Father-Daughter Relationship After Divorce and How to Deal with It

The relationship between a father and daughter is a very intimate one. The way a father treats his daughter has a life-long impact on her. 

And how fathers affect their daughters?

Well, every daughter sees her father as an ideal man. And throughout her life, even after marriage, she tries to find her father’s qualities in her husband; someone who treats her like a princess, makes her feel special and protects her.

In short, the bond between the two is firm. And this bond is different from that of a mother and daughter. 

However, this father-daughter relationship after a divorce changes whether it’s the father that has been divorced or the daughter. Let us see what disruption a divorce causes in this relationship, how it affects girls with divorced parents, and dads dealing with divorce.

Note that a father-daughter relationship after divorce is different from a mother-daughter relationship after divorce. Have a look at changes that might occur to the relationship between dads and daughters after divorce.

1. The daughter hates her father after divorce for leaving her mother and turning a happy family into a broken family.
2. She hates her father because he says terrible things about her mom or abuses her.
3. As a result, the father-daughter relationship after divorce results in daughters getting closer to their mothers and spending quality time with them. And they are less happy in their dad’s company after divorce.
4. Divorced dads fail to understand their daughter’s interests, needs, and the joys she had dreamed of. So a gap increases between them.
5. The daughters might face trust issues when they enter into a relationship with their loved ones; because the most trustworthy man in a girl’s life is her father, and if he breaks her trust, she loses faith in every man.
6. One more reason for hatred of daughters towards their fathers is their rising interest in some other woman and his kids from his second marriage.

Thus, these are a few points that show the impact on the father-daughter relationship after divorce. On the other hand, there are solutions for being a good dad after divorce as well. Know some advice for dads going through a divorce on how to reconnect with your child after divorce.

Improving the father-daughter relationship after divorce

There are many ways for how to be the best dad after the divorce which can foster a father-daughter relationship after divorce and be the 

Here are some divorce advice for dads:

1. Keep in mind not to abuse your ex-wife that is the mother of your daughter. She might get hurt because her mother is still her ideal woman.
2. Keep in touch with your daughter through social media. Text her, remind her of you, and show that you still care for her.
3. Encourage her to be with both her parents as she needs them the most in her adolescence.
4. Motivate her to achieve her goals and stand by her in times of trouble.
5. Do not try to put restrictions on her. Give her space and freedom to grow and live freely. Trust her!
6. Last and most important is to express your love to your daughter. Show her how much you care for her. Give her hugs so that she feels your existence in her life.
7. Do not discuss the issues between your wife and yourself with your daughter. Children get easily affected by such things and might begin taking sides. So, take care of her mental health by keeping her out of your issues.
8. Don’t ask her about your ex-wife. If your daughter meets her mother or comes to meet you, don’t try to bring out personal details.
9. Be involved in your child’s activities. Whether it is sports or any craft activity, show you interest in whatever she does, and encourage your child.
10. Give her attention. Make sure parenting is your focus when you are spending time with her. Keep your distractions away.

In the video below, Herve explains how he told his daughter about their separation and how this approach helps other families minimize the traumatic impact of separation.

Repairing the broken father-daughter relationships

Besides the father, the daughter should also fulfill some of her duties towards her father. Let’s read a little about it too.

1. Never hate your father because no matter what goes on in life, in the end, he is the only one you would find beside you.
2. Be true and honest with your father. Share what you feel.
3. Tell him about your needs. It is important for him to know if you need his time.
4. If your mind gets disturbed after the divorce, try to bring things back to their path. Build trust and love for each other.  
5. Never presume anything about your parents’ relationship. 
6. Don’t be prejudiced towards one parent. No matter what the reasons were for your parents breaking apart, show love and respect to each of them.
7.  Be thankful to your parents for not letting you get affected by their problems.

These are the tips that fathers and daughters need to follow. Although distant father-daughter relationships can be tough to deal with, we should never kill these relations. These are the blood relations that we live for. So we should always try to maintain them and keep them healthy.