Onlookers stared quizzically at the grown man gleefully towing a line of shopping carts full of squealing little girls. Back when I was small enough to fit in a shopping cart, my father often took me on crazy, imaginative adventures like that one. Although some grown-ups might say he was behaving inappropriately, and certainly not acting his age, my dad s antics weren t all bad. In fact, they may have actually helped me to become a well-adjusted grown woman. Research has shown that a woman s self image, and the way she perceives men, has a lot to do with her early experiences with her father.
Fathers are the first men that daughters ever love.
They teach their daughters what men are, and what sort of treatment their daughters should expect from them. Being the first man in a girl s life is an important responsibility and a wonderful opportunity. A father s influence, or lack thereof, can be profound. Studies have confirmed that girls with little or no contact with their fathers are more likely to drop out of school, become involved in drug and alcohol abuse and become pregnant as teens. Although those are serious lessons, they can often be a lot of fun to teach.