How to French plait, who Barbie’s boyfriend is and all the words to Olly Murs’ ‘Troublemaker’ are just some of the things only Dads of Daughters will know, according to a new survey.

A study of 500 dads with daughters under the age of 18 has revealed the top 50 things fathers with a little girl will have mastered.

Wendy Hill, Brand Activation Director for Mattel, which conducted the study for Barbie, said: “By joining in with activities such as cartwheels and playtime, dancing and making fairy wings together, dads are showing their daughters just how much they matter – and that everything they do is important.”

Knowing the difference between fuchsia and pink, knowing how to play with dolls with her, and how to remove chewing gum from long hair are also on the top 50 list of things only dads with daughters will know.

How to behave at a pop concert, knowing when Strictly Come Dancing is on, and how to run a ‘spa day’ at home are things dads of little girls will be familiar with. Dads will also be a dab-hand at ice skating, face painting, tying ballet shoes, colour-coordinating and baking cakes as well as being able to give the perfect cuddle.

The study shows that half of dads know it is important to show their daughters that being kind and brave is more important than being pretty, and when it comes to empowering their daughter, 42 per cent of dads tell their daughters that they can be anything.

Dads help their daughters prepare for the future with 54 per cent thinking that encouraging their daughter’s confidence is one of the most important life lesson they can teach, while 51 per cent try to teach her practical skills.

Letting their imaginations soar is key for a third of dads who believe their daughter’s dolls help foster imagination.

When dads join playtime, two thirds recognise that this helps build their daughters self-confidence and that time spent in her imaginary world is an investment in her real world – while four in 10 wish they could devote more time to playing with their daughters.

Letting her make her own mistakes, teaching her the value of money at an early age and encouraging her to be brave are amongst the other ‘life lessons’ dads try to give their little girls.

And researchers found that for eight in 10 dads with a daughter, empowering them to become strong young women is of utmost importance.

As Dr. Linda Nielsen of Wake Forest University explains in her work, decades of research show that girls who have loving, communicative, supportive relationships with their dads from early childhood on are less likely to suffer from a lack of self-confidence and self-reliance as she grows up.

Wendy Hill, Brand Activation Director for Mattel continues:

“A huge part of a dad’s role is to empower their daughters to be confident, imaginative and sure of who they are. Global research shows how time spent in her imaginary world is an investment in her real world, and the importance of nurturing the father-daughter relationship to raise the next generation of girls to know their limitless potential.”

TOP 50 THINGS ONLY DADS WITH DAUGHTERS KNOW

So here’s the list and my comments next to them 🙂

1. Who Barbie’s boyfriend is (Ken right)

2. What a pirouette is (Ballet move)
3. Glitter gets everywhere (Literally everywhere)
4. How to give the perfect cuddle (Standard)
5. How to make her feel special (I hope I do, Beth means the world to me)
6. How to clean showers full of hair (Same for both haha)
7. How to shop (Shop like the best of them)
8. How to make everything better (Again hopefully)
9. Girls like getting dirty too (Walking, jumping in puddles and having as much fun as possible!)
10. When Strictly Come Dancing is on (Not in our house)
11. Who the members of One Direction are (Maybe)
12. How to dance with her on your feet (When Beth was little I did, Dottie’s turn next_
13. You understand it will take hours to get into the bathroom (Indeed)
14. That girls want to play football as well (I remember buying Beth boots!)
15. They don’t always want pink and purple (Standard in our house)
16. How to skip (haha)
17. That chocolate or ice cream covers a multitude of sins (Fredericks is on speed dial)
18. How important it is to colour co-ordinate (I’m teaching the girls)
19. That girls also like to build dens and climb trees (OMG yes!)
20. How to play with dolls (Dottie is already at it with Beth’s Dolls from when she was tiny)
21. How to stop a nightmare (Always room in our bed)
22. How to break up a fight between her and her mother (It doesn’t happen)
23. How to paint nails ( I actually don’t!)
24. How to show enthusiasm when watching a girlie movie or a musical show. (Musicals yes, girlie no)
25. Who the winner of last year’s The X Factor was (No idea! We’re not into all that!)
26. How to dance (Hahaha like no one is watching!)
27. How to ice skate (Yep)
28. How to French plait (Maybe I could give it a go)
29. How to face paint (Yes but not as well as Mrs P)
30. That you always need to have a hairband handy (Hairbands everywhere)
31. How to bake the perfect cake (I try)
32. How to roller skate (I can but not well)
33. How to have a perfect tea party (Mrs P is the best with this)
34. What Taylor Swift’s latest hit is (Hit?)
35. That she needs to change her outfit five times a day (Yep! At least)
36. How to say ‘no’ gently
37. The names of all four members of Little Mix (No idea)
38. How to behave at a pop concert (Go mental? Is that the way)
39. How to tie ballet shoes (Yep)
40. How to cartwheel (Badly)
41. How to get chewing gum out of long hair (Ice?)
42. What objects in the house make a great popstar microphone (Every remote)
43. The dance moves to the Macarena (Of course)
44. How to make a pair of fairy wings (Mrs P again nails this!)
45. How to be a make-up model and wear eyeshadow and lipstick (I’ve never done this, however, we’ve shared many a face mask)
46. How to create the ‘perfect bun (Sorry not me!)
47. All the words to Olly Murs ‘Troublemaker’ (haha some of them “Alexa play Olly Murs”)
48. The difference between fuchsia and pink (Who doesn’t know this)
49. What to do for a spa day at home (Maybe)

50. The words to Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby’ (Who doesn’t)

So how many have you got?