“Is your daughter more influenced by media images than you’d like her to be?” Um…understatement of the year, here. 73% of dads polled on Dads & Daughters agree.
I LOVE Dads & Daughters, for challenging “girl toxic” media culture and putting the importance of male voices into the mix when it comes to how this is all landing on kids. But fergoshsakes, juice up this YouTube video with some Animoto action and put some passion and punch into this new video, papas!
Peter Coyote may have the celeb cred and voiceover familiarity to amp up the hits by putting his name in the social media tags, but I’ll take Dads & Daughters co-founder Joe Kelly’s fire-brand passion in making the world a safer, fairer place for girls any ol’ day! (Here’s Joe’s brand new blog)
I say, either film charismatic co-founder Joe Kelly doing his “put your daughter’s face in this picture” advertising gig for a poignant, powerhouse motivator or use Animoto for kid vid variations…Pick any topic, “girlcott” activism, father-daughter togetherness, hero stories, dad-bloggers, anti-racist parent dads, and even artsy entrepreneurial teams (just found this cool father-daughter art gallery in Nevada City!)
There are all kinds of exciting snapshots depicting the reality of The Father Life (Ben’s Murphy’s e-zine) and its importance in the emotional health and body image confidence with girls…
Don’t get me wrong, this video is a solid start, but it doesn’t BEGIN to capture the essence of the dynamic Dads and Daughters organization, with its huge focus on why Dads matter, and their powerful influence on the females in their lives (including adult daughters and their relationships with dads—I’m up here in the Sierras with my own Dad right now!)
There’s a niche on their site with info for everyone, expectant fathers and new dads, stellar stepdads, adoptive dads, live away dads and countless other father figure configurations that factor into kids’ self-worth.
This Father’s Day, send an e-card donation, snag my favorite, “How to Inspire, Understand & Support Your Daughter” book for dads (or any one of Joe’s books) and spend some time with their research to see how vital and vibrant their work really is!
I haven’t met Julian Palmer, their new Executive Director yet, but can personally attest to Founder/President Joe Kelly’s well-earned reputation for his dynamic ‘tell it like it is’ candor and innovative tactics to talk man to man with CEOs…
If Julian’s even a fraction as effective and inspiring as a leader, we’re bound to see some parent power kick into high gear on the national platform of media and marketing’s impact on kids!
Now…um…how about a “Dads & Sons” derivative? 😉
Happy Father’s Day all, watch for our ‘Poppa Picks for 2008’ coming soon…nominate your favorite daddy bloggers in the comment section below!
Related Articles from Shaping Youth
Shaping Youth Via Fatherhood: Joe Kelly On New Media, New Men
Childhood Matters: Shaping Youth’s Fatherhood Resources
Dads & Daughters Bonds Will Grow And Mature Over Time
Dove Ditches Superbowl: Media Tips from Dads & Daughters
Related Resources
Zero to Three’s Fatherhood Tip Sheet
Families and Work Institute: (Fatherhood Project)
National Center on Fathers and Families (U.Penn edu site/policy-programs)
National Fatherhood Initiative (Fatherhood.org)
National Father’s Network (special needs)
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood (U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services)
Responsible Single Fathers (singlefather.org forum here)
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