First cent:
Honestly, it doesn't matter what the dad wants his daughter to be, nor does it matter that the daughter's current fascination is princesses. Encourage her to be whatever she wants to be, and be a bad-ass at it.
Second cent:
My parents did me many favors growing up, from helping me understand how the world works to making me fix the things I've broken, below ive summarized what anyone could do with their child to become what they want with a stable set of skills that will always be useful.
For pointers on helping the daughter think critically and logically:
0) help her be comfortable in her own skin, always
1) any and all questions she has, give her the real answer in words shell understand, but never over simplify
2) encourage her to read, read, and read.
3) make sure legos, building blocks, tinker toys, and/or linking logs are readily available and in good supply. This way, her princesses have an excellent castle to live in.
4) encourage her imagination. help her write down the stories she comes up with, make up brand new bedtime stories with her, draw, etc.
5) give her a white board to "play" with. this will help if she has any frustration with building exactly what she wants with whatever she has.
6) when shes older, give her an old broken sewing machine and help her fix it. you get to help her fix something she will value, and you can have her mend her own clothes.
7) she wants a tree house? give her some graph paper and say "design it"
8) fixing something around the house? make her the gopher. shell love to help, and pick up a few things along the way.
I hope this helps.
Slashdot Mirror
First cent: Honestly, it doesn't matter what the dad wants his daughter to be, nor does it matter that the daughter's current fascination is princesses. Encourage her to be whatever she wants to be, and be a bad-ass at it. Second cent: My parents did me many favors growing up, from helping me understand how the world works to making me fix the things I've broken, below ive summarized what anyone could do with their child to become what they want with a stable set of skills that will always be useful. For pointers on helping the daughter think critically and logically: 0) help her be comfortable in her own skin, always 1) any and all questions she has, give her the real answer in words shell understand, but never over simplify 2) encourage her to read, read, and read. 3) make sure legos, building blocks, tinker toys, and/or linking logs are readily available and in good supply. This way, her princesses have an excellent castle to live in. 4) encourage her imagination. help her write down the stories she comes up with, make up brand new bedtime stories with her, draw, etc. 5) give her a white board to "play" with. this will help if she has any frustration with building exactly what she wants with whatever she has. 6) when shes older, give her an old broken sewing machine and help her fix it. you get to help her fix something she will value, and you can have her mend her own clothes. 7) she wants a tree house? give her some graph paper and say "design it" 8) fixing something around the house? make her the gopher. shell love to help, and pick up a few things along the way. I hope this helps.