As a father, the older your daughter gets, the more difficult it can be to feel connected. You can’t throw her over your shoulder or tickle torture her like when she was a child, but you still want to remain close so she will never doubt your love for her. Here are five father-daughter activities you can do together that are fun, and allow you an opportunity to get to know your daughter again.

Hiking Together

Go out on a hike together. There is something special about being out in nature, separated from all the worries of everyday life. By going on a hike together, you are giving your daughter an opportunity to forget about the stresses of school and friends and enjoy the beauty around her. Hiking will also give you time alone to talk and learn more about each other.

Training For An Event Together

One of the best ways to get closer to your daughter is to train for an event together. Whether you’re training for a marathon, triathlon, half-marathon, or hot-dog eating contest, by training for something, you will be able to spend a lot of time together. In addition to the time you spend training together, you will also be able to bond over the feeling of accomplishment once you’ve completed your event.

Building or Repairing Something Together

A great way to bond with someone is to go through a trial together. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy yourselves in the process. By building something like a birdhouse, treehouse, jewelry box, etc. you will be able to teach your daughter a new skill which will in turn help strengthen her self-confidence. Another fun idea is to visit local yard sales and find old pieces of furniture and then restore them into something new and unique. This is another activity that will likely take days, giving you and your daughter something that you can look forward to accomplishing together.

Volunteering Together

Volunteer work allows you an opportunity to think about other people and forget about yourself. Whether you decide to volunteer at a shelter, make sack lunches and deliver them to the homeless, or compile hygiene kits for those in need, by volunteering you and your daughter are working towards something bigger than yourselves which will undoubtedly bring you closer together.

Cooking A Meal Together

Ask your daughter what her favorite meal is and then find a good recipe. Make a night out of it by first going to the grocery store to compile all the necessary ingredients and then going home to make the meal. You don’t have to be a great cook, the point is to do something different together so that you can have fun experiencing something new. You could even make it a habit, where once a week you and your daughter make dinner for the family.

It doesn’t matter what activity you decide to do with your daughter, she will appreciate any effort you make to want to spend time with, and get to know her better.