Of course you do!  We all want our children to grow up and enjoy life. 

We want them to be well-adjusted, productive citizens with happy marriages and great families.  Right?

Well, if this is what you want for your daughter, then you better get busy.  Your daughter is in trouble and needs you now more than ever.

She needs a loving and committed father more than anything else in this world!

Our daughters are at-risk and under attack!

Daughters are under attack in our society.  They are bombarded every day with stuff we don’t want them to see or hear.

Our culture via television, magazines, web sites and advertising persuade young women to think that it is cool to be promiscuous and sexy.  From a very young age, it sells them clothes that are too revealing and designed to sell their bodies.

It teaches them they need to be wafer thin and perfectly shaped to be attractive.  Media ads sell them diets, plastic surgery and other procedures as a way to achieve this unrealistic, Barbie-like look.

Our society tells our daughters that there is a drug (prescription or otherwise) to treat every malady in life.  It makes the use of alcohol look cool and chic.

All this is a recipe for depression, sexually transmitted diseases, eating disorders, failed relationships, teen pregnancy, drug addictions and alcohol abuse.

Doubt me?  Think I’m over-exaggerating?

I don’t think so.  Look at the world through your daughter’s eyes.  Watch the television programs she watches.  Observe what the girls in the programs are wearing, saying and doing.

Open your eyes and ears to really see and hear.  Try to look at the world through the innocent eyes of a young girl.  Trust me, we have grown desensitized to it all. 

She can’t even pass through the checkout stand at the grocery store without seeing Cosmo, Vogue and Allure selling her sex, fashion and diets.  Check it out for yourself to see if I’m crazy.

Think back to when you grew up.  Was television so violent and provocative?  Were you exposed to such steamy sex scenes and so much nudity?  I don’t think so.

Did you have the Internet with such easy access to all kinds of stuff we do not want our daughters exposed to?  No way!  Take just a moment to consider what is available to her with just a few keystrokes.  Frightening!  It sends chills down my spine!

Where does all this negative influence lead our daughters?

What affect is all of this having on the minds and attitudes of our young, impressionable daughters?

Reflect on all the young, pretty girls you’ve seen or known that do things you wouldn’t want your daughter to do.  They wear revealing clothing, get boob jobs, move in with their boyfriends, go out drinking regularly, get tattoos, get pregnant, drop out of school or worse.

What you don’t know is that many of these same young women are depressed, some even suicidal, using drugs, being treated for STDs, struggling with eating disorders and fighting desperate loneliness.

Every last one of them is someone’s daughter.  Their fathers never believed it would happen to their daughter either.  It can and does!

Still don’t believe me?  Want more proof?

The book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know opened my eyes.  It is written by Meg Meeker, M.D.  Dr. Meeker is a pediatrician with 20 years of experience.

She has personally treated and counseled countless girls that have suffered the consequences I have written about here.

She believes that fathers are the most important person in a young girl’s life.  We stand in the unique position of being able to save our daughters from many of the ills of society.

Dr. Meeker doesn’t just rely on her 20 years of clinical experience when she says this, she also cites numerous studies with data supporting her claims.

Her book is terrific and I believe one of the most important ones I have ever read!

What can we fathers do to save our daughters?

I have two daughters and I definitely want to love them as well as I can.  I want them to know they have a father that is there for them and is committed to their best interests.

I want to be present in their lives to protect, guide and encourage them in all they do.  I want them to know that I believe in them.  I want them to know I have high expectations for them and that they can depend on me now and forever.

A large part of what we can do as fathers is to just be present.  Be involved.  Hang in there and remain your daughter’s father despite her moods, rebellion and resistance.

Dr. Meeker believes this will make a difference.  She thinks we let go too soon.

Tomorrow, I will share a list of the things I plan to do based on the suggestions I read in Dr. Meeker’s book.

WOMEN - What do you think?  From your experience, is this article on track?

MEN – What do you think?  Are you doing enough to protect your daughters?

Photo by lemonhead1632