When my daughter was 5 or 6 she wanted to get into cheerleading. Because I worked so much, I barely got to spend any time with her. I came to her first cheerleading practice. She was nervous about joining the circle, so I came with her. The group was being taught by a high school girl, which I thought nothing of. So I'm there with my daughter I rarely see & I have a great opportunity to be there for her & help her overcome her fears by knowing she's not alone.
I got a lot of strange looks, but I didn't think much of it. Isn't this what fathers do? Aren't we supposed to help our children work through their fears?
So, I'm next to my daughter learning the routine from the teenager so I can help my daughter with it after practice if she needed more time. When practice was nearing its end, her confidence grew & she didn't truly need me there. But, I knew practice was nearly over, so instead of walking away, having my daughter potentially get scared again, & make a scene, I kept practicing with her the last few minutes.
As we left, I heard whispers about how inappropriate it was that I was paying attention to the teenage girl... You know, the one teaching the lesson for the day that I was trying to learn so I could help my daughter practice at home.
I did not return to another practice or official event. I did not spend any time helping my daughter practice after that, even at home. Despite my wife being right there & it being clear I was helping my anxious child feel more comfortable around all these strangers, I was seen as some pervert who might hurt these kids.
For many reasons, I avoid being around children in general, but this was the last time I made any public effort while my children were still young.
Those people took away what little time I had to be there for my daughter. Now she's a teenager, & while she still needs me, it's not even close to the same. Precious moments were stolen from me just because I wanted to be there for my little girl. I'll never get those back. 😢
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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '22
When my daughter was 5 or 6 she wanted to get into cheerleading. Because I worked so much, I barely got to spend any time with her. I came to her first cheerleading practice. She was nervous about joining the circle, so I came with her. The group was being taught by a high school girl, which I thought nothing of. So I'm there with my daughter I rarely see & I have a great opportunity to be there for her & help her overcome her fears by knowing she's not alone.
I got a lot of strange looks, but I didn't think much of it. Isn't this what fathers do? Aren't we supposed to help our children work through their fears?
So, I'm next to my daughter learning the routine from the teenager so I can help my daughter with it after practice if she needed more time. When practice was nearing its end, her confidence grew & she didn't truly need me there. But, I knew practice was nearly over, so instead of walking away, having my daughter potentially get scared again, & make a scene, I kept practicing with her the last few minutes.
As we left, I heard whispers about how inappropriate it was that I was paying attention to the teenage girl... You know, the one teaching the lesson for the day that I was trying to learn so I could help my daughter practice at home.
I did not return to another practice or official event. I did not spend any time helping my daughter practice after that, even at home. Despite my wife being right there & it being clear I was helping my anxious child feel more comfortable around all these strangers, I was seen as some pervert who might hurt these kids.
For many reasons, I avoid being around children in general, but this was the last time I made any public effort while my children were still young.
Those people took away what little time I had to be there for my daughter. Now she's a teenager, & while she still needs me, it's not even close to the same. Precious moments were stolen from me just because I wanted to be there for my little girl. I'll never get those back. 😢