Dr. Meeker shares the ten secrets every father needs to know in order to strengthen or rebuild bonds with his daughter and shape her life–and his own–for the better. Inside you’ll discover:
- the essential virtues of strong fathers–and how to develop them
- the cues daughters take from their dads on everything from self-respect to drugs, alcohol, and sex
- the truth about ground rules (girls do want them, despite their protests)
- the importance of becoming a hero to your daughter
- the biggest mistake a dad can make–and the ramifications
- the fact that girls actually depend on their dads’ guidance into adulthood
- steps fathers can follow to help daughters avoid disastrous decisions and mistakes
- ways in which a father’s faith–or lack thereof–will influence his daughter
- essential communication strategies for different stages of a girl’s life
- true stories of “prodigal daughters”–and how their fathers helped to bring them back
Dads, you are far more powerful than you think–and if you follow Dr. Meeker’s advice, the rewards will be unmatched.
Excerpt from Chapter One
You Are the Most Important Man in Her Life
Men, good men: We need you. We—mothers, daughters, and sisters—need your help to raise healthy young women. We need every ounce of masculine courage and wit you own, because fathers, more than anyone else, set the course for a daughter’s life. Your daughter needs the best of who you are: your strength, your courage, your intelligence, and your fearlessness. She needs your empathy, assertiveness, and self-confidence. She needs you.
Our daughters need the support that only fathers can provide—and if you are willing to guide your daughter, to stand between her and a toxic culture, to take her to a healthier place, your rewards will be unmatched. You will experience the love and adoration that can come only from a daughter. You will feel a pride, satisfaction, and joy that you can know nowhere else.
After more than twenty years of listening to daughters—and doling out antibiotics, antidepressants, and stimulants to girls who have gone without a father’s love—I know just how important fathers are. I have listened hour after hour to young girls describe how they vomit in junior high bathrooms to keep their weight down. I have listened to fourteen-year-old girls tell me they have to provide fellatio—which disgusts them—in order to keep their boyfriends. I’ve watched girls drop off varsity tennis teams, flunk out of school, and carve initials or tattoo cult figures onto their bodies—all to see if their dads will notice...
