Why do daughters love their dad so much?
There are a thousand and one answers to this question.
The common belief is that a girl’s first love is her dad. Undoubtedly, this saying holds so much truth. Every child should have a strong bonded relationship with their parent(s) as a solid parent-child relationship is one of the foundations of a solid knitted family.
Unfortunately, many things could go wrong in building the ideal parent-child relationship, especially between fathers and daughters. Sometimes it could be early on in the relationship or further down in later years.
But whatever the case may be, deciding to revert and improve such relationships is a feasible option. You are not alone as a dad looking to strengthen his relationship with his daughter (or even vice versa).
Relationships are bound to go through the test of time, but a commitment is all it takes to keep working things out for the best. This is why you can committedly get the best out of your father-daughter relationship with these tips:
Tips to improve the father-daughter relationship
1. Get involved early
For a natural lifetime father-daughter bond, start early as soon as she is born. This means that you should get involved in her life very early and see it through till she grows. This way, she will always see herself as your baby girl, no matter how old she grows to become.
2. Validate your daughters
The need to always be validated by a third party eventually wears down one’s self-esteem and hinders one from rising to their full potential. Some girls who grow up to always seek validation have a history of being invalidated by their parents, especially their fathers.
To validate your daughter, you should enforce her strengths above her weaknesses and teach her that she is enough just the way she is. For instance, avoid placing undue pressure and unrealistic expectations. Also, choose to be understanding over being judgmental, and your relationship will skyrocket.
3. Be a good partner to your spouse
One way to improve your relationship with your daughter is to have the ideal relationship with your spouse by treating your spouse right in all respects. It is one thing to be a great parent to your daughter and another to be a great partner to your spouse.
A dad who models the ideal husband to his daughter will gain her love and respect, getting a healthy view of what spousal relations should be. Beyond modeling the ideal spouse and father, you will also be modeling the ideal man when you do this.
4. Speak their love language
What better way to maintain the best relationship with your daughter than by speaking her love language? According to relationship expert and author Dr. Gary Chapman, there are five primary love languages peculiar to every human being – physical touch, words of affirmation, gifting, acts of service, and quality time.
This means that people interpret love and affection differently. Constantly doing what they interpret as love (in other words, continually speaking their love language) is enough to make them receptive to you as their emotional and love bank will always remain full.
5. Break the gender stereotypes
When you treat your daughter as a person first, without stereotypical gender strings attached, she will naturally come to love you and gravitate towards you. Avoid putting your daughter down for being female, treating her unequally compared to your sons (or the male gender in general). Instead, show by your actions and words that she is more than gender but a complete person and that you will continually treat her as such.
Conclusion
There are ups and downs to every relationship, and the father-daughter relationship is no exception. As your daughter grows and experiences the different stages of growth, there are bound to be related feuds and display of exuberances. But where the relationship has a solid foundation, it is always easy to navigate the difficulties of parenting a growing daughter. With these tips, you are sure to build such a solid foundation and repair any relationship that might have failed in the long run.