Top 10 Legacies DODOs Should Leave Their Daughters 

1. Faith – Nothing is more important in this life than a strong faith in a creator who loves her. Building her faith and challenging her with ethical dilemmas before she encounters them in real life will leave her well grounded for any situation she’s likely to encounter. Plus, you’ll ensure you’ll ensure her place in eternity.

2. 10-20-30-40 – This is another important legacy you can leave because if she can develop strong financial discipline before she moves out of the house, chances are very good you will eliminate a great deal of problems in her marriage and in her life. Encourage your daughter to give away 10 percent of whatever she earns, save 20 percent, invest 30 percent and spend 40 percent. Tracking investments is a great activity for you to do together and so she can learn where to place her money wisely.

3. Love Her Mother – Remember, studies show your daughter will likely marry someone who is just like you. If you can demonstrate how a real man loves and serves the women in his life, you’ll raise the bar for her future relationships. She’ll immediately be able to spot posers when she gets to dating age. Tip for divorced DODOs: Her mother may truly be a single-minded, self-centered, selfish witch. Your daughter doesn’t need to hear that coming from your lips. If it’s true, your daughter will discover that all by herself. Take the high road. Demonstrating love for her mother is as simple as making sure you don’t degrade your ex-wife in front of others and making sure your daughter remembers her mother’s birthday as well as Mothers Day.

4. Self-Defense – Let’s face it, it’s a dangerous world for girls. Most girls (some studies say three out of every four) will be sexually harassed or assaulted before their 25th birthday. A Wisconsin attorney general once noted that the likelihood an underage girl would be hit up sexually online within 10 minutes of identifying herself as such in a chatroom is 100 percent. Teach your daughter basic street safety and Internet sensibility. Teach her defensive strategies to get out of any situation in which she finds herself in physical danger. If you can’t teach her, take a karate class together.

5. Conversation – One of the most valuable tools you can give her is the ability to communicate effectively. Put her in situations where she must introduce herself to others or engage people in conversation. Teach her ways to take an active interest in the lives of others. Your daughter may never be the most popular girl in school, but she’ll be the most respected if she learns to take an interest in the lives of her classmates. Remember, when your daughter is dating, you want her conversing with the guy because when the conversation stops, sex starts. More importantly, you can give her a significant advantage in the working world by teaching her to become a comfortable communicator.

6. Roots – Ensure she understands her family history. Show her where you grew up or talk about what life was like for you when you were her age. It will help her realize that you really do know what she’s feeling. Help her to understand what choices you would have made differently knowing what you know now. Make sure she knows about her grandparents, too. Introduce her to her aunts and uncles and make sure she spends lots of time with them. By giving her roots, you’ll give her wings.

7. Help Her Find A Mate – Sometime between ages 11 and 14 (just before your daughter takes an interest in dating), have her write down a list of all the qualities she wants in a prospective husband. Have her list physical attributes and personality qualities. She might include his career aspiration as an indication of the lifestyle she wants to enjoy. It’s a well known fact that girls date to mate. In other words, your daughter will marry someone she’s dated. So, you might as well get her thinking in that regard early in here life. By completing this exercise, you get her to focus her mind on the kinds of guys she wants to spend time with. Then, when the idiot with the exposed underwear and ball cap on backwards asks her out, hopefully she’ll be more discerning in rejecting a date based on emotion (he’s hot) in favor of a more rational approach (he matches 16 of my top 25 qualities).

8. Keep The Door Open – You might not be able to attend every one of her performances, sporting events or award ceremonies. But, you should make every attempt to attend as many as you can. Simply being there tells her that you value her and think she is worthy of your time. As she gets older, she’ll want to spend less and less time with you. That’s normal. In fact, it may be heartbreaking for you to have your daughter give you the cold shoulder much of the time. Don’t worry, if you maintain an open door policy that says she can come to you any time, she’ll reach out in her teen years. The key is to be available and ready to seize the opportunity. If she comes home after a bad day, she might not want to talk about the problem, but taking a trip to the ice cream store may be just the remedy.

9. Healthy Lifestyle – An active lifestyle punctuated by well-balanced food will help lay the foundation for a lifetime of good health. Girls are so weight conscious in the first place. By helping them make healthy choices early in their lives, you’ll help them maintain a positive self-image. Tip for all DODOs: Regardless of her appearance, your daughter is NEVER fat, chubby, chunky, big boned, obese, overweight, thick, solid or any other term that suggests she is overweight. One of the absolute worst things a father can do to his daughter is suggest she is fat. It's true -- one simple joking comment can devastate her psychologically and literally destroy your relationship for years. She'll have plenty of other father-bashing things to discuss with her therapist when she's 30, don't give her this type of ammunition.

10. Work Ethic – People born after 1985 are referred to as the Millennial Generation. The older Millennials are entering the workforce and it’s quickly becoming apparent that many haven’t got a clue how to be effective, contributing members of a workforce. You can put your daughter at a tremendous advantage by instilling a positive work ethic. How? Teach her perseverance. If she committed to a class or activity, don’t let her quit when the going gets tough. Teach her the benefit of going the extra mile. Require her to do all extra credit work whether or not she needs the points to boost her grade. Help her to set measurable, reachable goals. If she's employed, partern with her boss to make sure that she's exhibiting a strong work ethic.

11. Common Sense – Okay, we added a bonus quality. All kids seem to lack common sense at some point in their lives. But today's generation of females seem oblivious to the long-term effects of the decisions they make as teens and young adults. Some of the biggest areas in which girls are absolutely clueless are personal Web pages, tattoos and piercings. Ask any human resources professional and you'll likely learn that they are Googling the names of people who apply for jobs. If your daughter has pictures of her passed out or drinking on any web page, it will signal an alcohol problem – goodbye job. If she has a visible tattoo, it can reduce her annual earnings by as much as 20 percent, according to some studies. Unless she's apply for a minimum wage job (and has no plans to advance beyond that) she'd better not show up for an interview with a pierced tongue, eyebrow, lip or nose. Also help her to understand that the Internet is forever. The seductive poses she does for the guy she's in love with this week may haunt her for the rest of her life.

Top 10 Legacies DODOs Should Leave Their Daughters 

1. Faith – Nothing is more important in this life than a strong faith in a creator who loves her. Building her faith and challenging her with ethical dilemmas before she encounters them in real life will leave her well grounded for any situation she’s likely to encounter. Plus, you’ll ensure you’ll ensure her place in eternity.

2. 10-20-30-40 – This is another important legacy you can leave because if she can develop strong financial discipline before she moves out of the house, chances are very good you will eliminate a great deal of problems in her marriage and in her life. Encourage your daughter to give away 10 percent of whatever she earns, save 20 percent, invest 30 percent and spend 40 percent. Tracking investments is a great activity for you to do together and so she can learn where to place her money wisely.

3. Love Her Mother – Remember, studies show your daughter will likely marry someone who is just like you. If you can demonstrate how a real man loves and serves the women in his life, you’ll raise the bar for her future relationships. She’ll immediately be able to spot posers when she gets to dating age. Tip for divorced DODOs: Her mother may truly be a single-minded, self-centered, selfish witch. Your daughter doesn’t need to hear that coming from your lips. If it’s true, your daughter will discover that all by herself. Take the high road. Demonstrating love for her mother is as simple as making sure you don’t degrade your ex-wife in front of others and making sure your daughter remembers her mother’s birthday as well as Mothers Day.

4. Self-Defense – Let’s face it, it’s a dangerous world for girls. Most girls (some studies say three out of every four) will be sexually harassed or assaulted before their 25th birthday. A Wisconsin attorney general once noted that the likelihood an underage girl would be hit up sexually online within 10 minutes of identifying herself as such in a chatroom is 100 percent. Teach your daughter basic street safety and Internet sensibility. Teach her defensive strategies to get out of any situation in which she finds herself in physical danger. If you can’t teach her, take a karate class together.

5. Conversation – One of the most valuable tools you can give her is the ability to communicate effectively. Put her in situations where she must introduce herself to others or engage people in conversation. Teach her ways to take an active interest in the lives of others. Your daughter may never be the most popular girl in school, but she’ll be the most respected if she learns to take an interest in the lives of her classmates. Remember, when your daughter is dating, you want her conversing with the guy because when the conversation stops, sex starts. More importantly, you can give her a significant advantage in the working world by teaching her to become a comfortable communicator.

6. Roots – Ensure she understands her family history. Show her where you grew up or talk about what life was like for you when you were her age. It will help her realize that you really do know what she’s feeling. Help her to understand what choices you would have made differently knowing what you know now. Make sure she knows about her grandparents, too. Introduce her to her aunts and uncles and make sure she spends lots of time with them. By giving her roots, you’ll give her wings.

7. Help Her Find A Mate – Sometime between ages 11 and 14 (just before your daughter takes an interest in dating), have her write down a list of all the qualities she wants in a prospective husband. Have her list physical attributes and personality qualities. She might include his career aspiration as an indication of the lifestyle she wants to enjoy. It’s a well known fact that girls date to mate. In other words, your daughter will marry someone she’s dated. So, you might as well get her thinking in that regard early in here life. By completing this exercise, you get her to focus her mind on the kinds of guys she wants to spend time with. Then, when the idiot with the exposed underwear and ball cap on backwards asks her out, hopefully she’ll be more discerning in rejecting a date based on emotion (he’s hot) in favor of a more rational approach (he matches 16 of my top 25 qualities).

8. Keep The Door Open – You might not be able to attend every one of her performances, sporting events or award ceremonies. But, you should make every attempt to attend as many as you can. Simply being there tells her that you value her and think she is worthy of your time. As she gets older, she’ll want to spend less and less time with you. That’s normal. In fact, it may be heartbreaking for you to have your daughter give you the cold shoulder much of the time. Don’t worry, if you maintain an open door policy that says she can come to you any time, she’ll reach out in her teen years. The key is to be available and ready to seize the opportunity. If she comes home after a bad day, she might not want to talk about the problem, but taking a trip to the ice cream store may be just the remedy.

9. Healthy Lifestyle – An active lifestyle punctuated by well-balanced food will help lay the foundation for a lifetime of good health. Girls are so weight conscious in the first place. By helping them make healthy choices early in their lives, you’ll help them maintain a positive self-image. Tip for all DODOs: Regardless of her appearance, your daughter is NEVER fat, chubby, chunky, big boned, obese, overweight, thick, solid or any other term that suggests she is overweight. One of the absolute worst things a father can do to his daughter is suggest she is fat. It's true -- one simple joking comment can devastate her psychologically and literally destroy your relationship for years. She'll have plenty of other father-bashing things to discuss with her therapist when she's 30, don't give her this type of ammunition.

10. Work Ethic – People born after 1985 are referred to as the Millennial Generation. The older Millennials are entering the workforce and it’s quickly becoming apparent that many haven’t got a clue how to be effective, contributing members of a workforce. You can put your daughter at a tremendous advantage by instilling a positive work ethic. How? Teach her perseverance. If she committed to a class or activity, don’t let her quit when the going gets tough. Teach her the benefit of going the extra mile. Require her to do all extra credit work whether or not she needs the points to boost her grade. Help her to set measurable, reachable goals. If she's employed, partern with her boss to make sure that she's exhibiting a strong work ethic.

11. Common Sense – Okay, we added a bonus quality. All kids seem to lack common sense at some point in their lives. But today's generation of females seem oblivious to the long-term effects of the decisions they make as teens and young adults. Some of the biggest areas in which girls are absolutely clueless are personal Web pages, tattoos and piercings. Ask any human resources professional and you'll likely learn that they are Googling the names of people who apply for jobs. If your daughter has pictures of her passed out or drinking on any web page, it will signal an alcohol problem – goodbye job. If she has a visible tattoo, it can reduce her annual earnings by as much as 20 percent, according to some studies. Unless she's apply for a minimum wage job (and has no plans to advance beyond that) she'd better not show up for an interview with a pierced tongue, eyebrow, lip or nose. Also help her to understand that the Internet is forever. The seductive poses she does for the guy she's in love with this week may haunt her for the rest of her life.