Sunday, July 16, 2006

Life Lessons on Raising a Girl... for Daddy

Excerpts taken from a coffee table book by Harry Harrison

*** Be forwarned.... not for the sensitive and tender hearted***

Raising a girl takes two parents:

A mom to show her how to be a woman.

A dad to show her how to be independent.

A dad's job is to make his daughter courageous. Fearless. To ake her feel beautiful. To give her a sense of adventure. To make her feel secure and confident.

The relationship between a dad and a daughter is very simple: She will love her father and trust him completely, forever.

Because he's her first love. Her first hero. The first man in her life.

The wonder years....
  • Accept the fact that she will melt your heart anytime she chooses.
  • Take part in her life now. Don't wait until she's 15 to try and develop a relationship.
  • When you get home from work, hold her as much as possible.This is for your benefit as much as hers.
  • Sing to her while you're rocking her. She'll love hearing your voice as much as you love the bonding.
  • Tell her from day one that she can accomplish anything.
  • Let her sleep on your chest when she's a baby. This is when the world begins to make sense.
  • Memorize her face. Her eyes. Her hands. She'll be memorizing everything about you.
  • Give her baths. Do not leave this to mom alone. It's pure magic.
  • Her mom will show her how to bake cookies. You show her how to dunk them in milk.
  • Know that while you will never understand her thing for dolls, you will buy more of them than you can possibly imagine.
  • Emotionally, physically, and spiritually healthy girls are raised in a loving atmosphere. Do all you can to creat a tranquil home.
  • Be prepared to watch a Disney movie with her some 200 times.
  • Tickle her, play with her, give her piggyback rides. She's not breakable.
  • Never lost the wonder of watching her and her mother together.
  • Relish the moment when she toddles up and for no reason at all throws her arms around your neck. Resist the urge to buy her the world.
  • Trust her mom to understand the mystery of little girls. You have yet to figure out the mystery of big ones.
  • Never, ever, make fun of her.
  • Bear in mind that from the very beginning your personality will shape her.
  • Realize that as you shape her, she will shape you.
  • Always remember, she can do anything a boy can do.
  • Brush her hair occationally. You'll be amazed how long she'll want you to do this.
  • Never forget that supportive fathers produce daughters with high self-esteem.
  • Read to her often. Very soon, she'll be reading to you.
  • Give her a picture of you to put in her first purse. If you're lucky, she'll always carry a photo of you.
  • Buy her a jungle gym. However, if she falls off that jungle gym, disregard those thoughts about killing yourself.
  • Encourage her to play with boys.
  • Play catch with her. Even if the ball is pink and covered with glitter.
  • Dance with her always. She'll never be too young. Or old.
  • Give her a Valentine's Day card... every year.
  • Ask about her day, every day. Share her wonder.
  • Keep her secrets. This way she will begin to trust men.
  • Write this down. Girls cry. A lot.
  • Show her how to play poker.
  • Teach her not to be afraid of boys, but to be ready to challenge them.

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More another day...... this is making me cry!

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