Fathers and Daughters

So I'm a day later than I wanted to be with this, but here it is:

Monday night's class session in the Quest for Authentic Manhood was about fathers and daughters. It was quite impressive to me, since I have a two year old little girl growing up right before my eyes. Mr. Lewis started the class talking about the unique challenges that are faced by girls growing up in this day and age. He mentioned that the new "supreme pursuit" of women was moving out of the home and into the workplace. He was quick to mention that he saw nothing Scripturally against women working outside of the home, but through the rest of the class did make mention of how no one else in the world can do the job of "mom" as well as the one who gave birth to the children. Because of this shift out of the home, he theorized that more and more young girls were going to be growing up with the "Absent Mother" wound similar to what boys have been experiencing for a while with dads in the workplace (Absent Father wound).

He then went on to talk about the good things a dad can build into his daughter's life simply by being involved. He mentioned an article written in an issue of U. S. News & World Report that concluded "Dad is destiny." According to the research done for the article, boys grow up more masculine and girls grow up more feminine if dad is involved in their lives. If dad is there, specifically focusing on the girls for this post, the daughter has a higher chance of feeling secure in her identity as a woman, and have better relations with boys. This seems to follow logically simply from observations I have made about various women that I've met. Conversely if dad isn't there, daughters are more likely to develop insecurities and anxieties and have a tougher time forming healthy relationships with men. It becomes obvious that "Dad" is very important to the daughters as well as the sons.

Mr. Lewis concluded with giving a list of 5 things that a dad can do to help give his daughter a better head start.

1) To establish a clear definition of what it means to be a real woman (more on this later).

2) Help mom stay home with the children, especially in their first critical years of life. (research shows that 75% of our knowledge is gained in the first 5 years of life)

3) Support, honor and cheer for true feminine values in his wife and daughters.

4) Dad can date his daughters and stay involved in their lives on a personal level.

5) Encourage participation in ceremonies celebrating true femininity.

As I was reading Raising a Modern Day Knight, my wife has been reading Raising a Modern Day Princess. She tells me that it goes into great detail as to what these ceremonies might look like. I haven't quite convinced her of the power of ceremony as much as I'd like. She comes from a family that's not really big on formality but is much more practical.

Now what I would really like some discussion on in the comments down below: The definition Robert Lewis gave for a real woman.

"A real woman is one who rejects worldly temptations to significance, believes in God's priorities, nurtures the next generation and expects God's greater reward."

He explained each section in detail, so before you pass judgment on that wording alone let me try and expound on what I got out of his explanations.

1)"Rejects worldly temptations to significance" - in other words a real woman doesn't get her significance from the world but rather from God and His purposes.

2)"Believes in God's priorities" - a real woman searches out the Scriptures and can discern what is "His good, pleasing and perfect will."  (Romans 12:2).

3)"Nurtures the next generation" - a real woman uses her God given abilities to care for those younger than herself. Real nurturing, he pointed out, takes a significant amount of time.

4)"Expects God's greater reward" - this one is the same as the end of the definition for manhood. I believe that this points out that Christians, whether male or female, are all "one in Christ." (Galatians 3:28) The sameness here isn't in role or make-up but rather spiritual. We all sin, we all need Christ.

I am interested in hearing a woman's perspective on this definition and would ask that you feel free to share your thoughts with me. As a man, I feel like this is a good definition for what it means to be a woman, but since I'm not a woman I can't really say. My wife and I have talked it over, but we were interested in getting more input as well as we raise our daughter. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.