Dads, Teach Your daughters How to Drill

Dad taught me how to put this knob on yesterday, but that's just the beginning. 

Some things come more naturally to me. I love to cook, and I love anything artsy. I enjoy decorating and organizing and hospitality. I have learned some things on my own, but I tend to learn best from someone showing me how to do something right. Apart from the skills that just come along the way, most things I would never be able to learn on my own.

Let me rephrase that – typically, I would never have the courage to learn some things on my own.

Enter Dad.

While working on some projects these past couple of days, Dad has not "let me off the hook" for pitching in, even when I don’t know what I’m doing. He patiently and eagerly teaches me and as soon as I learn it, I tend to think it’s actually pretty fun.

Yesterday I helped him install railings, hang pictures on the walls and replace knobs on drawers. He taught me how to use a drill, among other things. 

Dads, teaching your daughters to be able to handle home projects is more than just a good skill for them to have in their back pockets. It’s not just about helping a girl be more independent or capable or handy. It’s about showing your daughter that you believe she can try new things and succeed. By trusting her, she’ll understand that she can handle a saw or a drill or anything else life throws at her (just please not scary power tools - Dad, you can still protect me from those!).

So dads, next time you’re building a shelf or hanging a picture on the wall, invite your daughter to try it out. She might be hesitant, and she might think it’s unnecessary for her to learn, but it’s worth it when you're the one teaching her.

It’s not about the task; it’s about the relationship. It’s not about the drill or the hammer or the shiny knobs and it’s not about building stuff. It’s about building into your daughter in unconventional ways by showing her you want to share in the most regular tasks together, and you trust her to do a great job.

I’m still clueless about most tools and how Dad manages to fix anything (he's amazing at that), but at least I’ve added a few more skills to my repertoire. Plus, there’s the added perk that now if I need to hang a picture in my new apartment correctly or replace the handles on furniture, I’ll know how. Thanks, Dad.