I saw this "application to date my daughter" on Facebook and it got me thinking. I've had a variety of ideas on what I'm going to do / how I'm going to act to my daughter's dates. My sister-in-law's friend's father required all of his daughter's dates to write their name on a shotgun shell and kept them in a basket in his room. For a wedding gift he gave them to her husband. Angel says I can do that if I want and I am sorely tempted. I've also thought that if one of her dates picks her up by honking the horn from the driveway I would simply walk out and ask him to try again. I had a Young Men's leader who would introduce his daughter's dates to "Jaws," a cast iron nutcracker with inch long teeth. You can bet what he threatened if anything untoward happened.
The idea of the protective father and "little princess" has been around for a while. The more I think about it, I would be happy to play that role and I'm sure I would enjoy it. However, rather than threaten my daughter's dates with a shotgun I would rather that my daughter know how to handle herself and inspired her dates to treat her well. I don't want her dates to be afraid to treat her wrong. I want them to want to treat her right. This will mostly be her responsibility.
She will need to the sort of person that brings out the best in others. That means kind, gentle, fun, witty, and intelligent. She'll need to have an interest in others and be able to convey it. I want her to be someone that is good company, someone that is "good people." She will be a force unto herself, but a force for good.
She should also be astute enough to seek out like minded people to date. If my daughter is going on a date with someone I object to, I'm going to wonder what was her part in the decision. Why is she with someone I (or she) has an issue with? I want her to have a fine sense of other people and make good decisions about friends.
This doesn't mean that if something goes wrong that it's her fault. It is more than possible that she, her mother, or I make a bad call on one of her dates and he tries to take advantage of her. While I would want the guy to know that if anything happens should he do anything to hurt my daughter, I again would rather that she can take care of herself. My daughter will be armed on her dates. Like my father before me, I believe everyone should care a basic pocket knife and the one I get for my daughter will be sufficient to deter any one with an intent to harm. I'd just as soon she never have to use it, but I want her to have the option. There may even be a time when she may have a conceal carry weapon. In short, any violence that I threaten her dates with will be nothing compared to what I want my daughter to be able to inflect if the need arises. If I really wanted to mess with someone, I would have them write their name on a bullet and then hand it to Kanga who should then load it into a gun she is taking on the date. That is how you encourage good behavior on a date.
In short, as much as I want to protect my daughter, and as much as I will do everything in my power to protect her, the best protection I can provide is by teaching her how to protect herself and then be there to back her up.
The idea of the protective father and "little princess" has been around for a while. The more I think about it, I would be happy to play that role and I'm sure I would enjoy it. However, rather than threaten my daughter's dates with a shotgun I would rather that my daughter know how to handle herself and inspired her dates to treat her well. I don't want her dates to be afraid to treat her wrong. I want them to want to treat her right. This will mostly be her responsibility.
She will need to the sort of person that brings out the best in others. That means kind, gentle, fun, witty, and intelligent. She'll need to have an interest in others and be able to convey it. I want her to be someone that is good company, someone that is "good people." She will be a force unto herself, but a force for good.
She should also be astute enough to seek out like minded people to date. If my daughter is going on a date with someone I object to, I'm going to wonder what was her part in the decision. Why is she with someone I (or she) has an issue with? I want her to have a fine sense of other people and make good decisions about friends.
This doesn't mean that if something goes wrong that it's her fault. It is more than possible that she, her mother, or I make a bad call on one of her dates and he tries to take advantage of her. While I would want the guy to know that if anything happens should he do anything to hurt my daughter, I again would rather that she can take care of herself. My daughter will be armed on her dates. Like my father before me, I believe everyone should care a basic pocket knife and the one I get for my daughter will be sufficient to deter any one with an intent to harm. I'd just as soon she never have to use it, but I want her to have the option. There may even be a time when she may have a conceal carry weapon. In short, any violence that I threaten her dates with will be nothing compared to what I want my daughter to be able to inflect if the need arises. If I really wanted to mess with someone, I would have them write their name on a bullet and then hand it to Kanga who should then load it into a gun she is taking on the date. That is how you encourage good behavior on a date.
In short, as much as I want to protect my daughter, and as much as I will do everything in my power to protect her, the best protection I can provide is by teaching her how to protect herself and then be there to back her up.
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