The American actor and father of five, 42, advised to fellow dads on Instagram over the weekend.
He shared a picture of himself and his 8½-year-old daughter Olivia and explained his “working theory,” he shared that helping her and his other children make the right choices when the time comes to choosing a romantic partner in the future.
“Dads, date your daughters,” he wrote. “Drive responsibly, put down your phone, invest in everything they have to say and treat them like they’re the most valuable human in the room, if not the world.”
“And then (theoretically), once they start dating for real, they’ll have a bar … and anyone who doesn’t meet that bar, you won’t have to tell them — they’ll make that call for themselves.
#DateNight #SetTheBarHigh,” Van Der Beek continued, concluding, “(I’ll let you know in about ten or fifteen years if this actually works ??).”
Van Der Beek has one son (Joshua, 7) and four daughters: Olivia plus her little sisters Gwendolyn, 1 next month, Emilia, 3, and Annabel Leah, 5.
The actor and his wife, 37, talks openly about the ups and downs of parenting five kids and opened up on Monday with a snapshot of himself and Emilia about his happiness over her support
“Kids have your back,” he mused. “Don’t get me wrong — they challenge and exhaust you in ways that seem tailor-made to press your most carefully concealed buttons with surgical precision … but they’re also rooting for you. And supporting you in ways I’m convinced we’ll never be able to quantify.”
“For all the care, love, protection and hard work you put into their well-being, it’s like they’re secretly working on you in some mystical fashion, injecting emotional and spiritual energy where you need it most,” Van Der Beek continued.
“Maybe it’s all in their own self-interest since they’re helplessly dependent on you for a number of years … but I’ll take it. In fact, I think we need it.”
Van Der Beek shared an old photograph of himself and one of his children cuddling, both looking half asleep and the baby resting on his chest.
Kimberly also commented, on the photo, “Who is that?!! I’d say Gwen but judging by your hair it’s Emilia … or Olivia … ?”
After her husband replied, “I’m guessing Olivia … but could be Joshua,” the mother of five quipped in a confident follow-up comment, “Actually … I think Olivia.”
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