I’m Not Raising a Princess
A blogging single mom friend recently said that she felt bad for her daughters' self image since she was raising them in a home without a man. I understood her concern – as a single father raising two children half-time, I made it a point to stay involved in my kids’ lives. I wanted to be the male presence as my children grew up. It's good for girls to grow up confident in their relationships with men.
But the single mom’s reasons for wanting a dad around didn’t resonate with me. She wanted a man to dote on her girls daily, make them feel good about themselves so they’d grow into confident women.
Sorry, but I don’t dote on my daughter. It’s been a conscious decision of mine her whole life. I love having a girl in our family, and I certainly treat her well, but I’m not raising a princess.
Maybe it’s because I grew up in a family of boys, I never saw what it was like for a dad to daily dote on any daughters in his home. I saw plenty of affection between my dad and mom, and they were great raising me and my brothers. But dote? Ha. We cleaned the toilets and emptied the trash as much as anyone.
I know everyone is different, and people have their own parenting styles and cultural traditions. But as a dad raising a daughter I firmly believe that men who dote on their girls are not giving them confidence – they're taking that confidence away.
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