It's stuff like this that make my chin quiver #2

Holy crap! This is gonna be a series.

From Reddit - I'm a Father to little girl. I want to protect her, but not smother her.

Congratulations!

I really believe I have the greatest father on the planet. Sometimes I think about how I'm getting married soon, and I tear up just thinking about him giving me away. When I was little, I used to go away for the whole summer to visit family in Europe, and he would record (on vhs) every episode of Hey Arnold for three months so I could come back and watch them. Here are some things he has done that make me love him so much:

1. He taught me financial independence as early as possible. As soon as I turned 16 (I think?), he got me a debit card and would put some small amount of money on it every month (like 75$ or something). He then got me a credit card as soon as I could have one, to start building my credit history. It was my responsibility to go online, check my debit balance, and pay for everything with my Amex card and pay off the bill in full every month. I have the same cards today, as a 23 year old.
2. He made me get a job as early as I could have one. I worked since 14 in a bakery. He told me if I ever needed more money, just ask - he just wanted me to have the experience of working for my money. I only worked 1 day/week, but I still remember the experience.
3. He and my mom let me drink pretty early, as long as I remained a good student and did so responsibly. We are or European descent, so alcohol was never a taboo. When my friends and I would go with my parents to their shore house, he would get us a six pack (for the four of us, we were 17) and let us drink in the house. For the record, all of us now have higher education degrees and no substance abuse issues. It was just amazing to have a father (and mom) who trusted me enough to let me do adult things, as long as I behaved as an adult in other areas of my life (school, work, etc).
4. He praised me when I deserved it. I remember when I first started being a great student, in middle school, how great it felt just to hear him tell me how smart I was. It inspired me to do even better, and I am now very successful academically. The key was, he didn't over-praise me, either. He didn't give me that "A-for-effort" crap - if he saw me get lazy, he wouldn't say anything. But if I was working hard and doing well, there was nothing better than his praise.
5. He would tell me I was beautiful all the time. To this day, I have no self-esteem issues and I am happy with my body and appearance. I think it has a lot to do with him.
6. His office at work is COVERED, from top to bottom, in my shitty childhood drawings, photos of me, everything. I never doubted how much he loved me after I saw his ridiculous amounts of me-memorabilia.
7. He was never judgmental, and because I never had to be afraid of him telling me I was stupid/punishing me, etc, I went to him with everything. In high school I started dating a questionable boyfriend - let's say he was a few years older than me. It concerned my dad but he never forbid me from doing it - he just asked to meet the guy and have a talk with him. He told me if the guy really cared about me, he wouldn't mind having a chat. The guy and him talked for like 20 minutes, I still don't know about what, but that's how my dad handled it. He didn't give me any of that "no because I said so", he just kept an eye on the situation to make sure I was safe, while still letting me experience it on my own.
8. He told me he loved me all the time. I never understood my friends, who seemed so distant from their dads - they wouldn't talk to them apart from 'hey what's up', and they could go months without talking to their parents when they were in college. I am so grateful, when I think of how much he gave me. I always knew I was the most important thing in his life. He has called me literally every single day since I moved out 6 years ago for college. Every day.
9. He was nice to all my boyfriends, even though I know for a fact he didn't like all of them. He never told me "hey this guys a dbag", probably because he knew how temperamental teenage girls are and he knew it would only create tension. Instead, he would wait until I showed discontent, and then gently weigh in with an opinion. He would support me, but he would do it right. And I know now what a little shit I was as a teen, it's amazing he was able to handle me at all. But he was perfect, even when I was far from it. The best thing he did was let me learn my lessons by myself, but always be there, looking over my shoulder to make sure I was safe and happy.
10. This is an important one - he never talked crap on my mom or her family members when things went sour between them. They got divorced but remained very good friends, and even live a couple house apart now. But things were bad for a while. They would argue a lot, and yell. Things might not always be perfect between you and your SO, but the way you behave in the worst of times will determine how honorable you are in her eyes down the road. Whereas my mom would always tell me, "your father this and that yadayadayada" and say bad stuff about him when he wasn't around, he would do the opposite. He would only say, in her absence, "your mother loves you. it's hard for her to be alone right now. be nice to her, she needs it'. I know for a fact she was pretty mean to him, but he never said a single bad thing about her. I think back on that and how much it must have taken to be such a great man, and I'm proud to be his daughter.

I'm sorry for the long post, I didn't realize how much I had to say about him. But here is my advice to you - you are going to be her hero and her protector. She will compare every man in her life to you, she will think of you as her true home, and she will love you forever. Tell her she is beautiful all the time, and be generous with telling her how much you love her. Don't let her get away with it if she does wrong, and be strict, but praise her as much as you can when she does well.

Good luck to you, new dad!

- LaikasSpaceMix