I am at the edge. I am on the precipice. I am at the point of no return (or Know return for you Kansas fans). I am the father of a soon to be 12 year old daughter. She’s pretty. She’s smart. She’s developing (ugh, writing that was disturbing). As a result I am starting to panic.

These days, I get more raised eye brows and rolled eyes from her than hugs. The little girl scream of “Daddy!” when I come in the house is replaced by “Oh, Dad, puh-leeze.” when I pull some knot headed move that I was unaware of as being highly embarrassing or lame. To make it even more bizarre I also have a 2 year old daughter who knows a rock star when she sees one (that rock star being me, of course).  I am living on both sides of the Daddy-Daughter Divide at the same time.

So I am on the edge with my oldest daughter and I don’t want to let go. Thankfully, I have actually found a solution to slow this process down. It’s Daddy-Daughter Date Night.  A good friend of mine introduced the idea to me a while back and after I got over the creepiness of the name I gave it a shot. Man, it works like a charm.

I am not trying to trick my daughter into liking me by taking her to the movies and dinner without her mom, brother and sister along as well. Admittedly, at first it felt that way. Instead, I started to see that I had a chance to model what a great date should look like. I know she is a few years away from that but if I don’t show her now I will lose my chance.

I open the car door for her (not all the time because I am still a guy and I forget but now she even reminds me when I don’t). I treat her like a queen on our “date”. I tend to forget that she will measure her future relationships with guys using the metrics that I establish.  Honestly, the thought of a relationship with her and a boy makes me want to puke but it’s inevitable.

At this point in time in my daughter’s life I am both loved and ridiculed in the same breath. I have received the “At least you don’t usually embarrass me” line which is a small victory. I can’t settle for that though. She is just too important to not show her that if someone can’t treat her with respect and honor then that guy gets the boot (which I will gladly do for her).

I am at a critical point in my daughter’s development and I have a choice. I can let the world determine what is healthy for her or I can model what is truly best for her. This awareness has actually made me a better husband because she is watching me with mom as well. Talk about pressure!

No offense to other dads reading this but I am going to make it difficult on your sons. Actually though, I would like to think we could all benefit because by teaching her to expect the best from the opposite sex then the one that can offer the best will be a real winner.

Foolproof? No. Foolish? Maybe. I love her too much to not try anything for her, though.

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