My daughters with their friends from Los Angeles
“DADDY’S GIRLS”
Lawrence Murray Ph.D.
I call this Daddy’s girls because like our President and other men with daughters; we are smitten by our girls. However, every Father knows the pride and passion of seeing your children grow up and take on new challenges in the world. Every man who holds the Daddy title feels the impact of his title when his children call him, “Daddy!” I remember my internship days in Los Angeles at Children’s Institute International; I can recall participating with a component of that institute called “Project Fatherhood,” Dr. Swinger and several others wisely dealt with the multi-layered issues that men face when attempting to connect with their children. I am a proud father to two beautiful daughters and my goal/prayer in life is to see my children’s, children’s, children…Well the fact of the matter is, I love my girls! Affectionately called, “Daddy’s Girls.”
Recently I read an article that attempted to describe exactly what it means to be a Daddy’s girl. I found that quite comical because if you ask each father with daughters, they would have a different interpretation of how they would codify the phrase, “Daddy’s girl.”
Interestingly, Daddy's girl is a phrase that can be interpreted in two ways. First, a daddy's girl can be the result of the way in which a man dotes on his daughter, coddling and protecting her and giving her whatever she wants. A daddy's girl knows that she is her father’s life and often takes advantage of the fact that he can’t stand to see her cry. A daddy's girl can never do anything wrong and is as innocent as the day is long.
Because a daddy's girl is the light of her father’s life, she may be under lock and key. In fact a daddy's girl may proudly - or not - declare that she is owned by her father. A father might try to shelter his daughter from all the unsavory aspects of life, preventing her from developing her independence.
Now for the record, I hope I never communicate to my daughters that I own them; but I do have a strong sense of responsibility for steering them in positive directions for future vitality. Yes, these little ladies got me hooked in the nose, but like anything they must grow……No matter how old, they will still be…DADDY’S GIRLS!
Dr. LMurray’s Mind-
