Dads, don’t forget one of the important women in your life this Valentine’s Day – your daughter.
It’s never too early to establish a Valentine’s tradition with her that lets your daughter know how much she is loved by that special man in her life. A father’s love profoundly impacts a daughter. In fact, it has been said that a woman takes her relationship with her father, good or bad, to the grave.
The father/daughter relationship plays an integral role in the life of a young girl. It’s a relationship that will give her the self-confidence to deal with challenging issues in her life. When fathers are not engaged in the lives of their daughters, research shows the girls often struggle with abandonment issues, lack of self-esteem, feelings of unworthiness; they’re also especially vulnerable to predators.
Many women who grow up without a father will float through life, looking for someone to fill that void. Girls who grow up without a relationship with their father are at greater risk for experiencing problems in school, abusing drugs and alcohol and participating in risky sexual behavior. In fact, adolescent girls without fathers are twice as likely to be involved in early sexual activity and seven times more likely to get pregnant as an adolescent.
But girls who grow up with an involved father have a reduced risk of early puberty, risky sexual behavior and teen pregnancy. Strong father/daughter relationships impact a daughter’s ability to trust and relate to the men in her life in a healthy way. Daughters who have a healthy bond with their father tend to be more self-reliant and confident and less likely to develop eating disorders. They also tend to perform better in school.