by handofme

Created on: May 24, 2007

How to handle a special night out with your daughter is of course hugely depended on a very large set of variables. In this article we will take a look at the most difficult time of all, at least for most fathers. The teen years. A time when your sweet little girl will most likely be drifting into a spiral of insecurities and doubts. It's what we all went trough during our teen years and you'll do well to remember how life was in those days, even though yours will be a distinctly male perspective. First you must get to know your daughter. Even though you think you know her well, you probably don't. You may well know how she will react to many things but that is not enough. You'll need to find out what she enjoys doing. It's probably not the same things she enjoyed when she was eight. So a few questions over breakfast might be a good idea. However you should avoid interrogating her. Getting a teenager on the defensive will merely make them think "Oh my parents are so unfair!". So ask her engaging questions, don't be afraid to look slightly dumb. People have an inbuilt tendency to try and help those who are lost. So seeming like blundering old pap is much better then seeming like a interrogating meanie. Even if she goes into a long rant that you don't understand the half off, just sit back and listen and take in what you can. If you get completely lost a good plan B is to talk to her mother. Mothers are a somewhat more likely to know what's going on in a teenage girls mind.

When you have a pretty sure idea of what she enjoys doing, you'll probably find out that she'll be more interested in being with her friends than she is in being with her old man. So my suggestion for a first outing would be something fairly small and simple. Maybe take her out to dinner before she goes to meat her friends. It's a simple yet pleasurable way to spend a little time with your daughter. Keep the conversation light and without pressure, but more on that later.

After a few such outings she will come to reallies that parents aren't necessarily square old frumps, as indeed most teenagers believe we are. It is at this point you can start using the information you have gathered about her interests. For example while no teenage girl would enjoy going with her father to a rock concert, she may very well be thrilled to go to a classical concert with him. If she enjoys photographing take her to an exhibition or even take her somewhere you know where she can take beautifully photographs, if

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