The daddy-daughter tie

A father's relationship with his daughter is marked by deep protection. In fact, a non-protective father can leave to grow up with a deep need for security. However, a father needs to wean his daughter off at adolescence so that she does not cling to him for every decision or search for a father figure in her potential boyfriends and partners.

Girls tend to worship their father and enjoy the protective nature as long as it comes with privileges. This may pit the father against the mother unless they put up a united front.

When the daughter turns four, she demands a lot of attention from her father and the scenario can get difficult for the wife. Girls tend to be possessive about their fathers and if not nipped at the bud, this can blossom into aggressive jealousy in the teenage years. They would not like their mothers to look attractive or young, and may disrespect them when the father is not around. They would also complain about their mothers to their fathers.

Faced with this behaviour, mothers could start competing with their daughters for their husband's attention. They might try to look younger and dress like their daughters; or use the fathers to get them to toe the line as they know she fears falling out of grace with him.

Like the mother-son relationship, the father-daughter relationship also takes on sexual undertones when the daughter realises that the parents share a bed. Yet all of this can be sorted and smoothened diplomatically with a bit of awareness and a firm hand.

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