TODAY host Carson Daly and his wife Siri are about to hit a milestone with their oldest son, Jackson. He is preparing to graduate from high school next year.
“I’m in total denial,” Carson said.
He wants to take every “micro-minute” of his time to be present in this particular moment with Jackson.
“I think the key to parenthood for me, for fatherhood, is trying every single day how to figure out how to slow the hands of time,” Daly said at the the TODAY dads’ annual Father’s Day event at Swingers Crazy Golf in New York City.
“It’s the biggest truth in parenting, when we have our first kids and other parents say, ‘Enjoy it. It goes fast,’” Carson said. “You have your first kid and your world’s spinning. You’re like, ‘Yeah, yeah. I’ll worry about that later.’ But you’re on a rocket ship.”
Carson Day and his son Jackson Daly attend the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Dec. 15, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
Jackson put together a list of colleges to visit and Siri tagged along to tour Clemson, South Carolina and Georgia. But weighing the options is particularly difficult when our world is moving so quickly.
“Jackson’s looking at college right now,” Carson explained. “He’s 17, a junior in high school. In two years now when he’s a freshman in college, the entire educational process of how or what he’s supposed to get out of a four-year university experience is completely changing in real-time.”
Carson mused about whether college is actually the best path for high school grads to pursue.
He said that Jackson “might benefit more from majoring in prompts of AI, learning how to use the technology to better a career.” He paused and added, “I’m trying to get him into a trade. I’m like, ‘Hey, man. Become an electrician.’”
“AI isn’t going to fix your AC system,” Al laughed.
Whatever Jackson decides to do after graduation, Carson hopes he doesn’t move too far from their Long Island, New York home.
“We drive by LIU Post, our local college, and I say, ‘Look, there’s our school, son. I’m going to get an awesome condo right down the street, and you and I are going to have a great freshman year!’” Carson joked.
What is Jackson’s reaction?
Carson admitted, “He doesn’t say much.”
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