Customer Reviews

Father to Daughter: Life Lessons on Raising a Girl

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Although a very short, small book, this is a very good collection of simple bits of wisdom.

Some readers may think that it is too simplistic, but I think it contains some things that are very good reminders for fathers of daughters. As big of a job as parenting is in today's world, we can all use reminders of even the basics. In our fast paced world, many times our relationships with family members take a back seat to work. That shouldn't be the case. In this primer on parenting, Harrison helps us remember some basic things that are very valuable.

Some of the pages deal with advice on things that are your role as a parent. Others contain insights that will make readers smile in remembering events they have experienced in child rearing.

Some of my favorite of the included 'lessons' are these:

1. Take part in her life now. Don't wait until she's 15 to try to develop a relationship.
2. Tell her from day one that she can accomplish anything.
3. Be prepared to watch Walt Disney movies with her some 200 times. Each.
4. Tickle her, play with her, give her piggyback rides. She's not breakable.
5. Realize that as you shape her, she will shape you.
6. Read to her often. Very soon, she'll be reading to you.
7. Talk to her about what she wants to be when she grows up.
Continally reinforce the idea that anything is possible.
8. When she's old enough, sign her up for karate lessons. This is more for your sake than hers.
9. Think before you speak. Even when you don't mean to, you can end up hurting her feelings.
10. Take her out of town to somewhere she's never been at least once a year. This will develop her sense of wonder.
11. Remember, teenage girls spend hours in their room doing something. No man has ever really figured out what that something is.
12. There will be days when you think you've raised an alien. Those are the same days she feels she's being raised by one.
13. Remember, it's a good thing if the boys in her life think you are slightly unstable.

Frankly, I never would have bought this for myself. It's a very small, 'cutesy' looking book. It's just not the type of thing that attracts my attention. Fortunately, my wife saw it and bought it for me. It is a real little treasure.

This book is absolutely fantastic. I am a father of two daughters, with a new baby on the way. This book touched me, motivated me, made me think, made me change, and brought tears to my eyes at times.

I am sending a copy to all my "father of daughters" friends.

A must have for Daddies.

I just happened to pick this up in a book store one day and loved it from the first page. It is a wonderful book filled with a short paragraph or even just one sentence on each page. Some make you laugh, some make you think and some make you cry. A perfect gift to get for a husband, son, uncle, brother, friend whatever. Will make the Daddy and Daddy's little girl bond even stronger!!

At first, I thought this was a silly gift my husband received when I was pregnant with our daughter. I decided to take a look at it, and its such a beautiful book. It has very simple ideas and advice, but very important life lessons.

The whole book is full of common sense ideas, but they are things that get overlooked and forgotten. Every dad should be forced to read this as part of soon-to-be-daddy training.

I am sorry but I cannot give this book a good rating. It claims to have life lessons on raising a girl and all I found was a collection of sayings. Some of them were good suggestions, but most were just sentimental "warm fuzzies." Maybe this is all that some guys need to help them raise their daughter, but I have four and I need much more help than this book was able to deliver. Also, before you buy check the dimensions of the book. It is really small and each page contains about a sentence. It is really not worth the money you will spend on it. Sorry, but that's how I see it.

I got this for my husband as a cute little "Congrats on being a father" gift, but I never really read it, since, after all, it was for fathers. Our daughter is 3.5 now and found it, and I started flipping through it. I could not BELIEVE the extreme sexism throughout this book. In fact, you probably don't even need to read this whole review. Just click on "Search in this book" and read it for yourself and it will be pretty obvious.

It's not just the constant comparisons of girls vs. boys and moms vs. dads that is bothersome, it's the fact that those comparisons are so inaccurate. Yes, there ARE legitimate differences between genders. But the differences he attributes to gender, such as sensitivity level and tastes in toys and music, are NOT solely gender based. For example, he writes: "Remember, if you yell at a boy not to play with a wall socket he'll either stomp off or do it anyway. A girl will cry." I personally know boys who cry when yelled at and girls who get mad or do it anyway. Another nugget: "Mom will introduce her to classical music- you let her listen to the Beatles." Good grief. How many women do you know whose favorite music is classical? That is my own mother's favorite genre, but the Beatles were also big favorites and I grew up listening to both. And my father plays classical recorder. BOTH of my parents introduced me to ALL KINDS of music. And we have done the same with our daughter.

In addition, the author indicates that all girls will display the same type of "girly" behavior, and that this behavior is something subnormal that one has to learn to tolerate and accept. Like, "When you take her to the movies, be ready for her to take along five or six of her favorite stuffed animals. When fathers of boys look at you strangely, act as if her behavior makes perfect sense." First of all, I've never seen any girl of any age with stuffed animals at the movies. Second, no normal father (which the author clearly isn't) would ever look at another father strangely because their child is carrying several toys around. Here's another: "She will want a pet. She will also want to dress her pet in costumes and take it for strolls in her doll carriage." Why does he assume that all girls will do this? And why did he think it was important enough to devote a page to? Oh, I get it. It's because he assumes that all girls are the same and that other men are chauvenistic like he is and think that feminine behavior is really strange and aberrant.

As I write this, ironically, my daughter is playing with a dinosaur and snake toy she got yesterday. When we got to the doll aisle she said, "No, mom, not the dolls." She doesn't play with dolls much, just stuffed animals and figurines. And last I checked some boys enjoy playing with dolls and stuffed animals too (Christopher Robin, anyone?). I guess not in HIS family though! Another case in point: She took the aforementioned rather realistic snake toy with her into Home Depot yesterday and was waving it proudly at the big burly guy helping us. He seemed uncomfortable and told me, "I don't like snakes."

The author seems to think that a father will be surprised when his baby girl's diaper is "as challenging as any boy's" and "her screams will be as loud as any boy's." As if men think that girl babies aren't going to poop or cry as much as boys because they are so delicate and dainty or something. If the author thought that before his daughter was born, I have to wonder if he's actually from the 50s and came to this decade in a time machine.

The author writes as if the most important thing about your child is their gender. It's so sexist that the page that tells you to start saving for college seems out of place. Isn't it better for a girl to just marry a rich man?

Most of the book reads like the examples above. The few times his "advice" isn't gender-based are just so simplistic that one certainly doesn't need a book to know it, like "sing to your baby" and "let her sleep on you." Duh.

It is so ridiculous I'm amazed this stinking pile of baby poop ever even got published. I mentioned the sexism to my husband and he said he just blew off that aspect of it as being wrong and tried to just look for the good parts. Hope he found some!

This is a cute little book with a lot of fun ideas,it just lacks content in my opinion.I read the whole thing in about 30 minutes.It does have some nice ideas though.

I received this book in the mail recently and read it in about 20 minutes. It is about 300 or so short pieces of advice for fathers of girls in various stages of development. The quotes are variously witty, funny, instructive, and serious on the challenge men face in raising healthy girls to be self-assured young women. Two thumbs up.

I'm a 46 year old man's man. I have two daughters, 9 and 15. Every page contains good advice. I wish I had it to use 15 years ago.

For all you old dad's; be careful, it will make you cry.

I gave this as part of a baby shower gift for the "dad to be". he was so happy to be included in the celebration. Great book.