Swift: The things that dads with daughters know – Brainerd Dispatch

I recently attended the Leap Year birthday party of my great-niece. As I took in all the details of her frog-themed party with all of its adorable, mom-crafted decorations I couldnt help but feel a little surge of pride in my nephew.

I watched as he patiently (and repeatedly) saved his 2-year-old daughter from tipping over her chair, dispensed swamp water (green punch) to the guests and wheeled out the birthday girls crowning gift: a tiny bicycle with a booster seat in the back for Kenzies dolls.

I also marveled over how overwhelmingly feminine his household is, with a wife and two girly daughters. Even the family dog is dainty a tiny, white dog with ribbons in her soft, floppy ears.

I know he loves his family and home more than life itself, but I also wondered if he ever felt outnumbered. After all, this is a guy who loves John Deere, fixing engines and buying anything with wheels, yet his life is spent perching at tiny tables and drinking Lilliputian cups of tea, watching Frozen repeatedly and helping daughters put plastic high heels on their Minnie Mouse dolls.

Maybe thats why he also occasionally bought Tonka earth-moving equipment for his daughters. Or looked so proud when Kenzie corrected her grandma by telling her this new toy was a backhoe, not a tractor.

Such is life for fathers with daughters. Even the most macho of men will soon find himself awash in a sea of estrogen.

I wondered if he ever asked for pointers from my dad, who not only had four daughters, but was raised in a household with three sisters. Just in case he hasnt, it seems like a good time to warn him of what lies ahead. As a daughter, sister, aunt and great-aunt, I feel fully qualified to share what Ive observed.

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Readers can reach columnist Tammy Swift at tswiftsletten@gmail.com.

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Swift: The things that dads with daughters know - Brainerd Dispatch