11 Benefits of Parenting Daughters
By: Chris Craft
Tags: Life Lessons, Family, Education, Parenting, Life

How Our Daughters Have Helped Me Grow

1. Our daughters taught me that kids will be kids in their own unique ways as individuals. When I was younger, I had this idea growing up that all girls were neater and more organized than boys. This is an unfair standard to try to apply to all girls. Some girls are neat, some are messy and that’s okay. Just like some boys are neat and some are messy. We all have our strengths, weaknesses, and personal preferences.

2. Our daughters have helped me ‘evolve’ as a communicator. Grunts and because-I-said-sos don’t fly with our girls (or anyone for that matter). New dads of daughters, get used to answering questions that you don’t want to answer and practice expressing yourselves in complete sentences!

3. I get to experience how my wife was as a little girl! The raw creativity, imagination, energy, and love for dirt and bugs are all things that our daughters have that I know my wife had and still has to a certain extent.

4. Raising our daughters played a big role in helping me (and a few close friends) stop objectifying women. There’s a fine line between appreciating a woman’s beauty and letting your thoughts get carried away when you see a pretty woman. Parenting our daughters helps me see women beyond the surface, which is something many men struggle to do.

5. I’ve learned about the importance of being a gentleman. I get the privilege to be our daughters’ first date! If the Lord wills it, our daughters will get married one day. My prayer is that I will be a good example of a loving husband and father by how I love their mother, them, and their little brother.

6. They teach you about more complex relationship dynamics. Our 7-year-old daughter has more complex relationships now than I had in my 20s!

Photo by lauren lulu taylor on Unsplash

7. Our daughters teach me how to mind my own business. When they are having an argument, sometimes I don’t need to interfere. I trust that they can work it out sometimes. I also recognize that sometimes their mother is the best person to intervene and de-escalate a situation between the two. Yup, this guy has learned when to back..away..sloooooowly.

8. Our daughters help me appreciate the excellence in women’s sports. Girls can excel when competing against boys. I admit that I didn’t always think that was true.

This reminds me of a story from my childhood. A neighborhood friend named Kimberly taught me a good lesson when we were around 10 or 11 years old. She absolutely dominated me in a game of 1-on-1 basketball…blocking my shots, bullying me down low on the block. It was ugly (for me) but good for knocking back my ego a couple of notches. I’ll never forget that day and I’m thankful to have had such a humbling experience at a young age.

Today, I find joy in watching our daughters compete with boys in the classroom, on the playground, and on the basketball court. I’m happy to see them destroy the boys just like Kimberly destroyed me 30 years ago.

Watch our oldest daughter shoot a pretty jumper over a boy at basketball camp two years ago!

9. Our daughters help keep their old dad in shape. Our oldest daughter regularly challenges me to games of 1-on-1 basketball. And our youngest daughter is a speedy runner, so she enjoys watching me huff and puff when playing tag and sprinting with her.

10. One of our daughters has ADHD (the inattentive form). Over the years, I’ve had to learn how to empathize with her and adjust how I communicate with her. It’s hard and scary sometimes, but it’s so worth it. Check out what I’ve written about the blessings of parenting a child with ADHD.

11. Your ridiculously talented daughter can design featured images for your content. Parenting our girls gives my wife and me the opportunity to empower them and support their talents and passions. This also teaches me that delegating tasks to people who are 100x more talented than you are is almost always a good idea. :)

If you have a daughter, give her a big hug right now. They are a blessing and more.