I will be the daddy of a daughter VERY soon...advice???

[Taverner]

Little Willow Jane is due any moment now, with wife so big and round she's got her own gravitational pull (ha ha...please don't hit me again...)

But being as I have experience only in raising a son up to toddlerhood, I could use some advice from all the other daughters and daddies of daughters out there....

[kick-ass-bob]

1. oh, god man.

Mine is 4, and I can already see the problems starting....

The flip of the head :eyes:, the "I really love shoes," :scared: the LOOK - yes THAT look :yoiks:

I have a feeling I will be drinking more in about 10 years...

:D

[Taverner]

8. yikes

:scared:

[kick-ass-bob]

12. BUT...

she is one of the 2 sweetest things on the face of the planet.

:loveya:

[Shine]

2. Prepare to be surprised at how much LOVE you are capable of.

:loveya:

I remember when I had my second kid, also a girl btw, that's what struck me.

Enjoy this magical time. You are blessed.

[Taverner]

6. Well I know I love Tavernertoddler

He's a blessing, that's for sure. Even when he acts up, he's just being a toddler.

[evlbstrd]

3. No advice, really.

But you will instantly become her slave.

[Taverner]

4. Haha...I've heard that

No father can escape the call of "Daddy's little girl"

[jane_pippin]

5. Write some useless words of wisdom in her baby book...

For instance, my insane dad wrote this in mine:

The Thirteen Beans of Life

1. Eat. You'll need to do this daily.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12. Wisdom may fail but love will prevail.
13. Don't worry too much about it.


Ok, so it's really not useless after all--now I read it every year on my birthday as a reminder of how cool my insane dad actually is. But in terms of actual advice that will help you raise her this probably doesn't do you much good. Just love her, know she'll drive you nuts, know you'll drive her nuts, and then love her some more.

[aclog]

20. thanks for sharing that

very cool

[radwriter0555]

7. Right now??? Advice? None at all. But check back in when she's 11 and from

then on... after age 11 is when our kids REALLY REALLY REALLY need us the most, on through their teen years.

Raising them up to that point is a piece of cake.

Talk to her like she's a human. Use real words. Be silly. Have fun. Don't take it seriously. Never let her cry. Always hug her, kiss her and tell her everyone loves her and name them by name every single day. LISTEN TO HER. She'll be talking, using real words by age 6 months, it's your job to figure out what they are, but if you listen, you'll hear them!

Let her wear pink, LOTS AND LOTS OF PINK! Let her play with dollies. She'll LOVE sparkly pretty silly things. Don't let her know she's supposed to be afraid of spiders and creepy slimey things. If you don't tell her, she won't find out til some other kids ruin it! Until then she'll think snails and lizards and snakes and bugs are COOL!

Little girls ROCK!

Congrats and have a BLAST!

Oh and she'll resist bathing and using deodorant too, just like boys do.

I hate that.

[seemunkee]

9. Hang on, its a fun ride

Mine is 16, she gives me great joy and grief.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. But what will her DU name be?

Tavernerbabe? Tavernerlette?

[Taverner]

11. Hmmmm how about tavernertwinkie

:evilgrin:

[southlandshari]

13. Good luck!

Thinking of you guys!

I'll make a list of stuff for you that I've learned from having a daughter.

:hi:

[Taverner]

14. So am I supposed to decorate her baby room with Christina Aguilera yet?

[LibertyLover]

15. Abandon hope all ye who enter here

As the mother of a 3 year old daughter all I can tell you is the kid will have you firmly wrapped around her littlest finger and ready to do her every bidding the very first time you see her. Prepare to be assimilated.

As for advice - just love her. It's hard sometimes - but then I remember all we went through to bring our daughter home and I fall in love all over again.

Congratulations!

[Taverner]

17. Don't think I'll have a problem loving her

The other day Tavernertoddler was throwing painful blocks at my face getting angry and I had to remember to discipline him, rather than just get out of the way, smile and say "awww he's got a great pitch!"

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

51. Make sure he's using proper fundamentals when he's throwing those blocks!

:evilgrin:

[pdx_prog]

16. Enjoy it while you can.....

make every moment count! You will be her hero until she reaches about 13. Keep communication open and frequent, talk to her, talk to her, talk to her. Be CONSISTANT.

You will have your little girl until about 13.....then it will change forever.

[Bouncy Ball]

18. Eh, at first it won't be much different.

Boy or girl newborns pretty much sleep, eat, poop, but you already knew that.

I/we only have a girl, so I have no other experience I just know we love her like crazycakes. Mr. Bouncy and Little Bouncy have a great relationship.

Congratulations!

[DanCa]

19. Dont buy toys that make noise

Good general advice and I wanted to make you smile. :D Congrats man.

[Yavin4]

21. As Chris Rock Said: " Your Number One Job Is to Keep Her Off the Pole"

He also said, "they don't grade fathers, but if your daughter becomes a stripper then you fucked up as a father."

IOW, pay attention to her and be a good male role model because every man in her life will be based on you in some way.

[Taverner]

23. HAHAHAHA I know I love that line

[Yavin4]

25. It's Funny Because It's True n/t

.

[dr.strangelove]

22. ME TOO, We are 3 weeks until the due date

My little girl should be arriving very soon. Your wife could not hold a candle to mine on gravitational pull. (I'm kidding honey). I thank you for this thread as it has been very interesting reading.

Good luck to you, your wife and your daughter.

[JVS]

24. My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.

;-)

[dolo amber]

37. As the mother of 2 daughters, I second this

:patriot:

[Taverner]

39. Dolo is a mommy???

Uh oh...that means there are little dolettes running around, plotting world domination or sumthin'!

[dolo amber]

42. They are wee hellbeasties, and you should be very, very afraid

:D


Oh, and much congrats and happiness to you and your family. :toast: :hug:

[Taverner]

44. But did they have a dental floss collection??

[newyawker99]

26. Good luck to you and your wife.

:-)

[LynneSin]

27. I know you're trying to quit smoking - please stick with it

or try again!

I can probably attributed my neurosis throughout life to the fact that I lost my father who I loved more than anything to a totally preventable illness. He loved all of us but he just wouldn't quit smoking. Now he is no longer with us.

So just be there for your daughter and the best way to do so is by keeping off those cancer sticks

Congrats!

[Taverner]

28. GAH! Now you tell me this!!!!

I just started smoking again, 3 sticks a day....

Now you're gonna get me all guilty!

[LynneSin]

29. Three sticks should be easy enough to get rid of

Do it for her. Don't make your daughter all messed up like me because she lost the center of her universe when she was 14 years old!!

[Taverner]

31. Well you turned out OK...

I mean you do see the value in a well performed "No Quarter" and a Page riff during "the Lemon Song"

[LynneSin]

35. Yeah, that's because I escaped all the pain by listening to stacks...

of Led Zeppelin on my phonograph. Talk about Crushed! Bonham died in Sept 1980, I find out my Dad has cancer in Oct 1980, Led Zeppelin broke up in Dec 1980 and my Dad died in Jan 1981. I was borderline nutjob at the time.

[Taverner]

40. OMG...thats terrible

A good friend of mine's father died of a heart attack when he was 7...and when we were drunk one night he told me how mad he was at his dad for deserting him....

[LynneSin]

43. Kids are like that

At least if my dad ran away I would know that somewhere he was out there but I don't even have that no did I ever get to go see Zeppelin on tour in 1980 out in Cleveland like my brother said he would take me to go see.

Oh and to make matters worse, my dad died 3 days before the Superbowl in which the Eagles were in it and lost to the Oakland Raiders.

It was a bad year indeed!

[Taverner]

46. Well my dad was there but was never "there"

Emotionally he was checked out. He was a cop, what more can I say?

[LynneSin]

47. In my book that's still better than what I got

:shrug:

You'll be fine and you'll give up those smokes. If you don't I'll earworm you with Creed songs until you go screaming into the night!

[MissMillie]

30. Why should the advice be any different?

The goal is the same: to raise a well-adjusted, productive, responsible member of society.

The tactics are the same no matter the sex of the child. Love them, teach them, support them, discipline them when they need it, and make sure they know to look for bliss wherever they can find it.

[Whoa_Nelly]

32. Know that girls are different than boys

and that it's important to realize how we tend to respond to girls differently than boys. For example: Boy falls off bike, scrapes knee, cries, gets a hug, says he doesn't like it, told/encouraged to get back on bike quickly. Girl falls off bike, scrapes knee, cries, gets hug, says she doesn't like it, gets more cuddling to work up encouragement to try again but maybe later when she's up to it.

The point being is that we can make our daughters strong and self-confident by recognizing in ourselves the responses we have toward gender.

My two cents...

and book recommendation (take a peek at the contents...)
Raising a Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of a Healthy Woman
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1587611767/002-1522835-3922454?v=glance&n=283155

Now...

Congrats!!!!!!!!

:woohoo:
Willow Jane Very beautiful name

[texanwitch]

48. Willow Jane, that's a nice name.

Very close to mine.

Sports are important to little girls to, I know several people who coach girls teams.

Congrats on the baby.

[Taverner]

49. Thanks - I like the name too

And I do hope she'll play soccer. With me at 5'10" and wifey at 5'6" I don't think we'll be having any basketball players any time soon.

[xmas74]

55. Second that.`

I coach different teams for my daughter. We are very involved in sports. At this age she is trying each and every one out to find what she does and doesn't like (likes basketball, football and soccer,doesn't care for cheerleading ).
Just give her a variety of different things to try and let her decide, whether they are traditionally female or not.

[AlCzervik]

33. Enjoy every moment because it goes by in a flash

my daughter is 11 1/2 now, it still shocks me, i remember the exact moment of her birth. And you can never tell her you love her too many times, it's not possible. Congratulations to you and your wife. Oh yeah, i forgot, make sure you always by her Legos, imo they are the best thing ever for any child.

[Beer Snob-50]

34. don't potty train her for 15 years...

if she pees in her pants, boys won't try to have sex with her. it works!!

[AlCzervik]

36. thats excellent advice.

[grateful581]

38. No advice, but congratulations !

:)

[miss_american_pie]

41. Congrats and best wishes

for a safe and easy delivery.

Sorry, I only have boys.

[Burma Jones]

45. Well, all kids are different, but here's my take

I have a 7 year old boy and a 5 year old daughter. The biggest difference I've noticed is that my Daughter is much more attuned to what's going on around than is my Son. My Daughter is far easier to offend and is quick to tears if she feels as though she's been slighted. She has been far more insistent on doing things herself than was her brother.

Now, her brother was suspected of being an Aspie, so he had speech therapy, three times a week, and occupational therapy three times a week, since he was about 2 and 1/2. This has "rubbed off" on his sister, so she is very aware of the mechanics of how people interact since we have had to intensively train her brother to be social. She uses this knowledge to gain social; advantage in Kindergarden....

[LeftyMom]

50. Take up drinking.

Okay, maybe all girls aren't as bad as my sister and I were. Still, good girls come with thier own set of problems.

It's not too late to move to the country and put up barbed wire and guard towers.

[Rosie1223]

52. As a parent of 3 teen daughters,

my husband would tell you to let every boy that comes to the door know that you have a shotgun in the closet and you know how to use it.

Congratulations and Good Luck!

Rosie

[fizzgig]

53. from a hard core daddy's little girl

there are the basics: tell her you love her, hug her, talk to her, tell her you will always listen and that even if she messes up, you will always love her

the things my father did for that impacted my life: teach her everything you would/are teach/teaching your son - how to fight, work on cars, fish, shoot guns, whatever. also buy her pretty things, dance with her, have tea parties, play with dolls, whatever

i know a lot of that is based on gender roles, but my father (and mother for that matter) always made sure my sister and i knew that gender roles are crap and we could do anything we want.

[SaveElmer]

54. Get some sleep NOW...while you still can...

Cause for the first two months...you won't get any!!!

[Mr. McD]

56. If you raised a boy, you can raise a girl

Thy are so much less trouble then boys, at least mine was. I have one each both adults now.

[leftofthedial]

57. girls are easy

up until puberty

just give her lots of love and go ahead and let her wrap you around her little finger

then, when she hits puberty, hope you have an enormous remaining reservoir of love and tolerance.

[KitchenWitch]

58. Strap yourself in, you are in for an interesting ride

I have a son and a daughter, and I have so far found my daughter to be more challenging...She is very intelligent, which is very dangerous at her age.

[xmas74]

59. Here's what I did.

1) Bought a telescope (just a cheap one at Walmart-I know, but they are the only game in town).
At a few months old I started holding her up and showing her the view through the telescope. Why? Early interest in science. Some girls still do not get enough encouragement in school to follow math and science. My hope is that my daughter will always have an interest in it and will not notice that the other girls are not as interested.
2) Built a library. Every payday I purchase one book. As a baby she received Dr. Seuss and various others(look for a book called The Naughty Bunny-unsure of the author. Cracks me up). By the age of 2 1/2 we were reading chapters of wellknown books-Little House series, Anne of Green Gables. We sit down and read a chapter every night. We just finished Little Women and are moving on w/ the other two books. Also, get a few books filled w/ short biographies of famous women. We read these together and she loves to hear about other women who have done great things w/ their lives. Her favorites to read about? Sally Ride and Maria Mitchell.
3) Bought a football(or a soccerball or softball). Get her involved even as a baby by rolling the ball across the floor to her. When she is old enough to walk, play catch w/ her. Works on motor skills and allows her the opportunity to learn how to become active and have no fear later on of an organized sport.
4) Planted flowers, whether in a garden or a pot. Let her dig in the dirt and learn how things grow.
5) Bought both Barbies and Tonka trucks. Let her explore both sides of her personality.
6) Bought old clothes for dress up. Let her be a police officer one day and a princess the next. Girls enjoy dress up. Let her explore different careers through play even at an early age(I know, princess is not a career but all girls dress up as one at least once).

This is just a start. Let her explore both sides.
And a word of advice-do NOT buy her nailpolish, no matter how much she whines about it. Ask any parent of a girl what happens when they find nailpolish for the first time. It's never a pretty sight.