Women Tell Men What They REALLY Need To Know About Raising Daughters

A recent viral Reddit thread asked women, “what’s something you wish your father knew about girls when you were growing up?” The answers were mind-blowing and insightful, perfect for fathers or fathers-to-be who have had or are having a daughter.

How to raise a tiny human is incredibly important. It can be difficult for fathers to connect with their daughters, they seem them as someone who needs to be protected and that’s not always a good thing. These tips will honestly create so many beautiful father-daughter friendships and bonds.

1.) “Don’t act like feminine things are shameful or boring. Don’t be the dad who stays out in his car during his daughter’s ballet class because sitting with the dance moms is too embarrassing.”

This couldn’t be truer. It’s not fair of dads to make their daughters hobbies seem cringe, embarrassing or basic. How is ballet embarrassing and football not? Support your daughter in the same way you would a son and NEVER act embarrassed!

2.) “The way you treat your wife or girlfriend will teach me how I should expect men to treat me.”

As a child, you learn a lot about life and how people should treat you. So, treat your wife or girlfriend like a queen in front of your daughter and all of the time! Then she will have high standards and won’t let people walk all over her.

3.) “If we’re avoiding a male relative’s house, take the hint! Don’t force us to go.”

Just because your daughter is young, doesn’t mean that she is kicking up a fuss for no reason! If she is specifically avoiding a male relatives house, you need to think about why and don’t make her go.

4.) “It doesn’t make you look weak to show affection once in a while. My dad hardly ever hugged us or said he loved us.”

Dads can struggle to show their affection sometimes but it really means a lot to your daughter to show her that she is valued and loved. A hug a day isn’t going to make you weak!

5.) “Accept the fact that your daughter will participate in dating and sex at some point, and need OBGYN visits and birth control.”

Don’t be too overprotective and DEFINITELY don’t shame your daughter for wanting to just be human! Don’t make her feel so uncomfortable that she can’t talk about sex, dating and birth control with you, it is completely normal.

6.) “How bad periods can be. My dad thought a period was all about blood but didn’t understand that I go through awful pain while on my period.”

Periods are about a whole lot more than blood! Dads tend to not understand them or think that their daughter is being overdramatic. Unfortunately, we aren’t being overdramatic and you need to understand that they are VERY painful.

7.) “Don’t make comments about your daughter’s body. Overweight? Getting breasts? Don’t make snide comments. It’s hurtful to young girls and women.”

Young girls can suffer hugely from self-esteem issues, especially due to social media! So, never make any comments or judgements about your daughter body, it will impact her hugely in a very negative way.

8.) “Pay attention to the media your kid consumes, and don’t dismiss girl-oriented media. Girls crave female role models, so make sure your daughter gets exposed to female characters who are problem solvers, adventurers, and leaders.”

It’s important for young girls to have strong female characters to look up to. They will be able to apply this inspiration to their own lives and feel much stronger.

9.) “Don’t just assume your daughter won’t be interested in your activities because they aren’t stereotypically girly or because once, as a small child, she didn’t want to do them.”

Always try to keep your daughter as involved in your life as possible. Just because something isn’t girly doesn’t mean your daughter will immediately hate it!

10.) “If you spend a good portion of your daughter’s childhood talking about how much better and easier a son would be to raise, don’t be surprised when she grows up confiding almost exclusively in her mother.”

I don’t know why a dad would ever say that he would prefer a son over a daughter, how could you compare the two?! You have your child and you love them, no matter what their gender. They will only talk to their mom if you say this to them.

11.) “Don’t be scared of having your picture taken. If your daughter wants to take pictures of you, or especially with you, let them.”

Pictures and memories are so important, don’t underestimate them! Never say no when your daughter asks for a picture, she wants to remember that moment for a reason.

12.)  “I’m jealous of all the time and money you spent on my brother getting to know him as a person. I wish you’d just treated me like a person, not some vagina you felt the need to creepily guard until I got married.”

Your daughter is a person that you can get to know and do activities with, not ignore and just protect but have no relationship or bond with. Why is she any different from your son?

13.) “You’re allowed to think my boyfriend or girlfriend is cool. You don’t have to try to intimidate them. They’re not here to hurt me.”

This is the truest thing EVER! Why do dads immediately make their daughter’s partner the enemy? Why can’t they just get along with them? They aren’t there to hurt their daughter and she needs to learn from her mistakes, you can’t protect her forever.

14.) “I wish he understood that daughters need their dads growing up.”

Dads can often leave parenting their daughters to their wives and don’t think their daughters need them. Well, they do, daughters need a father figure in their lives so don’t let them down!

15.) “When you do something wrong, apologize. Don’t try to ignore what we just fought about and try to be our friend 15 minutes later.”

Dads really do struggle to apologise to their daughters. They then blame their daughters for hanging onto it. Well, why not try apologising and then there wouldn’t be a problem in the first place!

16.) “Sometimes, we cry. It’s not a personal attack; it’s a release valve. Please don’t get mad at us for feeling feelings.”

Dads really don’t deal with tears well a lot of the time. Don’t get mad or offended when your daughter cries, just understand that she has feelings and don’t make her feel bad for showing them, embrace it!

17.) “We can be angry without it being hormones.”

Not everything we do can be blamed on our period! We can get emotional and angry without it being due to hormones, we are rational human beings, treat us like one!

18.) “The tighter the leash, the farther I’ll drift.”

Don’t keep your daughter practically on a leash. She can see the people she wants and do what she wants. She can make her own mistakes and learn from them. She can also not regret her decisions. She WILL drift away if you hold her back.

19.) “It’s important for a daughter to have a personal bond with her father, so have a hobby or activity that just the two of you do — no matter how small. Don’t only spend time with your daughter when the whole family is together.”

Make sure you make a special effort to spend time with your daughter on her own. Don’t make hanging out with her seem like a family obligation. Have a special hobby you both love doing together to grow that bond.

So, there you have it dads, I hope that you were taking note! Ladies, what do you wish you could tell your father? Let us know in the comments!

The post Women Tell Men What They REALLY Need To Know About Raising Daughters appeared first on Go Social.