Are you a father? Do you have a daughter? Do you want a good father daughter relationship? Being a father and having a good relationship with your children are completely separate things. This is especially true when you have a daughter.
Sadly, there are still some people who have the train of thought that daughters don’t need their fathers like sons do. This is simply not true. Daughters need and deserve the same amount of love and affection from their dads as boys do.
It is important, though, to note that the attention that you give to your daughter needs to be done in the right way. Having a healthy relationship with her is the ultimate goal. If you are curious as to how to make sure that your relationship is a good one, watch out for these unhealthy father daughter relationship signs and be sure to avoid them.
Signs That Your Father-Daughter Relationship Might Be Unhealthy
Being able to recognize these unhealthy father daughter relationship signs is imperative to building the healthiest and best relationship that you can.
Being Emotionally Unavailable
Okay, let’s just get it out of the way, we are humans, and we are emotional. It’s natural, it’s normal, and while it may seem that women are more emotional than men, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Dads need to recognize that their daughters need them to be emotionally available to them.
Comparison and Competition
No matter how many children you have, it’s important to know that all your children will be different. Everybody is different. Comparing your children and creating competition between them is very damaging.
The same is true for comparing your daughter to other girls outside their family. This type of comparison can create lasting self-esteem issues in young women.
Control
Being controlling and dictating the decisions and activities of your daughter is an incredible disservice and can lead to issues in your child’s life. Not only does this leave your daughter basically living her life in fear, she then becomes unable to make decisions on her own.
Our main goal as parents is to raise good kids who become responsible adults. This simply cannot happen if your child cannot do anything or make decisions independently. Your daughter will never develop a healthy level of independence if you are too controlling.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t maintain authority and lead (along with your partner) your family, but knowing when to loosen up the reins and let your daughter lead the way for herself is very important.
Fear
Sometime in the long ago past, it seems that men were held up to being an authoritarian of the family. For generations, it was said that dads should “lead with an iron fist.” Thankfully, history has proven this is not necessarily a healthy way to raise children. In fact, it’s quite dangerous.
If a daughter is afraid of her father, she is likely not going to be comfortable coming to him in times of need. Additionally, she may grow to think that this relationship sign is normal and go on to be with a partner who she fears. Is that what we want for our children?
Do your best to be approachable and understanding, especially when it comes to your children.
Constant Criticism
Are you the type to just constantly criticize? You may have to think about this one, actually. As it turns out, many people who have a habit of criticizing constantly don’t even realize that they are doing it.
Constant, destructive criticism can create bad self-esteem. If all a kid hears from you is negative things, that’s what they will think about themselves. This can affect their mental health their entire life.
Be sure to notice the good things. Comment on the good things that your daughter does. When she gets praise, her self-esteem will grow, and that is very important.
No Communication
Unhealthy father daughter relationship signs often include a lack of communication. Communication is key in any relationship, including your relationship with your daughters and sons.
If you and your daughter do not currently communicate well, be sure and work to change this. Developing good communication in your relationship can completely change the father daughter relationship and can help your daughter throughout her life.
A daughter that grows up having a good rapport and good communication skills with her father will grow up to have better communication in her future relationships.
How Important Is the Father-Daughter Relationship?
The relationship between a father and daughter is among the most important relationships there are. You will not regret working toward improving your relationship with your daughter.
Not only will your home life be a better place when you have a better relationship with your daughter, but you can be certain that your daughter will be better prepared to have a successful life as an adult.
I miss my dad. He died when I was 13 years old.
I’m sorry your father passed away when you were so young
I used to have problems with my dad. I don’t know if it was more my fault or his but I’m an adult now and we are trying to repair our relationship but it takes time.
Yes, child parent relationships are hard and def can take a while to mend