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Raising daughters is fun, but in a chaotic—at times unfriendly—world, it takes more than love to bring up a girl right. We have compiled a few tips on raising daughters from fathers across the world. Hope it helps!
Franklin Madison, USA: Treat them like a princess so they have high standards. And teach them aikido; all girls should be trained to kick butt.
Let her be aware of her strength.
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Srini Venkataramani, Singapore: The only tip is to teach them to never depend on anyone for anything.
Joseph Forrest, USA: Treat them like they’re just as capable and powerful as any man. They will face enough anxiety and sexism in the real world. They need to know those at home believe in their capabilities.
Ajay Kesavan, Philippines: Treat her like you would treat a son. Let her be aware of her strength.
Sebastian Braganza, India: Keep her mother happy. Cook at home. Look after your family. Help her understand that good men are good to their families.
Arun Sethumadhavan, Norway: Not too many get the chance to experience and cherish a life with little angels; spare all the time you have if you don’t want to regret not doing so later!
Help her understand that good men are good to their families.
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Ramesh Sharma, USA: I am learning to be gender-blind when looking at my daughter’s daily activities and her aspirations. It was way easier when she was a toddler or a pre-teen. As she grows to be a woman, it sometimes is a struggle to balance the fierce instinct to be protective and watching her soar, especially as she is quick to point out any biases—perceived or real—having an older male sibling to compare notes with! It is fascinating to see the father-daughter dynamic and the mother-son dynamic—we maybe tend to over-compensate for our own gender’s emotional limitations. One can hope it all balances out in the end, but we know we are not there yet.
Mick Canning, United Kingdom: No magic answer, but always be there for them, I suppose. That’s probably been the most important aspect of my relationship with my daughters.
Sunil Vasudevan, United Arab Emirates: A father can teach his daughter many things, but it takes time. Values and integrity, relationships, friendships, fellow human beings, finance—there is so much to talk about. One could teach through examples that appear in life over a period of time or through bedtime stories. What they learn when they are three to 16 years of age counts a lot. Fathers must lead by example in every aspect of life.
A 2015 feature by Kyli Singh in The Huffington Post details many blogs written by fathers that could be useful for men interested in reading more about fatherhood and daughters. Good Luck!
Photo: Anand, India