My second daughter is twelve. And she has a personality that is very confident and bold. She is nothing like what I was at that age. I preferred to be at the back of the crowd, on the fringes, and out of the center of attention.

My daughter loves being in the spotlight. And she is learning how to use that love effectively.

A few months ago, she tried out for a part in a play put on by a local theater group. The play is Willy Wonka Jr. My daughter got the part of Violet Beauregard, the girl who loves bubble gum, and ends up inflating like a bubble.

The part fits my daughter pretty well. The first performances were over the weekend week, and the play runs through next weekend. I went and watched her the other night. I may be biased, but she did very well!

She was confident, and when a technical glitch occurred, she went on like nothing was wrong, and no one knew something was amiss.

On the way home that night, I took the opportunity to tell her how proud I was of her. That made her night! More than the autographs she signed. More than the encouragement she got from her director. More than the comments from her fellow cast members.

She craves such encouragement from one person in particular… her daddy.

All of our kids do.

Our kids need us to feed them strong words of encouragement and praise. We don’t need to over-inflate their egos, or tell them something false, but genuine praise and encouragement goes along way to creating and maintaining a solid relationship with your kids.

Your kids hear it from all kinds of people: teachers, coaches, friends, relatives. But the one person who can make the biggest difference is you and me, dads.

I’m not sure why, but we are also the ones who have the hardest time communicating such things. Don’t worry about how dorky you might sound. Just take the time to pass on some words of encouragement to your kids.

I had a pretty good conversation with my daughter. I told her I was proud of her. I told her how she has surpassed anything I would have attempted at that age. I told her how my heart swelled while I watched her. And I gave her a hug.

She was thrilled. And will probably remember that feeling for a long time.

When is the last time you told your kids just how proud of them you are? If it has been a while, perhaps you should go find them and have a talk with them. Do it today. It doesn’t have to be about anything huge or significant like a play. Just go tell them. They long to hear such things from you, dad. They crave it.

So go let them hear it.

Be deliberate, Dad!

When is the last time you told your kids just how proud of them you are? You can leave your thoughts in the comments by clicking here.