Dads & Daughters Bonds Will Grow & Mature With Time

dadslogodarkbluesmall.jpgStumped for last minute meaningfulness in holiday fare?

Give someone you love a Dads & Daughters Bond, literally and figuratively! It’s one present that’s sure to grow and mature with time.

If you don’t know about this great nonprofit, you need to. They’re doing great work here, focusing on the critical impact of male influences in girls lives without making it a ‘one size fits all’ proposition.

Dads & Daughters’ unique point of view zeroes in on the nuances of raising girls as a guy.

From newbie dads to those with adult children, they broaden the conversation with research and weigh in on tough topics that men often find particularly challenging in dealing with girls.

Like? Body image, teen dating, touch taboos, maintaining communication from afar for live-away dads, divorce, eating disorders, mood swings, sexuality, adolescent concerns, athletic prowess and the ways we wound with words…

I particularly value the way they’ve snapped open my own eyes to how girls’ images of themselves are shaped far beyond foibles of fatherhood, positive parenting or even pop culture cues.

There are so many OTHER male role models and influencers who are off our radar sometimes: coaches, pastors, boyfriends, play pals, the guy two desks over in middle school, the one who has a playboy screensaver on his cellphone, or the random comment that uplifts or slams-n-crushes in a millisecond.

Dads & Daughters gives men vital tools to help support the girls in their lives, along with ways to swap info and share what works man to man on the DadTalk forum, reinforcing they’re not alone out there in feeling ‘dismissed’ sometimes.

As founder Joe Kelly told me, “There’s a deeply ingrained cultural view that fathers don’t matter as much, which is ridiculously unfounded when you consider this is the ‘first man’ in girls lives that sets the standard, not only for how girls see themselves, but for how they’re treated in the world.”

I’m still blog-backlogged posting my full interview with Joe, so I keep ‘leaking’ out precious tidbits from this very wise man. Joe’s book or a subscription to Daughters bimonthly from their aligned org makes a meaningful gift too.

Joe’s comments about paying closer attention to men’s vital role and the phraseology beyond the scope of dads resonates with me…particularly during the holidays when male cousins, uncles and other influential role models are entering our homes and lives!

I’ll never forget hearing the school buzz when a male substitute teacher (who obviously didn’t know the kids names) called on my daughter in a 4th grade classroom, “you, the model-looking one in the back” egad. She’ll never forget it…and neither will I. Language can sure leave a lasting impression…

So in addition to these holiday tips from Dads & Daughters be very wary of mistletoe mishaps around yuletide…

…Like those stray ‘Uncle Buck’ types of comments that can zing your daughter as folks walk in the door, “We haven’t seen you in so long, you look so…” (fill in the appearance-based blank!)

Finally, I’ll close in mentioning that Dads & Daughters also has an advocacy arm that opens up all kinds of dialogue smashing through stereotypes and gender inequities by raising awareness and accountability of men’s influence on girls.

The concept of having a dad ‘put his daughter’s face in the ad’ and see if they still want to run it is a powerful tactic.

It’s the kind of ‘change from within’ behavior modification tool that we use in our counter-marketing here at Shaping Youth too.

After all, industry titans are human too…they just need the right marketing hook.

D&D used that technique to help pull the plug on those horrid hooker-clad, pole-dancing ‘pussycat dolls’ by speaking Dad to Dad with the CEO of Hasbro who happened to have a grand-daughter in their 6-year old target age.

Very effective.

One more gift newsflash from their aligned org, Daughters.com, which I depend upon regularly for updated news on raising a daughter in these wacky media and marketing times:

Daughters now has a new amped up value version called DaughtersPlus which brings the web world and e-newsletter resources into a juiced up subscription service extending beyond the print realm to online forums, unlimited archive access, and bimonthly e-updates.

If you have a daughter…your holiday shopping is done!

Stay tuned for more in ’07 from these inspirational groups, and check out the newest nonprofit addition to their media family, SeeJane, promoting gender equity in Hollywood. Geena Davis is the Commander in Chief of this new aligned org, and they’ve just released some strong research on the lop-sided occupational stereotyping in G-rated films.

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Comments

  1. Do you know if some company use the same marketing concept as Webkinz?

    I’m writing a few articles right now and want to get some info and opinions.

  2. Hello, I’m new in this forum. I’ve been here a few months, read and think really interassante many topics. Now I decided to apologize to you to be notified. I hope I can contribute something.

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