Dr. Meg Meeker Blog http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:03:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Strong and Clear Position http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-and-clear-position/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-and-clear-position/#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:30:24 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=72 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Strong and Clear Position", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-and-clear-position/" });]]> <p>Dr. Meeker</p>

<p>I just finished reading your book "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters." I want to thank you for it and for your strong and clear position.</p>
<p>I have worked with students between 12 and 25 years of age for the past 20 years. What you share from a medical and experiential view point, I have experienced from the spiritual view point. I so heartily concur with your teaching and have shared many of these same principles as I have counseled and spoken to both teens and parents over the years. It seems the battle of our day is getting parents to engage in the lives of their kids with balanced, loving authority and guidance.</p>
<p>I look forward to reading the rest of your books and to using them in my weekly influence over the many teens and parents that I work with, as well as with the youth leaders and families that I speak to across the country during a given year.</p>
<p>Keep writing and keep standing strong on these important matters. I too am writing and addressing these types of issues… but God knows we need all to positive voices we can find to fight the trends of modern culture.</p>
<p>I just wanted you to know, this is one outlet where your principles will be handed on to others as I strongly urge fathers to engage in the lives of their daughters and sons!</p>
<p>Sincerely,
Cary S.</p>

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-and-clear-position/feed/ Thank you for connecting the dots http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you-for-connecting-the-dots/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you-for-connecting-the-dots/#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:26:16 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=71 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Thank you for connecting the dots", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you-for-connecting-the-dots/" });]]> It's been a long time since I've read a good parenting book on boys. Even the ones I have enjoyed for their strong support of the true nature of boys (Michael Gurian springs to mind), none have offered such tangible advice to helping boys prosper. I'm not yet through it, but have been impressed with all I have seen. I not only am raising two sons, but watched two brothers grow as well. I also spend considerable time with both my sons' Boy Scout Groups and have marveled at all these boys as they go from adorable, to awkward, to annoying to amazing.

Which brings me to my point. Boy Scouts provides many of these experiences you mention. I have long known boys to prosper in it, but hadn't been able to put my finger on it until your book. It involves connection to the out of doors, controlled risk in high adventure situations, pushing their limits and celebrating the successes, service to others and many strong male role models.

Thank you for connecting the dots for me.

Sincerely,
Anna

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you-for-connecting-the-dots/feed/ Thank you!! http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you/#comments Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:40:07 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=70 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Thank you!!", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you/" });]]> Meg,

I have been reading your book, "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters", and have been truly inspired!!  I want to thank you so much for the content of this book.  I have four daughters and want to be the best father I can and this book truly has assisted me!!!

Also, I am a police officer for the local police department.  I worked the past year as a School Resource Officer and three years prior to that as a detective investigating sex crimes.  I have a passion for protecting and helping children, both victims and perpetrators.  I also have been taking a proactive role in the reporting, tracking, and helping of runaways.  As a part of this, I am part of a County Sex Crimes Task Force which meets monthly for a training meeting.  I was scheduled to teach in August (2008) about tracking runaways.  Now that I have been reading your book, I am planning on teaching from excerpts of your book and suggesting that they read your book.  I will be presenting to police officers, attorneys, victim advocates, Children Advocate Center employees, and Division of Family Services workers.  I truly am excited about this even though I have only read about 1/2 your book and have no exact guideline as of yet.

Thank you again!!!  If there is anything you think I should tell these people please feel free to let me know.  I know you are probably busy and may not have time to respond but I just had to take the time to write.

Thanks again,

Craig

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you/feed/ Thanks, to Dr. Meeker http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thanks-to-dr-meeker/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thanks-to-dr-meeker/#comments Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:36:11 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=69 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Thanks, to Dr. Meeker", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thanks-to-dr-meeker/" });]]> I have recently completed your book "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters", and it has brought me to tears several times. I am the father of two beautiful girls and I want to be the best father that I can be. My girls are 2 and 5 and I love them dearly. I also have a niece that is very dear to my heart she will be 10 this December. Her father is not involved in her life. There are many times that she has referred to me as dad. After reading your book, I fill motivated to be more involved in her life. She is a beautiful, kind, and free spirited girl. I want her and my girls to have a life full on happiness. Not one disease, depression, and disappointment. One that they can look back on and be grateful. I wanted to thank you Dr. Meeker for writing this book, and the impact that it has had on my life will be passed down to those three girls. Thank you and God Bless.

Thanks,

Tom
Pearland, TX

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thanks-to-dr-meeker/feed/ Thanks for the Inspiration You've Given Me http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thanks-for-the-inspiration-youve-given-me/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thanks-for-the-inspiration-youve-given-me/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:58:21 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=68 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Thanks for the Inspiration You've Given Me", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thanks-for-the-inspiration-youve-given-me/" });]]> Dear Dr. Meeker,

I bought and read your Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters book, and it has had a profound effect on how I relate to my 8-year-old daughter, and how I try to model ideal behaviour for her.

That being said, I also don't like what has been happening to boys in the Anglophone world (I am an American living in England, and hope to return soon, and many of the same phenomena you discussed are occurring here.) I wanted to let you know that your appearance on Dennis Prager's show the other day has helped me come to a decision about something that's been bugging me for a while.

I currently work in a very lucrative job, at close to the top of the game at what I do. I am not happy in this work as it is clearly not my calling: although I do it well, I don't enjoy it. I have been playing with the idea of what I want to be when I grow up, which is, essentially, in about a year or two when I have the mortgage paid down significantly enough to where my income doesn't need to play into my career decisions. I am also in the final three quarters of completing the bachelor's degree I never finished the first time around.

I have been volunteering as a helper in my daughter's Sunday School class and just last week I was approached to become a "pastoral leader" for a group of kids in the Sunday School when it reconvenes in the new school year. I was approached for this role as there are no other men really involved in the children's program at our church, and they need men.

If this approach was a nudge in a certain direction, your conversation with Dennis Prager was a push for me… Children don't see enough men in their lives, and I think I am going to work on becoming either a primary or middle school teacher when I return to the States. And my wife really thinks it makes a lot of sense for me, too.

I just wanted to thank you for the inspiration you've given me, especially as your work had touched my life profoundly before yesterday. If this plays out as I suspect it will, I'll send you a follow-up in a few years to let you know how I got on.

Regards,

James

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thanks-for-the-inspiration-youve-given-me/feed/ Awaiting the Birth of our 4th Boy http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/awaiting-the-birth-of-our-4th-boy/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/awaiting-the-birth-of-our-4th-boy/#comments Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:09:21 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=66 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Awaiting the Birth of our 4th Boy", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/awaiting-the-birth-of-our-4th-boy/" });]]>

Dear Dr. Meeker,

I just started reading your latest book, "Boys Should Be Boys." I love it and I cannot put it down. In April we found out we were expecting our 4th child and last week we found out that it is a boy which makes 4 boys that God has blessed us with. Our boys are ages 11, almost 9, 4 1/2 and of course one in my womb. I see raising boys as such an awesome responsibility and a privilege, although I am shocked at the fact that GOD GAVE ME 4 BOYS! Your book is reinforcing some things that my husband and I already do. We do not have cable television, no video games, limited internet/computer, no ipods, etc. I know in my heart it is the right and healthy decision for our boys, but there is such a temptation to believe that now my boys don't fit in. I also don't over do it with sports and being on the go constantly. Thank God that my husband is a strong man in his faith and his masculinity, although we both have been changed tremendously by the grace of God. We've made our mistakes. Your book is an inspiration and I sent out an email to all my mom friends with boys suggesting this book. My sister ordered both your books just now.

When I picked up your book, I skipped right to the chapter on "A Mother's Son." I had been waiting to read something on mothers and sons. It helped me so much especially about affection, love and physical touch. I am doing more of that already. Thank you, thank you!

Not only does your books help us to raise strong, healthy children, it also points out what is going on in our culture today which tells us so many lies. I think your books also help us to look at ourselves and take our own inventory. This is crucial. I think your books are going to help so many people. I am also recommending your books to my spiritual director who also happens to be a Norbertine Priest and a Psychologist who is Catholic.

Dr. Meeker, thank you and keep up the good work. Your book is so timely especially for us as we await the birth of our 4th boy.

I am not afraid, I am not worried or disappointed. It is just a WOW factor for me that I am going to have 4 boys. I am the oldest of 3 girls and I am very feminine myself. It reminds me of a quote by Mother Teresa and it is just how I feel:

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." This is not to say that I wish other than what I have been given, especially with the gift of life. It is just very humbling that God DOES trust me this much.

Thank you again,

Amy

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/awaiting-the-birth-of-our-4th-boy/feed/ Good for All! http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/good-for-all/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/good-for-all/#comments Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:03:04 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=65 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Good for All!", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/good-for-all/" });]]> To Dr. Meg Meeker,

I hope this will be passed along. February of 2007 my first child was born! my beautiful little girl. I have listened to The Dave Ramsey Show since 2004 and have followed his financial guidance ever since. One day I was listen to his show and he had You as a guest talking about your book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters! after that segment I went out and bought your book. I haven't been much of a reader since High School but I couldn't stop reading your book, except for the fact that I ended up giving my copies out as a gift to other fathers before I had ever finished reading it. When all was said and done, I had given 7 books away and before I got loose of the last copy I finished the book. I know you've gotten great comments from other Fathers that feel the same way as I do about your book, but I still felt compelled to let you know that it has been a great inspiration to me as I knew from a young boy that I wanted to have a Family and always hoped for a daughter ( possibly because my mom had 3 boys and always wanted one of us to be a girl ) and that I wanted to try to be the best Father I could be, now I know that your book will help me do just that! I guess the other part of this is that I am a huge Dave Ramsey Fan and over the course of our financial freedom we've only given out 3 Total Money Make-over Books to the 7 Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters of yours and I'm sure I will give out some more in the next couple of years and I suggest it to anyone I can as I have been invited to a Baby Bonding Class at our hospital to give Fathers insight on what it was like for me and ect.  The last part of this letter is that I need to get myself a hardback ver. of SF,SD and I want it autographed, And when I googled your name and got to your Web site I saw that I can Order it autographed, How wonderful!!

Forever Grateful,

Brian

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/good-for-all/feed/ "A Must Read for Fathers Who Do Care" http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/a-must-read-for-fathers-who-do-care/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/a-must-read-for-fathers-who-do-care/#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:18:34 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=64 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ""A Must Read for Fathers Who Do Care"", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/a-must-read-for-fathers-who-do-care/" });]]> What a great book and guide. a must read for fathers who do care. i am a passionate man and father. i believe god has entrusted us as parents with our children(god's also). i truly appreciate your repetition concerning sticking to one's values. it is an uphill battle com-batting today's advertising geared to females of all ages. i was stunned at some of the internet postings regarding dr meeker. seems she has hit a nerve. sounds like a lot of people would rather bash dr meeker than step up to the plate for their children. great book and the most valuable book next to the bible to help me raise my precious daughter into a well balanced self respecting and productive woman. thank you for your work and knowledge.

~Scott

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/a-must-read-for-fathers-who-do-care/feed/ "I Just Wanted to Thank You" http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/i-just-wanted-to-thank-you/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/i-just-wanted-to-thank-you/#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:15:23 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=63 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ""I Just Wanted to Thank You"", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/i-just-wanted-to-thank-you/" });]]> Dear Dr. Meeker,

I just wanted to thank you for your book "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters".

As a new father to an 8-month-old daughter, I thought I knew enough on what it meant to be a good dad. I was aware that she would one day grow up, and when those teen years came along, there would be that normal friction that occurs with those confusing years. But then I happened across your book, and after flipping through a few chapters, I knew it was a book I had to have.

The topics you covered were not only informative and inspiring, but at times just plain scary. I didn't realize what challenges my daughter will have to face before the age of 8, let alone 15. I didn't know how poisonous this MTV culture was, bombarding little impressionable girls with toxic ideas of what beauty is, its casual ideas on sex and drugs, and how influential young boys can be on vulnerable girls.

One of the most thought provoking and heartbreaking examples I can recall from the book was the fourth-grade girl from a good family who hated her father because she inadvertently came across a violent rape scene on TV before dinner. As a result of that exposure, the girl came to the conclusion that all sex was like this, and her father must have put her mother through that kind of pain in order for her to be born.

After reading that startling passage alone, I realized that there was so much poison out there that could corrupt and destroy our children. In addition, it took me longer than usual to finish your book because I often found myself in deep thought, wondering what kind of father I could be to my little girl if faced with the scenarios you put forth. But it was time well spent. Before reading your book, I felt that being a father was the most natural thing I've ever done. But after your book, I feel more inspired than ever to be the father my little girl deserves. I'm ready and willing to fight for her mind, body, and soul. And I'm ready to be the most important man in her life and her hero.

I'm a full-time father, and I'm proud to say that my daughter is a beautiful, happy, and thriving child. And thanks to you, I will fight to make sure she grows up to be a well-rounded, confident, and grounded woman. It will be a challenge, but she's worth it.

Thank you again, Dr. Meeker. Your book was a godsend, and I would recommend your book to any father raising a little girl.

Sincerely,

Orlando

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/i-just-wanted-to-thank-you/feed/ "So Down to Earth and Real" http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/so-down-to-earth-and-real/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/so-down-to-earth-and-real/#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:27:58 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=62 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ""So Down to Earth and Real"", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/so-down-to-earth-and-real/" });]]> Dear Dr. Meeker,

I just finished your book [Boys Should Be Boys], and absolutely loved every bit of it! I have 3 boys, ages 14, 12 and 10, and this book is the most resourceful one, that's so readable and interesting. The best book that I have read on the topic of boys, that kept my interest. Thank you for your fabulous advice, so down to earth and real… I've been telling everyone I know about your book.

Sincerely,

Meg

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/so-down-to-earth-and-real/feed/ "Best book I have ever read" http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/best-book-i-have-ever-read/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/best-book-i-have-ever-read/#comments Fri, 30 May 2008 16:21:55 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=61 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ""Best book I have ever read"", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/best-book-i-have-ever-read/" });]]> Dr. Meeker,

I just finished reading your book, Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. My wife gave me the book as a gift. I have 5 children, 3 of which are girls. All I can say is it is the best book I have ever read! I have five brothers and two sisters. I have 35 nephews and nieces. I have passed this book on to my brothers, brother-in- laws, friends and my wife.

You hit the nail on the head in so many ways. I couldn't help but get emotional at many times while I read your beautiful book. I am now purchasing your book on boys!

It is refreshing to see someone take a stance on issues of morality and family values. Truly a beautiful book and thank you for your great work. Keep it up! We need more people like you in our world.

God bless you,

Douglas

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/best-book-i-have-ever-read/feed/ Challenging Our Boys http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/challenging-our-boys/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/challenging-our-boys/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 13:31:36 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=60 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Challenging Our Boys", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/challenging-our-boys/" });]]> I wrote Boys Should Be Boys for several reasons. First, I believe that our boys are being ignored and pushed aside, even attacked. Here's why I say that. The past 20 years have been about helping girls everywhere and anywhere, shine. Get them to finish highschool, go on to college, forge careers and excel at sports and academics. While this has helped many girls, boys have been marginalized, told to be quiet and to stay out of the way. A lower percentage of boys now graduate highschool and college than girls. Many grow up to apologize for having a Y chromosome.

Second, boys are under assault by media and advertising industries. Video games are infused with hyperviolent and hypersexual messages which train our sons (and we have plenty of good studies to prove this) to be more aggressive and violent as they mature. Girls aren't standing in line to buy the new AutoTheft game, it's our young boys, who are consistently the target consumers for new video games.

Third, I believe that boys are incredible. All boys- 2 year olds and 17 year old boys. They are filled with enthusiasm, curiosity and loads of energy. They have questions and look for answers, identify problems and try to define clear solutions. They are pragmatic, sensitive, energetic and highly misunderstood.

It's high time we give them our attention and encouragement. Our boys need us- and they particularly need you men- masculine role models who can teach them that they don't need to compete with women. They need us to pay attention to their hearts. They need us to help them navigate a culture which really doesn't like them very much.

So let's get to it. Let's pay attention to our boys and dig into their lives. Let's embrace their masculinity and grow it, not stifle it. It's time to let boys, really be the boys they were born to be.

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/challenging-our-boys/feed/ What a fantastic book! http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/what-a-fantastic-book/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/what-a-fantastic-book/#comments Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:45:03 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/what-a-fantastic-book/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "What a fantastic book!", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/what-a-fantastic-book/" });]]> Dr. Meeker -

My husband received your book, Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters as a Christmas present and has yet had a chance to read the book. Though, on a recent business trip I decided I wanted to read the book even though I'm the mother and not the father. What a fantastic book! We are parents of a 14 year girl (and an 11 year boy) and are finding these years very challenging with our daughter. We have always been protective with our daughter and at this age she seems we need to "lighten up since she is in 9th grade". That it's okay to hang out at the mall in the evenings, go away with friends families we don't know and text at all times of the day/night (I could go on and on). Your book was right on and reassured me we are doing the correct things and need to hold strong. It also helped me to understand my husband, their relationship and why he should continue fight for her. Plus, it helped me believe as mad as she gets with us that one day she will return and appreciate all that we have done (or all that she has not done).

It's an incredible book and my husband will start reading it tonight! How about a book on mothers and their relationships with daughters? Thank you!

-Paige

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/what-a-fantastic-book/feed/ A letter from a grateful Spanish dad http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/a-letter-from-a-grateful-spanish-dad/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/a-letter-from-a-grateful-spanish-dad/#comments Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:04:22 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/a-letter-from-a-grateful-spanish-dad/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "A letter from a grateful Spanish dad", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/a-letter-from-a-grateful-spanish-dad/" });]]> Dear Dr. Meeker:

I have just finished reading Strong fathers, strong daughters and I feel I must thank you for such an outstanding book. The problems that the American society is facing regarding parenting in very difficult times are entirely translatable to our country and, as the worried and proud father of a four-and-a-half year girl (a little angel, I must say), I was desperately looking for guidance. You have taught me that raising healthy kids in a filthy society is entirely possible. Thank God I found out about your book (by the way, I bought the American paperback edition, as I did not like the Spanish translation of the title. They have translated it, literally, as Strong fathers, happy daughters. It is not that bad, but I think it fails to convey your message as clearly as the original does).

It is absolutely wonderful having someone around to give us hope and faith in these times of political correctness (which I would rather call outright hipocrisy) and unbridled idiocy. Once again, thank you very much indeed. May you succeed in conveying all your messages to us parents and to the world at large.

Very truly yours,

Miguel F.

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/a-letter-from-a-grateful-spanish-dad/feed/ "Thank you for writing the book" http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you-for-writing-the-book/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you-for-writing-the-book/#comments Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:21:54 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you-for-writing-the-book/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ""Thank you for writing the book"", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you-for-writing-the-book/" });]]> Dr. Meeker-

I picked up your book a few days following the ultrasound that verified my wife and I were expecting a baby girl this June (our first) and while I’ve never been moved to contact an author but I wanted to thank you for writing the book. It was informative, terrifying and to be honest actually quite affirming. It’s amazingly rare that I find anything written “for” men that is also written in a way that speaks directly to them. I hope to take the lessons contained in it with me through all the stages of my little girls life and wanted to thank you deeply.

Michael G.

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thank-you-for-writing-the-book/feed/ Letter from a Dad http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/letter-from-a-dad/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/letter-from-a-dad/#comments Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:45:25 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/letter-from-a-dad/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Letter from a Dad", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/letter-from-a-dad/" });]]> Dr. Meeker,

Thank you for your dedication to write a lovely book. Not only is does it reflect your experience, but it eloquently tells a very compelling story for us Dad’s to live up to. I will re-read your book to commit to memory a number of issues you raised to bring my daughter(6) and even my son(6) to the best of my ability. I will also act as an ambassador to help promote your message to all parents who are raising children.

All the best, in raising your own children to enjoy the adventure of life.

Yours truly,
Jim

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/letter-from-a-dad/feed/ From a stay at home Dad http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/from-a-stay-at-home-dad/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/from-a-stay-at-home-dad/#comments Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:31:58 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/from-a-stay-at-home-dad/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "From a stay at home Dad", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/from-a-stay-at-home-dad/" });]]> Most of you know that I am a stay at home dad. This has brought me a lot of joy and a lot of ribbing from my friends. Heck all my golfing buddies call me Mr. Mom. I always new I was doing the right thing for my girls but as they get older I wondered is there something else. My mother-in-law gave me a book for Christmas that reaffirmed everything I have been doing and gave insight in to my girls minds. This book is the best thing that has happened to me and my girls aside from their mother.

The book is written by a pediatrician named Meg Meeker. The following is from the inside cover of the book:

The most important person in a young girl’s life?

Her father. That’s right—and teen health expert Dr. Meg Meeker has the data and clinical experience to prove it. After more than twenty years of counseling girls, she knows that fathers, more than anyone else, set the course for their daughters’ lives. Now Dr. Meeker, author of the critically acclaimed Epidemic: How Teen Sex Is Killing Our Kids, shows you how to strengthen—or rebuild—your bond with your daughter, and how to use it to shape her life, and yours, for the better.

Directly challenging the feminist attack on traditional masculinity, Dr. Meeker demonstrates that the most important factor for girls growing up into confident, well-adjusted women is a strong father with conservative values. To have one, she shows, is the best protection against eating disorders, failure in school, STDs, unwed pregnancy, and drug or alcohol abuse—and the best predictor of academic achievement, successful marriage, and a satisfying emotional life.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters reveals:

  • The essential characteristics and virtues of strong fathers—and how to develop them
  • How daughters take cues from their fathers on everything from drug use, drinking, smoking, and having sex, to self-esteem, moodiness, and seeking attention from boys
  • Why girls want you to place restrictions on them (even though they’ll complain when you do)
  • How to become a hero to your daughter—and why she needs that more than anything
  • The one mistake fathers make that is the primary cause of girls “hooking up”
  • Why girls depend on the guidance of fathers through, and even beyond, their college years
  • Recipe for disaster: the notion that girls “need to make their own decisions and mistakes”
  • Why girls need God—and how your faith, or lack thereof, will influence her
  • How to communicate with your daughter—and how not to
  • True stories of “prodigal daughters”—and how their fathers helped bring them back

Dads, you are far more powerful than you think you are. Your daughters need the support that only fathers can provide—and if you are willing to follow Dr. Meeker’s advice on how to guide your daughter, to stand between her and a toxic culture, your rewards will be unmatched.

I am telling you that if you have daughters this is a must read! I hate to read and I could not put this book down. Half way through the book I ordered ten copies to give to my friend. It moved me that much. That is why I am telling you about it. When you were a little boy you dreamed of being a hero. Now that you have a daughter you are! So buck up and be one! Every decision you make concerning you daughter affects her life. We need to protect our girls from this sometimes cruel world. I am begging you for your daughter’s sake please read this book. If you can not find in our local bookstores go to http://www.megmeekermd.com/ and order it. Come on dads it’s time to be a hero!

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/from-a-stay-at-home-dad/feed/ Zenit: How Dads Can Help Raise Strong Daughters http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/zenit-how-dads-can-help-raise-strong-daughters/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/zenit-how-dads-can-help-raise-strong-daughters/#comments Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:25:59 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/zenit-how-dads-can-help-raise-strong-daughters/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Zenit: How Dads Can Help Raise Strong Daughters", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/zenit-how-dads-can-help-raise-strong-daughters/" });]]> Here's an interview with Meg Meeker by Carrie Gress.

The way a father treats his daughter is a strong indicator of how she will relate to men for the rest of her life, says author and teen-health expert Doctor Meg Meeker.

Meeker, who has practiced pediatric and adolescent medicine, as well as teen counseling, is the author of "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know," by Regnery Publishing. The book highlights how the fundamental relationship of a girl with her father can affect all areas of her life.

In this interview with ZENIT, Meeker, who also wrote "Epidemic: How Teen Sex Is Killing Our Kids," talks about the profound role a father plays in his daughter's life, whether he knows it or not.

Q: A father is a daughter's best ally seems to be the consensus of your book. While studies say that it is parents who are the key to their children's happiness, what is the unique offering of a father to a daughter that a mother cannot offer, especially in her relationship to God?

Meeker: I think that one of the reasons I wanted to address this issue head-on, is that a father is a daughter's great ally, which today is not only overlooked, but is directly attacked. If you look at the typical sitcom, the father is portrayed as someone who is comical, humorous and just plain dumb, and as though he has something to learn from his daughter.

Research shows that a father's influence builds up self-esteem, helps his daughter to avoid sex, drugs, alcohol, and stay in college. What it is that a father offers is that he carries an authority in his daughter's eyes. This authority is not ascribed to the mother, not that she is not important, but a father's influence is different.

When a girl is little, her dad is her primary male love relationship. When he gives her something as a man, she learns lessons about men, setting a template in those early years on her heart about what to expect, to think, to feel, and know about men from there on out, affecting even her relationship to God, because Christ is a man.

Read the entire article

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/zenit-how-dads-can-help-raise-strong-daughters/feed/ theTrumpet.com: Through Your Daughter's Eyes http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thetrumpetcom-through-your-daughter%e2%80%99s-eyes/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thetrumpetcom-through-your-daughter%e2%80%99s-eyes/#comments Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:18:38 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thetrumpetcom-through-your-daughter%e2%80%99s-eyes/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "theTrumpet.com: Through Your Daughter's Eyes", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thetrumpetcom-through-your-daughter%e2%80%99s-eyes/" });]]> Here's an article by Joel Hilliker about Dr. Meeker's book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters.

“A Note to Daddy,” read the little paper on my nightstand. “Daddy, will you take me on a date on Thursday, please? Love, Zoe.”

The heart melts.

That note reinforced something I learned recently—something I thought I already knew, but the full truth of which is more powerful and exciting than I had realized: that is, just how potent a father’s influence is.

It hit me with greater force thanks to a book I heartily endorse as a must-read for every man with a daughter: Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker.

Read the entire article

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/thetrumpetcom-through-your-daughter%e2%80%99s-eyes/feed/ From a grateful reader http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/from-a-grateful-reader/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/from-a-grateful-reader/#comments Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:10:43 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/from-a-grateful-reader/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "From a grateful reader", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/from-a-grateful-reader/" });]]> Hi, Doctor Meeker –

On the day my wife and I found out we were pregnant with our first child we went to our nearby Borders, looking for all the books that would teach us how to wait for, and eventually have a healthy child. I glanced at your "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters," and said to my wife, "If we have a daughter I'm gonna get this book."

A few months after our wonderful daughter was born, I picked up your book, and just finished it. I wanted to thank for writing so clearly about the demands and unfathomable rewards of having a little girl. I found myself tearing up several times, as you described many qualities I've always appreciated in my own father, — qualities I will now try to emulate.

And, your words about just being there for your daughter during all periods of her life, and how eventually she might find someone who'd love her and care for her as much as her father does made me say to myself "I hope I'm that kind of father."

Thanks again, and all the best.

Neal

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/from-a-grateful-reader/feed/ Dr. Meeker on the Radio http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meeker-on-the-radio/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meeker-on-the-radio/#comments Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:55:05 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meeker-on-the-radio/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Dr. Meeker on the Radio", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meeker-on-the-radio/" });]]> Teresa Tomeo's Catholic Connection Radio Show
Meg will be a regular guest on Monday mornings, 9:30-10:00 am EST
For stations and more info visit www.teresatomeo.com.

Here's an list of shows Meg has appeared on…

Relevant Radio© Morning Air

The Parent's Journal Radio Show

The Michael Dresser Show on Lifestyle Radio

The Satellite Sisters

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meeker-on-the-radio/feed/ Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 1) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-1/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-1/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:27:18 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-1/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 1)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-1/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnwzY5m5Fns

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-1/feed/ Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 2) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-2/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-2/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:26:42 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-2/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 2)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-2/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuwkMj88G5s

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-2/feed/ Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 3) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-3/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-3/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:25:38 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-3/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 3)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-3/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZXXM1jhbVY

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-3/feed/ Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 4) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-4/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-4/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:25:06 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-4/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 4)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-4/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_v2jMlOjLs

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-4/feed/ Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 5) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-5/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-5/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:24:33 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-5/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 5)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-5/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8HBwa0k6iM

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-5/feed/ Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 6) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-6/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-6/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:07:17 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-6/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: EWTN, The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Father's Day Special (part 6)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-6/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szlLWp3ncjI

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-strong-fathers-strong-daughters-part-6/feed/ Video: Heartland with John Kasich, The Right to Have Sex http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-right-to-sex/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-right-to-sex/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:05:53 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-right-to-sex/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: Heartland with John Kasich, The Right to Have Sex", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-right-to-sex/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSag1FTF7eI

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-right-to-sex/feed/ Video: O'Reilly Factor http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-epidemic/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-epidemic/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:04:53 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-epidemic/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: O'Reilly Factor", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-epidemic/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ-8xlUo1Nk

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-epidemic/feed/ Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters Q&A http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-fathers-strong-daughters-qa/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-fathers-strong-daughters-qa/#comments Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:16:59 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-fathers-strong-daughters-qa/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters Q&A", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-fathers-strong-daughters-qa/" });]]> By Dr. Meg Meeker.

Read the article

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-fathers-strong-daughters-qa/feed/ Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters Article http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-fathers-strong-daughters-article/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-fathers-strong-daughters-article/#comments Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:16:26 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-fathers-strong-daughters-article/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters Article", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-fathers-strong-daughters-article/" });]]> By Dr. Meg Meeker.

Read the article

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/strong-fathers-strong-daughters-article/feed/ The High Cost of Sexualizing Our Youth http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/the-high-cost-of-sexualizing-our-youth/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/the-high-cost-of-sexualizing-our-youth/#comments Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:13:51 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/the-high-cost-of-sexualizing-our-youth/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "The High Cost of Sexualizing Our Youth", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/the-high-cost-of-sexualizing-our-youth/" });]]> Article by Meg Meeker.

Read the article

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/the-high-cost-of-sexualizing-our-youth/feed/ Video: The Rules Have Changed (part 1) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-one/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-one/#comments Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:29:40 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-one/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: The Rules Have Changed (part 1)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-one/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CjmUReV_jU

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-one/feed/ Video: The Rules Have Changed (part 2) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-two/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-two/#comments Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:28:34 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-two/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: The Rules Have Changed (part 2)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-two/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKkqc1juZr8

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-two/feed/ Video: The Rules Have Changed (part 3) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-three/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-three/#comments Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:26:51 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-three/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: The Rules Have Changed (part 3)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-three/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjMWSU5dijg

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/dr-meg-meeker-the-rules-have-changed-part-three/feed/ Video: The Today Show with Katie Couric (part 1) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-teens-sex-part-one/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-teens-sex-part-one/#comments Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:25:36 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-teens-sex-part-one/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: The Today Show with Katie Couric (part 1)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-teens-sex-part-one/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O4EOPFqEXM

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-teens-sex-part-one/feed/ Video: The Today Show with Katie Couric (part 2) http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-teens-sex-part-two/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-teens-sex-part-two/#comments Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:22:48 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-teens-sex-part-two/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Video: The Today Show with Katie Couric (part 2)", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-teens-sex-part-two/" });]]>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnav1WmMimQ

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/video-dr-meg-meeker-teens-sex-part-two/feed/ Did You Know http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/did-you-know/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/did-you-know/#comments Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:43:15 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=11 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Did You Know", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/did-you-know/" });]]> By Meg Meeker, M.D.

  • Toddlers securely attached to fathers are better at solving problems.
  • With fathers present in the home, kids manage school stress better.
  • Girls with doting fathers are more assertive.
  • Daughters who perceive that their fathers care a lot about them, and who feel connected to their fathers have significantly fewer suicide attempts and fewer instances of body dissatisfaction, depression, low self-esteem, substance use, and unhealthy weight.
  • Girls with involved fathers are twice as likely to stay in school.
  • A daughter’s self-esteem is best predicted by her father’s physical affection.
  • Girls whose parents divorce or separate before they turn twenty-one tend to have shorter life spans by four years.
  • Girls with good fathers are less likely to flaunt themselves to seek male attention.
  • Fathers help daughters become more competent, more achievement-oriented, and more successful.
  • Girls with involved fathers wait longer to initiate sex and have lower rates of teen pregnancy.
  • Girls who live solely with their mothers have significantly less ability to control impulses, delay gratification, and have a weaker sense of conscience or right and wrong.
  • Kids do better academically if their fathers establish rules and exhibit affection.
  • Teen girls who live with both parents are three times less likely to lose their virginity before their sixteenth birthdays.
  • 76 percent of teen girls said that fathers influenced their decisions on whether they should become sexually active.
  • One in five Americans over age twelve tests positive for genital herpes.
  • 46.7 percent of students (girls and boys) will be sexually active before high school ends.
  • Engaging in sex puts girls at higher risk for depression.
  • 11.5 percent of females attempted suicide last year.
  • 27.8 percent of high school students (female and male) drank alcohol before age thirteen.
  • Parent connectedness is the number-one factor in preventing girls from engaging in premarital sex and indulging in drugs and alcohol.

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/did-you-know/feed/ Ten Secrets Every Father Should Know http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/ten-secrets-every-father-should-know/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/ten-secrets-every-father-should-know/#comments Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:42:10 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=10 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Ten Secrets Every Father Should Know", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/ten-secrets-every-father-should-know/" });]]> By Meg Meeker, M.D.

10. Keep Her Connected

9. Teach Her to Fight

8. Teach Her Who God Is

7. Be the Man You Want Her to Marry

6. Pragmatism and Grit: Two of Your Greatest Assets

5. Protect Her, Defend Her (and use a shotgun if necessary)

4. Teach Her Humility

3. You Are Her First Love

2. She Needs a Hero

1. You Are the Most Important Man in Her Life

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/ten-secrets-every-father-should-know/feed/ Introduction to Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/introduction-to-strong-fathers-strong-daughters/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/introduction-to-strong-fathers-strong-daughters/#comments Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:40:41 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=9 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Introduction to Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/introduction-to-strong-fathers-strong-daughters/" });]]> This is the introduction to Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: Ten Secrets Every Father Should Know.

By Meg Meeker, M.D.
In September 1979, my father spoke a single sentence that changed my life. I had graduated from Mt. Holyoke College earlier in the year and had been rejected from several medical schools, so I was living at home pondering Plan B. One evening, on my way upstairs, I overheard my father talking to a friend on the phone. This was unusual, for my father was not a very social man and a phone conversation with a friend was noteworthy. I stopped outside the door of his study, which was slightly ajar, and listened.

"Yes," he was saying. "They really do grow up fast, don't they? I'm excited to tell you that my daughter, Meg, will be starting medical school next fall. She's not quite sure where, though."

My head went hot. I thought I was going to pass out. What was he saying? Medical school? I'd just received a handful of rejections. I'll be going to medical school next fall? How can he say that? What does he know that I don't?

His words alone didn't change the course of my life. His tone, his inflection, and his confidence had an amazing impact as well. My father believed something about me that I couldn't believe myself. Not only did he believe it, but he, a doctor himself, put his reputation on the line in front of his friend.

As I backed away from the door, my heart rate doubled. I felt thrilled and excited, because my father's confidence gave me hope. Going to medical school had been my dream since I was a young teenager.

And sure enough, in fall 1980, I started medical school, just as my father had said. He called me routinely and asked specifics about my classes. Was I understanding gross anatomy?…Did I need slides to look at just for fun? It didn't matter what my response was; he packaged them up and sent them to my apartment so that I would have something interesting to do on Friday nights, which, of course, were study nights…

What my father gave me was confidence. Since I revered him as a giant in the medical field and a giant in our home, I knew that what he believed was right. It didn't matter what he said, I still believed he was right.

And he gave me a belief in myself. He communicated to me, I don't remember exactly how, that I could do anything I wanted to do. There weren't many women in his medical school class, he said, but boy were they good. They were good, and I could be too.

My father always made sure that I knew that he loved me…I was his daughter and that was a very important thing to be. Did he tell me often? No. He didn't talk much. So how did I know? I knew because I heard him worry about me to my mother. I watched him cry when my brother and I left home for college. He came to many of my athletic events but missed many more. But that didn't matter. I knew that he thought I was terrific at sports. (In fact he believed me to be much better than I really was, but I didn't want to square him away on that one.) I knew he loved me because he made our entire family go on vacations together.

Most of the time I hated going, particularly when I was a teen, but he made me go anyway. He knew something I didn't. He knew that we needed time to be together. In the same camp. In the same dining room. On the same hiking trails or in the same canoes.

My dad protected me fiercely, to the point where I was almost too embarrassed to date anyone. He was a hunter and he let my boyfriends know that. They saw the moose head on the wall as they entered our house and my dad made sure that they knew who put that head up there. He thought he was being funny; I thought he was embarrassing me. But he protected me, not from predatory boys or monsters, but from myself. I was young and too trusting of people and he knew that long before I did…

My father is elderly now and these days I spend more time caring for him than he for me. But I know the ropes because he showed me quite well…His scoliosis causes him to shuffle along, his spine resembling a capital C, and he still repeats questions to me, no longer because he's thinking of other things, but because his memory is sliding. He has a few remaining wisps of white hair, but his eccentricity, his antisocial bent, and his love for me remain the same. He is a good man.

Most of you out there are good men as well, but you are good men who have been derided by a culture that does not care for you, that, in terms of the family, has ridiculed your authority, denied your importance, and tried to fill you with confusion about your role. But I can tell you that fathers change lives, as my father changed mine. You are natural leaders, and your family looks to you for qualities that only fathers have. You were made a man for a reason, and your daughter is looking to you for guidance that she cannot get from her mother.

What you say in a sentence, communicate with a smile, or do with regard to family rules has infinite importance for your daughter. I want you to see yourself through her eyes. And I don't want this just for her sake, but for yours, because if you could see yourself as she sees you, even for ten minutes, your life would never be the same…

Your daughter's world is smaller than yours, not just physically, but emotionally as well. It is more fragile and tender because her character is being kneaded as bread dough on a cutting board. Every day she awakens, your hands pick her up and plop her back down on the board to begin the massage. How you knead, every single day, will change who she is.

Your daughter gets up in the morning because you exist. You were here first and she came into being because of you. The epicenter of her tiny world is you. Friends, family members, teachers, professors, or coaches will influence her to varying degrees, but they won't knead her character. You will. Because you are her dad.

Dads, you are far more powerful than you think you are. My goal in writing this book is to show you how to use your power to improve your life with your daughter, and by doing so to make your life remarkably richer, more rewarding, and more beneficial to those you love. The concepts presented in the following pages are profoundly simple. But we all know how difficult it is to implement simple truths. We know that we should love better. Or be more patient. Or be more courageous, or diligent, or faithful. But can we?

In part, it's a matter of perspective. Loving your daughter better might seem complicated to you, but it's very simple to her. Being a hero to your daughter sounds daunting, but actually it can be quite easy. Protecting her and teaching her about God, sex, and humility doesn't require a degree in psychology. It just means being a dad.

I have not chosen attributes of fathers to discuss randomly. I have watched and listened to your daughters for many years and have heard what they say about you…I have treated daughters and counseled families. I have read psychiatry texts, research papers, psychology journals, religious studies, and pediatric journals…I will tell you that no research paper, no textbook diagnosis, no instructions can begin to change a young girl's life as dramatically as even a handful of interactions with her father. Nothing.

From your daughter's perspective, it is never too late to strengthen her relationship with you. So be bold. Your daughter wants your guidance and support; she wants and needs a strong bond with you. And, as all successful fathers know, you need a strong bond with her. This book will show how to strengthen that bond, or rebuild it, and use it to shape your daughter's life—and yours—for the better.

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/introduction-to-strong-fathers-strong-daughters/feed/ Suggested Interview Questions http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/epidemic-suggested-interview-questions/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/epidemic-suggested-interview-questions/#comments Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:10:39 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=5 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Suggested Interview Questions", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/epidemic-suggested-interview-questions/" });]]> Suggested questions about Meg's book EPIDEMIC: How Teen Sex Is Killing Our Kids.

1. The title of your book is pretty dramatic. Is teen sex really killing our kids?

2. How bad is it? How many teens in your practice have an STD and what types are spreading the quickest?

3. You say you blew it for the first 20 years of your career and now you call yourself a reformed pediatrician, what do you mean?

4. If the epidemic of STDs among teenagers is so prevalent, why has it not been covered in the media?

5. Why has the number of STDs escalated so much within the past 20 years? What’s the solution to curbing this epidemic?

6. You say condoms aren’t the answer. What do you mean? "Safe sex" has been advocated for decades.

7. Are you saying even 19-year-olds shouldn’t be sexual at all? Is this for health or moral reasons?

8. How effective is sex education in our schools?

9. What is a parent to do whose kids say they will keep having sex? Where does a parent go from there?

10. Every teen magazine you pick up sexualizes girls and entices them to be sexual. Aren’t we fighting a losing battle?

To schedule an interview with Meg Meeker, please contact Lauren Lawson at 202.216.0601 x484 or at llawson@eaglepub.com

ShareThis

]]> http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/epidemic-suggested-interview-questions/feed/ Startling Statistics http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/starting-statistics/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/starting-statistics/#comments Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:07:26 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=4 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Startling Statistics", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/starting-statistics/" });]]>
  • This year alone, 2 to 4 million of those infected with STDs will be teenagers
  • Every day, 8,000 teens will become infected with a new STD
  • 1 out of every 4 sexually active teens is living with an STD at this moment
  • Teenagers today are five times more likely to have herpes than they were in the 1970s
  • 50% of all high school students have had sex by the time they graduate and between 12-20% have had 4 or more sexual partners
  • In a national survey, 1 in 5 teens reported that oral sex is safe sex
  • If a girl starts having sex before the age of 16, there’s a 58% chance that she’ll have more than five partners
  • Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is 5 times more common than all viral STDs combined and there are at least 30 strains of sexually transmitted HPV
  • Studies show that 46% of teenage girls contract HPV at their first sexual intercourse
  • HPV is directly linked to 99.7% of all cervical cancers
  • 61% of young people between 13 and 19 infected with HIV are women
  • 1 in five Americans over the age of 11 has genital herpes
  • 62-91% of people with herpes — including teenagers — don’t realize they have it
  • 15-20% of all boys will be infected with the herpes virus by the time they reach 18
  • 85% of all people who test positive for herpes can shed the virus despite having no signs of clinical infection
  • 4 out of 5 teenagers in a survey of 66 didn’t know that most people who get an STD never develop symptoms
  • In a recent report sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, they concluded that male latex condoms could reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS but that there is not enough evidence to determine that they are effective in reducing the risk of most other sexually transmitted diseases
  • In a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, it was concluded that using condoms didn’t help men reduce their risk of getting Herpes at all
  • 40% of the 3 million affected with Chlamydia each year are teenagers
  • If left untreated, Chlamydia will cause Pelvic Inflammatory Disease in 20 to 40% of cases
  • Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) is the leading cause of hospitalization for females between the ages of 15 and 55
  • Teenagers make up 10% of the population but acquire 25% of all STDs
  • Nationwide, gonorrhea rates are highest among girls between the ages of 15-19
  • The cells covering a teenage girl’s cervix are physiologically different from the cells lining a 25 or 30-year-old woman’s cervix, and therefore are far more susceptible to STDs

    • ShareThis

    ]]>     http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/starting-statistics/feed/     Detroit Free Press: Dads can help daughters http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/detroit-free-press-dads-can-help-daughters/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/detroit-free-press-dads-can-help-daughters/#comments Sun, 16 Sep 2007 18:43:21 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/?p=12 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Detroit Free Press: Dads can help daughters", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/detroit-free-press-dads-can-help-daughters/" });]]> Here's a mention in the Detroit Free Press.

    Parenthood does not come with directions. But here's a book that can help. "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know"

    From the inside flap: The most important person in a young girl's life? Her father. That's right — and teen health expert Dr. Meg Meeker has the data and clinical experience to prove it. After more than 20 years of counseling girls, she knows that fathers, more than anyone else, set the course for their daughters' lives. Now Meeker, author of the critically acclaimed "Epidemic: How Teen Sex Is Killing Our Kids," shows you how to strengthen — or rebuild — your bond with your daughter, and how to use it to shape her life, and yours, for the better. Directly challenging the feminist attack on traditional masculinity, Meeker demonstrates that the most important factor for girls growing up into confident, well-adjusted women is a strong father with conservative values.

    ShareThis

    ]]>     http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/detroit-free-press-dads-can-help-daughters/feed/     Leelanau Enterprise: Sex talk puts focus on parents http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/leelanau-enterprise-sex-talk-puts-focus-on-parents/ http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/leelanau-enterprise-sex-talk-puts-focus-on-parents/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:19:18 +0000 Meg Meeker, M.D. http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/leelanau-enterprise-sex-talk-puts-focus-on-parents/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Leelanau Enterprise: Sex talk puts focus on parents", url: "http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/leelanau-enterprise-sex-talk-puts-focus-on-parents/" });]]>

    Parents need to play an active role in their teenagers lives' to keep them physically and emotionally healthy.

    That was the overriding message from Dr. Meg Meeker, a nationally known physician and author who spoke to a crowd of about 200 parents and teenagers last week at Glen Lake School. The program was sponsored by the Glen Lake Parent Advisory Committee, Parent-Teacher Organization and the Benzie-Leelanau County Health Department.

    “Blame my generation for messing things up for you,” she told the students. “A lot of parents just bail on their kids … It’s our job to set boundaries and be willing to say ‘no.’”

    Meeker leveled with the teens, who were accompanied by – but not necessarily seated with – their parents.

    Read the entire article

    ShareThis

    ]]>     http://www.megmeekermd.com/blog/leelanau-enterprise-sex-talk-puts-focus-on-parents/feed/