Katie giggles as she waits for her date to come around and open the car door. The pair enters an ice cream shop. She sits down at the table as her date gently pushes in her chair. He takes her hand from across the table and asks, "What flavor would you like tonight, Sugar?" Katie smiles and says, "I'll have chocolate, Daddy."
"If I ignore her now, she isn't going to come to me later with the tough questions."
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More and more fathers are becoming aware of their influence and regularly dating their daughters.
"The research clearly says that daddies make all the difference in the world," says Kevin Leman, national speaker and author of What a Difference Daddy Makes. "I have tremendously more impact on my daughter than my wife does."
Pete, a 38-year-old father from California, has already started taking out 9-year-old Cassie, hoping to get a jump on the dating scene.
"I believe the openness she has at this age is only for a season," Pete explains. "Right now I have an opportunity to love her or reject her. If I ignore her now, she isn't going to come to me later with the tough questions. I'm hoping that doing these special ‘nights out' will help her understand that she's valuable and will stop her from even accepting attention from a guy who doesn't treat her with the same respect."
For men mindful of their Day-Timers, Robert Wolgemuth, author of She Calls Me Daddy, warns against multitasking.
"Every once in a while you see a dad at a restaurant with one of his kids, and the child is gazing around the room while the dad reads the newspaper," he says. "No points for that. Conversation is the crown jewel of the relationship."
The bond you develop with your daughter during real times of conversation and connection pays dividends.
"What you are doing as a man is prioritizing your time," Leman explains. "Most kids grow up knowing Dad is a pretty busy guy. Your daughter needs to know the sacrifice you've made in your priority list; making sure she comes up No. 1. The fact that you affirm your daughter's femininity and treat her special says to her, ‘Honey, seek somebody special in life. Seek someone who is going to treat you right.'"
Reluctantly, one dad who had raised his daughter with consistent date nights had to admit that she did a good job of picking a husband, though he noted: "There is no one good enough for my daughter."
And all the fathers shout a hearty, "Amen."
