Attention dads – if you have a daughter, please do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to read the list of tips from Michael Mitchell, which contains many suggestions to help you be a better father to her. His list includes the following gems:
- Love her mom. Treat her mother with respect, honor, and a big heaping spoonful of public displays of affection. When she grows up, the odds are good she’ll fall in love with and marry someone who treats her much like you treated her mother. Good or bad, that’s just the way it is. I’d prefer good.
- Always be there. Quality time doesn’t happen without quantity time. Hang out together for no other reason than just to be in each other’s presence. Be genuinely interested in the things that interest her. She needs her dad to be involved in her life at every stage. Don’t just sit idly by while she add years to her… add life to her years.
- Save the day. She’ll grow up looking for a hero. It might as well be you. She’ll need you to come through for her over and over again throughout her life. Rise to the occasion. Red cape and blue tights optional.
- Savor every moment you have together. Today she’s crawling around the house in diapers, tomorrow you’re handing her the keys to the car, and before you know it, you’re walking her down the aisle. Some day soon, hanging out with her old man won’t be the bees knees anymore. Life happens pretty fast. You better cherish it while you can.
- Pray for her. Regularly. Passionately. Continually.
You can read the other 45 tips by clicking here, or you can read the ever-growing list of tips here (currently at 147 and counting).
Source: "50 Rules for Dads of Daughters" by Michael Mitchell, published at From Dates to Diapers.