There is a significant difference 
between a father’s relationship with a son and with a daughter.
My 4-year old son and I have formed a wonderful bond, balancing the art of fatherhood with sprinklings of playmate, friend and “buddy.” My goal is help him become the man that he is destined to be.
So, when I grit my teeth in sheer frustration when he will not participate in his T-Ball league, it’s understandable. Right? If he is going to get mad when I tell him to flush after he goes to the bathroom, well he’s going to have to deal with it. Right? As men, we have responsibilities to uphold. We need to teach our sons what they are and how to properly handle them.
On the other side of fatherhood, sits my 10-month old daughter, my angel, the apple of my eye and my shining beacon of happiness in a sometimes world of unbridled chaos. I find myself just staring at her as she explores her surroundings completely unaware what this world has to offer her. In his short but sweet book, Daddy’s Little Girl, Peter Wilson takes the reader through a timeline of a father and daughter’s life.
Each segment of the book, from birth through the day of her marriage ends in with the same paragraph:
“It’s alright, it’s okay
Save your tears for another day
Things may change in this big, crazy world,
But you’ll always be Daddy’s little girl”
The love a father has for his daughter is unique. I’ve discovered this in a mere 10 months. In most cases, she can do no wrong in my eyes. All it takes is for her to babble, “Da da… Da da…” and my heart melts. At times, I wish she could stay in this innocent and joyful state forever. But, little girls grow up into teenage girls and along with that come boys, clothing, peer pressure and general cattiness of teenagers.
Wilson’s book is illustrated by Carol Matsuyama, whose vivid portraits accompany the text seamlessly. From the pink toddler bedroom to the white wedding at the end, the pictures kept me smiling throughout. While I’m certainly not ready to handle a mohawked punk in a leather jacket coming to the front door to pick up my daughter, I found Wilson’s journey through fatherhood to be one that we all expect. While everyone’s journey is different, our little girls are going to grow up whether we like it or not.
In the meantime, I’m going let my daughter shove her fingers up my nose if it makes her giggle. After, she is my little girl.
NOTE: You can purchase a copy of Daddy’s Little Girl from the author’s website daddyslittlegirlbook.com.
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