Let’s talk about the importance of the father-daughter relationship. Dads play a vital role in the life of a daughter. Whether you realize it or not, that father-daughter relationship is so important. It will teach that little girl many things about life, love, and friendships. Not only does a dad help a daughter learn how healthy friendships and relationships work, but Dad plays a key role in how a girl grows up to perceive herself. Today I want to share the top 5 reasons it’s essential to encourage the father-daughter bond between Dad and his daughter.
Top 5 Reasons Why Father-Daughter Relationship is Important
Dad Influences Daughter’s Body Image
This is different than self-esteem or confidence. Body image is how we perceive ourselves to look. This occurs when we look in the mirror and feel we’re beautiful, skinny or chubby. Those perceived thoughts about our body image can be a direct result from our father-daughter bond or lack, therefore, growing up. Dads who uplift their daughter with positive words and positive body image focus are able to boost their daughter into perceiving themselves as beautiful regardless of height, weight, hair type or anything else that has to do with their external body image.
Develops Behavioral Traits
While we usually hear about moms shaping their daughters future, it holds true that the father-daughter bond can directly impact a girl’s future behavioral traits. A dad who shows positive, unconditional love to his daughter is able to help his daughter form a positive body image as well as high self-esteem. These traits will help daughters have a sense of pride in their work, their life and everything that they do. Whereas a dad who tends to be more critical and negative towards their daughter is setting her up for a future of depression and negative body image thoughts as well as low self-esteem.
Positive Social Traits
While Dads tend to have a better bond with their sons, merely because it comes more natural for many dads to talk to their boys versus their girls, those dads who take the time to communicate with their daughters and form a bond are often setting their daughter up for a positive future. Daughters who have had a positive social connection with their dad, meaning they’re able to discuss everything with their dad tend to grow up with better social habits talking to males or females. Dads who do their best to connect socially with their daughters are doing their daughter a positive service for future social traits.
Show Healthy Relationships
A big part of the importance of father-daughter relationship is that the father-daughter bond is one in which will forever teach a daughter how a relationship works. Now, this can go negatively or positively, depending on how the dad has treated their daughters growing up. Daughters see their first example of how a man treats a woman based on her relationship with her dad as well as watching how her dad treats other females in his life. This can serve as a positive impact for future healthy relationships when a dad treats his daughter with respect, kindness and unconditional love no matter what.
Helps Daughters Develop Persistence
Dads are often more authoritarian by nature in their parenting style. While this can seem harsh to the usually more nurturing mother, the fact is that a dad’s parenting style does actually serve a positive purpose with daughters. This “authoritarian” style fathering actually helps little girls develop a strong sense of persistence. This means that dads play an importance in daughters developing a strong sense of accountability combined with a sense of warmth and love. This is important to remember when you feel dad is being too hard on his daughter; it does serve a positive purpose later on in your daughter’s life.
There are so many reasons for the importance of the father-daughter relationship. The five reasons I shared today only scratch the surface of this fantastic bond between fathers and daughters. I hope that you enjoyed reading the importance of the father-daughter relationship and will take this information into your heart to encourage your daughter to have a positive relationship with her father and vice versa.