The all-important dad and daughter relationship has come under scrutiny in recent years. With divorce rates as prevalent as they are in our society, it is important to look at how divorce affects parent-child relationships. Since divorce will ultimately change the circumstances of everyday life, child custody orders need to be taken into account when considering the divorce's effect on the parent-child relationship. For Massachusetts fathers specifically, how can they foster relationships with their daughters, post-divorce?
It is no secret that although award of primary physical custody to fathers is on the rise, most children end up in the primary child custody of the mother. There are many reasons for this, but regardless of these, many fathers want to be a positive presence in their daughters' lives whether or not they are they have the majority of physical custody. It is possible to foster the father-daughter relationship even without primary physical custody or any custody at all.
There are ways for a father to strengthen his relationship with his daughter, while simultaneously empowering her, which is in the child's best interests. If a father encourages certain behaviors in his daughter such as being assertive and making healthy choices, it can positively affect her in ways that can encourage more of these decisions. Also, it is recommended that dads encourages their daughters' interests and get involved in the things they are interested in. Despite any custody arrangements, these specific behaviors coming from her father can set an extremely positive tone, despite the change in custody arrangement.
These tips could help any father-daughter relationship, however, it is especially critical that divorced fathers, who may be seeing less of their daughters, take these tips to heart. Since custody arrangements oftentimes have this effect on the father-child relationship, sometimes a father finds that he has a to work a little harder to make the positive impact he once had. A custody arrangement can certainly be an adjustment, but it is not impossible to foster a healthy relationship with your child. Finding new ways to become a positive force in your child's life should be one of the top priorities after the establishment of a child custody order.
Source: goodmenproject.com, "8 ways dads can empower their daughters post-divorce," Terry Gaspard, June 6, 2016
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