Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters
10 Secrets Every Father Should Know
By Meg Meeker, MD (Random House, $14.95 paper)
The most important person in a young woman’s life is her father, says the adolescent-health expert author, who has counseled girls for 20 years. This guide shows dads how to strengthen (or rebuild) their bond with their girls to make life better for both of them.
1. Daughters don’t just need their fathers, they need the best of their fathers — all of Dad’s courage, wit, intelligence and self-confidence.
2. Seventy-six percent of teen girls said their fathers influence their decisions on whether they would become sexually active.
3. You are her first love. “Every man who enters her life will be compared to you; every relationship she has with a man will be filtered through her relationship with you.”
4. Daughters can be emotionally impulsive. “Your job, as a man, as her father, is to help her keep her emotions in check. And you have to do it, because you will do it better than her mother.”
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5. Some fathers incorrectly believe “quality time” must mean entertaining their daughters. In fact, just spending time with them — doing chores, talking — is most important.