The Best Father’s Day Gift is Peace of Mind

Every June, my two daughters struggle with the same dilemma I did when I was younger: What do you get the man who has everything?

Father’s Day presents a novel problem. It’s one of the few gift-giving scenarios where you’re tasked with buying something for someone of greater means than you. Anything your dad really wants, he’s likely in a much better position to buy than you are.

Well, to my daughters and to the daughters and sons everywhere who struggle each June, there’s one Father’s Day gift that never goes out of fashion: peace of mind.

You can offer the peace of mind of knowing where his keys are when he’s misplaced them, or the peace of mind of knowing where his luggage is when it gets lost by TSA. But the best kind of peace of mind you can offer is knowing that you’re OK and safe.

And yes, there are ways to give that as a gift.

Like insurance. Do you have health insurance? What about renter’s insurance? Disaster insurance? On its face, it’s a gift for you, but it gives your dad the reassurance that you’ll be fine should something unforeseen happen.

I’m proposing a different way of looking at the holiday. Things your can buy yourself that are more like buying something for your father; things that save him worry in the short term and/or money in the long run.

Investment planning is another one. I want my daughters paying into a 401K as soon as possible because I want them to be OK after I’m gone (and because to do so requires employment). Too many young people aren’t investing early; that’s scary.

Then there’s health and safety, which is another big concern for parents.

I want my kids in a vehicle that protects them as much as possible from reckless and absent-minded drivers. I want them in a car like the Chevy Cruze, which is the priced right for the twenty-something young professionals they are fast becoming, but doesn’t skimp on safety: It boasts a NHTSA 5-star safety rating and 10 standard airbags — the most of any in its class.

I also don’t want either of my girls to become one of those recklessly absent-minded drivers, which is why I’m glad the 2016 model will work with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to integrate their cell phones into the in-car infotainment system in safe, unobtrusive ways.

I don’t just want them safe on the road, but also at home — even before they own a home. There are some really interesting startups revolutionizing home security, for example, relatively inexpensively and workable for apartment dwellers. There are alsointeresting startups revolutionizing the old smoke detector into a smart device that talks to you about levels of smoke and carbon monoxide, so that it doesn’t become a nuisance when you’ve just burnt a batch of cookies, for example.

Their car experience is going to be equally smart. Father’s Day or no, I’m insisting they maintain an OnStar subscription, which alerts emergency crews at the push of a button if either of them gets into a serious accident.

Short of crafting a padded bubble for Hannah and Morgan to move around the world in, I want to make sure those girls are as safe as they possibly can be.

So if either of you are reading this, take the above to heart. I’d also like to note that tickets are still available for the Grateful Dead’s final Fare Thee Well shows, but that is unrelated to this topic. I don’t even know why I brought it up.

Love you girls.