The change in distance after changing how I interact with my daughter

As I wrote in my previous article,

my wife once told me,

"She's a girl, you know, she's sensitive."

Those words stayed in my mind,

and I decided to try changing how I interact with my daughter a little.

Until now,

I would scold her immediately if something happened,

or say things like,

"Why can't you do it?"

I had feelings I wanted to convey to my daughter, but,

looking back, I think there were times when I was just projecting my own emotions onto her.

So, first of all,

I started making a conscious effort to make eye contact when listening to my daughter.

Instead of listening while standing, I crouch down to be at her eye level.

And then,

I ask,

"What's wrong?"

Since doing that,

I feel like she has started to share her feelings with me more than before.

Things that happened at school.

Things about her friends.

Things that happened on the bus.

Listening to her talk, I feel that she is thinking about many things in her own way.

And there is one more thing I am conscious of.

That is,

telling her, "Mom and Dad are always on your side."

I make sure to tell her that.

Even on days when things don't go well,

even on days when she makes a mistake,

I have come to think that I should be on her side first.

That is how I have come to think.

However, that does not mean I forgive everything.

Things involving life and death or hurting others, or table manners.

I still repeatedly teach her those important things.

Sometimes I do get angry.

But instead of getting angry based on my emotions like before,

I am conscious of explaining "why it is not okay."

It is not just about being kind,

but also not just about being strict.

It's not just about being strict.

That balance might be my own way of parenting now.

I used to think that parenting was about raising a child.

But lately,

rather than trying to change my daughter,

I've come to think that it's more important for me to change myself first.

I still make mistakes all the time.

Even so, when my daughter grows up,

I hope she thinks, 'My dad was someone who really listened to me.'

I would be happy if she felt that way.

Do you have any experiences where changing how you interact with your children turned out for the better?