Listening to Your Kids

Today I took my two girls with me on some errands. We were busy running from place to place. One of the places we went was a church. While I was taking care of some things at the church the girls saw some toys and other items they wanted. I was immediately resistive, but listened as they explained why they wanted a particular item. My 8-year-old, who is quite persistent, wanted to get a journal. I told the girls that if they took any new item with them, they must give away two things from home. Like many other homes … Continue reading →

Donuts with Dad

During the last week of my daughter’s school, her kindergarten teacher organized an event called “Donuts with Dad.” My wife had attended “Muffins with Mom” about two weeks earlier, so the pressure was on dad to come through. It was a busy week for me. I was starting a new time job, not to mention I still had to maintain all of the other appointments and activities for my family. Consequently, when I heard about this new activity with her kindergarten class I was not too excited about going at first – until I got there. When I arrived at … Continue reading →

Dads and Makeovers

There are few things that a little girl likes more than playing dress up and doing makeovers. How could any dad resist spending time with his little girl in this fun way? Just be absolutely sure that there is no one around who might snap a picture of you while you look a little, well, ridiculous. Now if you are going to allow her to perform a make over on you, you can’t do this half heartedly. You might as well let her go the whole nine yards. Let her do the make up, let her mess up your hair, … Continue reading →

Bonding with Your Daughter–Cooking

My wife has instilled a love of the culinary arts in all of our children. Starting from a very early age she has welcomed them into the kitchen to lend a “helping” hand. She doesn’t mind if the kids make a mess as they cook, but then she doesn’t mind if she makes a mess herself, either. She comes from the school of culinary thought where you get an idea from a recipe, and then you customize it, personalize it, and (this is the part that kills me) estimate it. When she is explaining how to make a dish, she … Continue reading →

Dancing with Daddy

Here is an awesome way to bond with your daughter. Dance with her. Don’t wait until her wedding day and your future son in law cuts in after you dance with her to the song, “Daddy’s Little Girl”. Take the chance to dance with her every time you can. My wife and I homeschool our children, and we went on a field trip to Lincoln Center on the West Side of New York City today. There was an event called Lincoln Center Outdoors, and it involved live music from many musical styles and performances of many dance disciplines. It was … Continue reading →

Bonding With Your Girl–Paper Dolls

My oldest daughter is eight years old. One of her favorite hobbies is making paper dolls. She has been doing it for a couple of years now, and as she has grown, she has gotten more and more skilled at it. Now there are several “levels” to the involvement that I can have with this particular activity. It can range from her showing me her work that she has completed already, to watching her design and cut out and make a single outfit, to creating an entire line of clothes for a season with her. (This last one is the … Continue reading →

Bonding With Your Girls

As everyone knows, every child is different. I have twin girls, and although they have been raised in the same house, under the same circumstances they have ended up with very different personalities. It would be impossible for anyone to come up with one foolproof way for all dads to bond with all daughters. The purpose of this blog is to give a few simple, practical ideas to help you grow closer to your girl. Many girls are content to bond through simple conversation. My own daughters would be happy to just sit and talk, tell stories, sing songs, and … Continue reading →