“The most important person in a young girl’s life? Her father.”
~ Meg Meeker, M.D. author of Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters
I have two daughters and within a week or two, I'll have my second granddaughter. In my experience, and many agree, girls are more complicated to raise than boys. Just as fun mind you! But for Dad, a bit more complicated.
A daughter looks for different things from their dad than does a son. Here is an excerpt from my book The Power of Fatherhood discussing the father-daughter relationship.
Treat Daughters with Love and Respect
Father and daughter relationships are powerful and unique. This can be very good or very bad. No one has the ear of a young woman like her father. She will believe what he says whether it is complimentary or degrading. She may not realize she believes it, but she does.
A father is the first man in her life. He is the first man she tries to impress and she never stops trying. All men are compared to you. You may rarely understand her, and she may rarely understand you, but there are moments that are critical in your relationship that will help her self-image, her delicate psyche, and her self-respect. Be there for her. She learns confidence and self-esteem from you by the way you interact and treat her.
I've found to my dismay - no, actually I knew it all along - that most men are not into reading books on parenting. Newsflash! Neither was I as a young dad. But if you never read my book, a good friend of mine passed on two books that are a delightful breeze to read. They are written by Harry H. Harrison Jr. entitled:
Father to Daughter – Life Lessons on Raising a Girl
Father to Son – Life Lessons on Raising a Boy
Both books give great advice on raising your kids. Written in short bursts of invaluable insights, you can read this book a page or two at a time and be enlightened as Dad!
Here's two quick examples from Father to Daughter.
"Never laugh at her dreams."
and
“Take her horseback riding. Girls love horses.”
Yep, they do love horses. And they like to dance, play dress up, and be watched over - even when they say they don't like it. Now go give your daughter(s) a hug!
A daughter looks for different things from their dad than does a son. Here is an excerpt from my book The Power of Fatherhood discussing the father-daughter relationship.
Treat Daughters with Love and Respect
Father and daughter relationships are powerful and unique. This can be very good or very bad. No one has the ear of a young woman like her father. She will believe what he says whether it is complimentary or degrading. She may not realize she believes it, but she does.
A father is the first man in her life. He is the first man she tries to impress and she never stops trying. All men are compared to you. You may rarely understand her, and she may rarely understand you, but there are moments that are critical in your relationship that will help her self-image, her delicate psyche, and her self-respect. Be there for her. She learns confidence and self-esteem from you by the way you interact and treat her.
I've found to my dismay - no, actually I knew it all along - that most men are not into reading books on parenting. Newsflash! Neither was I as a young dad. But if you never read my book, a good friend of mine passed on two books that are a delightful breeze to read. They are written by Harry H. Harrison Jr. entitled:
Father to Daughter – Life Lessons on Raising a Girl
Father to Son – Life Lessons on Raising a Boy
Both books give great advice on raising your kids. Written in short bursts of invaluable insights, you can read this book a page or two at a time and be enlightened as Dad!
Here's two quick examples from Father to Daughter.
"Never laugh at her dreams."
and
“Take her horseback riding. Girls love horses.”
Yep, they do love horses. And they like to dance, play dress up, and be watched over - even when they say they don't like it. Now go give your daughter(s) a hug!
