Preamble: I've been sitting on this post for more than a week. Not sure why. Then I came across this video, doing the rounds on Facebook, and I knew this post has its place.

My dearest brother,

Congratulations to you and my sister-in-law, on the birth of your third child! A girl! After two boys, something completely different, but equally a little miracle.

Now I know I am the last person on earth suitable to give you parenting advice; I don't have any children, and you do a wonderful job, as anyone who knows your two sons will testify.

But I can give some advice on how a daughter may think about her father, because for the past 36 years and a bit, I have been the daughter of a dad who has done (and still does!) an excellent job at being a dad to a girl.

There will come a time- and this seems centuries away at this moment- when she'll no longer live in your house, my dearest brother. She may end up like her aunt in some far-away country, where you can't come and help her. And because there may not always be a man around, my advice is: get her some tools. They will come in handy when she's putting that Ikea shelf together... (probably for the fifth time if she is destined to become a peripatetic academic)

Below a picture of one of the most useful gifts ever. All the bits you could possibly need, and a good, comfortable grip on that handle. Personally selected by dad. (Thanks dad!)

And make sure the tools are sturdy, not the pink ones with sparkles, the ones that fall apart as you look at them; even if that is what she says she wants. Because screws are not pink and sparkly either. If nothing else, a 30mm adjustable wrench may be useful for self-defence purposes. Don't forget to teach her some kungfu moves, in that case. (Equally useful for that purpose may be this cast-iron pancake pan, provided courtesy of mum.)

All this just to say: good tools are not a prerogative of the male world. Thanks, dad, for being completely without prejudice about what a girl should be like, and what she should have in her toolbox next to the sewing kit! 🙂