8 Wonderful Reasons to Date Your Daughter this Valentine's Day

Although we primarily associate Valentine's Day with romantic love (mostly due to the history of St. Valentine and his reputation for having secretly married couples who weren't legally allowed to be married at the time), love comes in many forms, and all of these varied and beautiful forms deserves to be celebrated on Valentine's Day. Children, in particular, are the product of love and often represent the best things about ourselves. February 14th is a great excuse to spoil not only your wife, but your daughter as well. Fathers and daughters share a special bond with one another, so why not use this holiday as a reason to celebrate that together?

If you need reasons to engage in these fun and loving dates with your daughter, read no further: This article is full of all the reasons why fathers should consider dating their daughter a priority on Valentine's Day and throughout the year as well. You will also find beautiful photographs of fathers with their daughters and inspiring music to remind you how special your daughter is and how important she is in your life.

When your daughter is a little girl, you, her father, are the center of her universe and the most important person in her life. Surprised? Some studies indicate that a father's affection and teaching is even more important than that of mother. You will be the first man to ever tell your daughter that she's beautiful, the first one ever to love her and to hold her. While she's little and still looks to hold your hand, you need to take this precious time to show her what love is really all about. For right now, you're the first man in her life, but you won't always hold that title. Before too long, you'll find that she's ready for you to walk her down the aisle, so you should cherish the time that you have now to date your little girl.

Spend this time with her, because the time you have will go all too fast, and before you know it she'll be a teenager and won't want to give you the time of day. Enjoy Valentine's Day by taking your daughter out and treating her like your number one because when she's little, you are your daughter's main man.

Your wife is probably the center of your world. If your marriage is a good one, this is how it should be. But this shouldn't stop you from spending some time focusing entirely on your daughter when the two of you have an opportunity to be together. Valentine's Day is a good time to start this tradition because it is a day of love and courtship. When you start dating your daughter early, you teach her what it means to be courted, and you have the opportunity to show her the difference between dating and true courtship. While couples romance one another on February 14th, you can show her how much she means not only to you, but how important she is on the whole.

When you put your focus on your daughter -- no matter how young -- you express your feelings of love for her. So turn off your cell phone or pager and set aside the time that is just for the two of you, time you'll spend together without distractions or interruptions. Make sure that it's just the two of you. If you have more than one daughter, take them out separately, the same way that she would go out with a boy as a teenager or young adult.

Dating your daughter gives you a unique opportunity to teach your daughter how a man should treat her. If you take this time to set the bar high, showing her that she is deserving of love (and not just the kind that is spoken but the kind that is shown to her) she'll always be looking for a boy who can treat her as well as her father treated her. Little girls often grow up to look for men who treat them the way that their fathers treated them, so if you show her that she's worthy of good things in her life, she will set out -- when dating time comes -- to meet someone who will love her as much as you do and largely in the ways that you do. If you set the bar high, you know that she'll only accept the love she deserves.

"We accept the love we think we deserve." - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Most of the time, your wife should be your priority. If you cannot put your wife first, the children will suffer as a result. Remember that one day you'll want your daughter to grow up and be some man's priority, and you serve both your children and your wife when you put your wife in the priority position in your life.

That being said, there are times when it is appropriate to put your children in a position of priority. When you take your daughter out for a daddy/daughter date, you're showing her how important she is to you. By making her a priority, you're showing her that one day, she should expect for a man to make her a priority. Give your daughter the focus of your attention on Valentine's Day and throughout the year during daddy/daughter dates.

Valentine's Day, as a romantic holiday, is a good time to explain to your daughter why you wish for her to remain pure until she's more mature and ready to handle a mature relationship. This is the time to explain to her that once you've joined with someone, you can never fully separate again, and that romance and sex go hand in hand with one another. Not only can you explain to her the consequences of physical love with a partner, but you can encourage her to wait until she's ready (both physically and emotionally) for that type of relationship.

Because of its reputation as a day of love, this is an excellent time to purchase a purity ring for your pre-teen or teenage daughter. Choose something that suits her style and which you know she'll wear. When giving your daughter a purity ring, make sure that you express to her that this is your gift of love to her, but also her loving herself enough to wait until she's found her true love. It doesn't have to mean waiting for marriage: You just want to make sure that whoever she gives herself to deserves her!

Every little girl wants to be special. There's a hole in her heart and she yearns for that hole to be filled by someone who just knows that she's amazing in every possible way. When you choose to take your daughter out for a date (whether on Valentine's Day or other days of the year), you're showing her that she's special and important, not just to you but in general. You build her self-esteem and teach her that she is worthy of love at the deepest level. Showing her this kind of love is one step that you can take to ensuring her purity.

Little girls need attention from their fathers. Many men are busy during the week, working on things for their jobs or taking of chores around the house. When you're home and available, your little girl wants your time so that she can spend time with you and in your company. She wants to talk to you and catch up on things you might both have missed during the week. When you date your daughter -- whether at Valentine's Day or throughout the year -- you're showing her that you always have a listening ear for her and are eager to hear what she has to say to you.

One night a week, or every two weeks, isn't too much to ask, and it may make a world of difference in your daughter's life. If you can show her that you're listening to her now, when your focus is on her and particularly when she's young, you can help to encourage her to come to you with her problems as she gets older.

Spending time -- one on one -- with your daughter during daddy/daughter dates gives you a unique opportunity to bond with her. Most little girls chatter incessantly, going mostly ignored. This is a time when you can focus on what she's saying, what she's trying to impress upon you, and in so doing, form a tighter bond with your daughter. When she talks to you, show her that you're listening, and you will build trust that you may not have previously had. Even if you choose to do something with your daughter that puts you "shoulder to shoulder" instead of talking to one another, you're still bonding and communicating. What a lovely way to get closer to your little girl!

Take time during your date to hold her hand and to offer her physical contact with you. This type of contact is important to maintaining familial bonds with children, and you'll grow closer because of it. Hand-holding is perfect for this!

Take your daughter out for Valentine's Day this year and you're sure to create memories that will last you both a lifetime. When you spend time together you're making sure that you last in her memory and that you're leaving your legacy behind. Beside which, children carry these thoughts and feelings throughout their lives, and when you show her how special she is to you, she'll always keep in mind what it was like spending these special dates with dad. Thanks to your dates, she'll choose men who respect her and love her, and she will pass this on to your grandchildren. What better legacy could there be?