase? Stay the rock. Absorb the hate. Keep the standard. The respect shows up in 20 years, not 20 minutes.
3. Men Are Macro; Women Are Micro
The panel agreed: dads think future. Moms often think now.
- Wife: “Stop, you’re hurting her!” (cold water, firm grip)
- Dad: “She’ll remember the consequence next time.”
Both roles are vital. But when the moment demands steel, you bring it.
4. Masculinity ≠ Refusing Dishes
Cooking, laundry, dishwasher Tetris—these aren’t “women’s work.” They’re household work.
- Eric runs the crockpot and the AI dishwasher (yes, really).
- Mr. Pancakes scrubs baked-on cheese by hand.
- Tom: “If we agreed you fold laundry and I pay bills, great. If not, we talk.”
Negotiate roles. Execute them. No ego.
5. Where Dads Actually Vent (Because Pets Can’t Talk Back)
Therapists? Indoctrinated. Wives? Ammo for later. So where do you unload?
- Fellowship – Lunch with a bro, men’s fraternity, real-estate meetup.
- Podcasts – Hearing other dads say the same thing normalizes it.
- Bible study – Mr. Pancakes is slogging through Genesis and finding focus.
- Pets – Still undefeated for zero-judgment listening.
Bottom line: Bottling kills. Fellowship heals.
Need a place to talk it out?
Join the Call With Dads community. Live streams every other Tuesday. Real dads, real talk, zero fluff.
TraditionalSociety.com → Free Family Constitution course to lock in your household roles.
Eric Maynard – Host of Call With Dads, architectural designer, homeschool dad of two. Finds sanity in crockpots and cat chaos.
