Does your child have a favourite parent?

On Friday, Dilip, Syona and I went out for dinner. As we were eating, Syona kept looking at me and saying, “Ah. Ahh. Ahhhhhh,” meaning she wanted to eat some of what we were having. Dilip said, “Wow, she only has eyes for you tonight.” Seems kind of ordinary, right?

Wrong! This was a total anomaly because Syona is obsessed with Dilip.

Whenever he’s around, she isn’t interested in anyone else. She will woo him until he is paying full attention to her. Now, I don’t want to encourage her to be one of those kids that desperately whines for her parent and will not socialize with anyone else, but I think it’s all because Dilip is a really involved dad. In Syona’s world, her rankings are clear: Dilip is first, her grandmother (my mother) comes second and I’m third. (I think I trail far behind Dilip because I spend most of the day with her and, well, if I spent the majority of the day with myself, I’d be pretty sick of me too!)

I knew Dilip was the right guy for me when we got married five years ago. He was kind, soft-spoken, extremely intelligent and very loving. But I didn’t know just how right he was until we had Syona.

He changes diapers, feeds our little diva and performs a lot of the daily exercises with her that are beyond my capabilities. He bathes her at night and puts her to bed. And since our little one isn’t sleeping through the night yet, he often helps to take care of her when she gets up. He’s about as close to a perfect dad as it gets. But these aren’t my favourite things about him as a dad. It’s amazing to see how much he loves this little girl. How much he accepts her as she is, yet still finds a way to encourage her to extend her abilities. How his eyes light up when she does something new. How he really relaxes when Syona’s around and is his silliest, happiest self. It simply fills my heart.

And did I mention that he can distinguish between various shades of pink when picking out an outfit for Syona? (Who wouldn’t love that?)

I’m blessed to have great fathers in my life. My wonderful dad, who raised me and my two sisters to be strong, loving women; and an amazing father-in-law, who has enriched my life and filled it with carefree joy and laughter since I got married. On Sunday we celebrated all our dads, but I especially celebrated Dilip for being the perfect father for our extraordinary little girl.

Does your child have a favourite parent or other family member? What is the best thing about your partner as a parent?