I certainly want to be the Dad she needs me to be, don’t you? Since three of my six children are girls, I was totally intrigued by Dr. Leman’s subject. Fortunately, the book lived up to its expectations for me. My wife has read several of his books, but this was my first one. He is worth reading! In an engaging, personal style, he gets you thinking on deeply important subject matter. I laid this book down with definate knowledge of where I need to tweak my parenting of my daughters.
He masterfully explained how girls are so different, and so bewildering to we fathers, yet they need us so badly in their lives. The sobering fact that the kind of confidence she will have in life, and the corresponding choices she will make, particularly about relationships, will come from me. He then spends the balance of the book telling me not how to be a perfect Dad, but a good Dad. A Dad who really impacts her life to the good.
He leads past the idea that we can just criticize and command them to be the person we want them to be. We must purposely leave an “indelible imprint” on them. Sadly, we actually will leave one no matter what–that is why we must be purposeful. We must realize that every child we have is different so we have to know her heart. There is no foolproof little 10 Steps To Perfect Parenting. In the case of daughters, ours is the relationship that matters most.
He explained how we Dads are different, but that is good. She needs our approval, not another girlfriend in us. She needs me to live a “disciplined, balanced” life in front of her to give her security. He coached us in how to be involved in “the talk”. That is something we would rather pass off to her mother, but she needs to hear about men from me. If we don’t, some other guy will! He also gave counsel on when there are catfights under your roof–we can be a help!
There is so much more here. He has my ear even more because of how his daughters turned out, and how they now cherish him as father. What could be better than that? Thanks Dr. Lehman for an awesome book!
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
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