Letters to the Editor
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This is as bad as Promise Keepers
I am a father of a tiny, amazing 21-month old daughter, and she is the astonishing, delightful, wacko, Elmo-worshipping light of my life. Because of that, I would NEVER do something this sad and strange. Look, if you have to take a pledge to love your daughter and protect her, and you have to take her out to a weirdo cotillion to make her feel like you think she's special and beautiful, then you're not much of a father to begin with. It's just like that nutso Promise Keepers Christian group. If you have to take a pledge to do something you should be doing anyway, like be a good husband and an honorable man, you're neither.
I will let my daughter know she's wonderful by proving it to her through my actions--by being attentive and goofy and listening to what she has to say, even now when I can't understand 90% of it. Doesn't matter. It's what she has to say and it's music. And I'll raise her so that when she's 12, she's smart and forthright and self-assured enough to make strong, wise decisions, as much as a 12-year-old can. When she screws up, I'll help her understand why. I'll teach her about sex so that she knows why I'm sitting in the living room with a shotgun across my knees when she's on a date (just kidding). I'll help her become a marvelous young adult and then step away and trust her.
Dads? Husbands? Shut up. Talk is cheap. Just do it.