©istockphoto/Rich Legg
Unless you’ve been blessed with a brood of boys, you might find yourself with a little princess who’d rather play house than hunt. It’s time to turn that Barbie doll into a camouflaged cantaloupe assassin and get your daughter in touch with the great outdoors. If you’re unsure of how to ignite her latent love for skinning a buck, here are a few tips to get you started.
Appeal to her heroes.
Girls love Katniss Everdeen. She might be fictional character, but she certainly knows how to wield a bow. She isn’t the only one either. Merida is a curly-haired firebrand Disney unleashed on unsuspecting little girls just a few years back and they all loved her, too.
Appeal to the Katniss and Merida in your daughter by subjecting her to a weekend long marathon of these young women in action. At the end of it, present your daughter with her very own bow and encourage her to be a hero on her own. Of course, take the time to teach her how to use and properly care for it before unleashing her upon the squirrels in your backyard.
Make her look cute.
Little girls love cute things, even the tomboys among them desire a pretty dress once in awhile. There are no dresses in hunting, but they do offer pink camo, which is obviously the next best thing. Pair that camo with a nice ladies’ scarf and she’ll have a complete ensemble to wear to her next tea party.
Pull the pet in on the action.
Animals are always a good way to get a kid interested in something. Those floppy-eared beagles are hard to resist, am I right? Get your daughter her own dog, then start training them to hunt together. She’ll happily follow that little fella out into the wild with you. If she starts putting him in a pink tutu just go with it, as long as the tutu is camouflage.
Buy her a gun.
Once she’s graduated from the bow and arrow and you’re certain she’s able to survive the next Hunger Games, upgrade to a rifle. They even make fun pink ones like the Remington Model 870™ Compact Pink Camo. She’ll be happy to have a gun of her own that’s (almost) just like Daddy’s.
Once you’ve taken her for some target practice you can begin taking her out into the woods near your home to hunt for small game. Eventually, she’ll be taking down a moose.
Turn it into one-on-one time.
Children crave alone time and attention from each of their parents. Turn your hunting excursions into your weekly father-daughter time. She’ll be happy she’s getting to spend time with her pops and you’ll be able to develop a deeper bond with your daughter and build memories only the two of you will share.
Go easy on her out in the field. If she wants to stop and rest, or gets upset about shooting a rabbit, don’t force her to go further. Hunting is a great sport but not worth scarring your kid for life over. Plus, she’ll probably get over that hippie stuff in a few weeks and you can try again.