I am a dad of 2 beautiful girls, and I am dreading the whole dating scene. Being a former “dater” and “boyfriend” myself, I know what goes on in a young man’s mind when at the age of dating. I remember one “interview” I had with one girl’s dad I was dating. He basically took me into his office where he had some hunting trophies on his wall, pointed to a bare spot on the wall, and said, “that spot is reserved for YOUR head, if you do anything with my daughter.” Yeah, not gonna forget that talk anytime soon…
Luckily, I have acquired my grandfather’s shot gun and have it on standby in order to get the attention of the boys who attempt to come “a-courtin”. Comedian Ken Davis has the whole father-dating issue figured out. He says, “…use the shotgun on the first boy that comes calling for your daughter. Leave the body on the front porch as a deterrent for any other boys that may come along. They will come to the house, see what’s on the porch and say, ‘Nope, she ain’t worth that!!!’ “
Ok, I’m not going to shoot anyone (hmmm), but one of the activities I plan to employ as a father is the old “date interview.” I actually plan to have some fun with them, but at the same time address a very serious issue of dating and my daughters. The shotgun will definitely be within eyesight of any boy that is brave (or insane) enough to ask me to date one of my girls.
The reason this has come to mind is that this week Dennis Rainey of Family Life Today has been going through a radio/podcast series about interviewing your daughters date. In the last broadcast, he presented the 8 points to interviewing your daughter’s date, which he has covered in his book – “Interviewing your daughters date.” Here are the 8 points Dr. Rainey emphasis when talking with your daughter’s date:
Point #1 – “A woman is God’s beautiful creation to be treated with nobility, kindness, care and respect.”
Point #2 – “The attraction of a young man to a young woman is both normal and very good.”
Point #3 – “I understand and remember the sex drive of a young man at 18 is really like.”
Point #4 – “I’m going to hold you accountable for your relationship with my daughter. (I reserve the right to ask you any questions I want!)”
Point #5 – “I challenge you as a young man to set a different standard for this relationship than the world would. (You will guard my daughters innocence, sexually and emotionally.)”
Point #6 – “I want to respect the dignity of my daughter by keeping your hands off my daughter.”
Point #7 – “Do you understand everything I have just said? Can we shake on it?”
Point #8 – “When you are a dad, I challenge your children someday to abide by these standards and to interview their dates.”
Even though I realize that I won’t be dealing with this issue for another 37 years, (ok, 13… maybe) I understand that my girls need me to be prepared for that time when I do meet their dates, and I can only be prepared through God’s grace and wisdom. I am already praying for my girls’ future husbands, that they will be Godly men and proper leaders for the home they will establish. But I know I must also take an active approach to protecting my girls during that very difficult (and getting more complicated by the day!) time of growing up.
For any of you fathers out there, any suggestions or stories you may want to share would be greatly appreciated! And for you young and new fathers, we all in this together, so let’s lift up each other in prayer.
And meet at the shooting range on Saturday for a little practice…
I just wanted to know who the father was that interviewed you! hahahaha!!!