Raising a Strong Daughter in a Toxic Culture: 11 Steps to Keep Her Happy, Healthy, and Safe

by Meg Meeker

Overview

"Dr. Meg Meeker’s thirty years of being a pediatrician give her the understanding, compassion, and experience to help you build the healthy, loving relationship you both deserve.”—RACHEL CRUZE, #1 New York Times bestselling author and host of The Rachel Cruze Show

Parents have never had a tougher job than now. Our culture bombards our daughters with unhealthy role models, misleads them about the consequences of early sexual activity, and even adds to the confusion of adolescences by encouraging them to question their “gender.”

Meg Meeker has been a pediatrician for more than thirty years, is a mother and a grandmother, and has seen it all. She knows what makes for strong, happy, healthy young women—and what puts our daughters at risk. Combining that experience with her famous common sense, she explains the eleven steps that will help your daughter—whether she’s a toddler or a troubled teen—to achieve her full human potential.

In this book, you will learn:

• The four biggest questions every daughter has—and that you must answer
• Why it's the quality, not the quantity, of your daughter's friends that matters
• The essential, complementary roles that mothers and fathers play
• The dangers of social media—and how to help your daughter navigate them
• What every daughter needs to know about God
• Why depression is often a "sexually transmitted disease"
• How to launch your daughter into successful womanhood

If you have a daughter, and worry about her future, you need Dr. Meg's advice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684511952
Publisher:	Skyhorse Publishing
Publication date:	08/10/2021
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	108,767
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

MEG MEEKER, M.D., author of the bestseller Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, has spent more than three decades practicing pediatric and adolescent medicine and counseling teens and parents. A fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, she serves on the Advisory Board of the Medical Institute and is an associate professor of medicine at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Dr. Meeker lives and works in northern Michigan, where she shares a medical practice with her husband, Walter.

Table of Contents

Introduction How to Do the Right Thing xi

Chapter 1 Know Her Heart 1

Chapter 2 Answer Her Four Biggest Questions 15

Chapter 3 Mom: Mentor, Ally, Glue 37

Chapter 4 Dads: Be Her First Love, Protector, and Leader 57

Chapter 5 Help Her Take Control of Screens 69

Chapter 6 Teach Her Healthy versus Toxic Feminism 85

Chapter 7 Eating, Body Image, and Helping Our Daughters Strike the Right Balance 107

Chapter 8 Root Her Faith in God 123

Chapter 9 Help Her Develop a Healthy Sexuality 141

Chapter 10 Help Her Find Good Friends (and Deal with the Bad Ones) 161

Chapter 11 Help Her Be a Strong Woman, Not a Victim 181

Acknowledgments 201

Bibliography 203

Notes 217

Index 223

Editorial Reviews

If you have a daughter—or two, like me—you need this book! Dr. Meg Meeker’s thirty years of being a pediatrician give her the understanding, compassion, and experience to help you build the healthy, loving relationship you both deserve.”

—RACHEL CRUZE, #1 New York Times bestselling author and host of The Rachel Cruze Show

“Our culture is supposed to be all about empowering women, but really it is strewing our daughters’ paths with more pitfalls than any previous generation has had to navigate—from life-threatening bad advice about early sexual activity, to an epidemic of depression (some of it driven by social media), to a near complete misunderstanding of what makes for a happy, productive life. Dr. Meg Meeker is a truth-teller, because she cares about kids—and she knows about kids. She knows how your daughter thinks—maybe even better than you do—and she understands the challenges that parents face. If you want proven advice on how to be a better parent to your daughter, you’ll find it here.”

—BENJAMIN WATSON, tight end for the Superbowl champion New England Patriots, father of seven children, and author of The New Dad’s Playbook: Gearing Up for the Biggest Game of Your Life

“Our culture is supposed to be all about empowering women, but really it is strewing our daughters’ paths with more pitfalls than any previous generation has had to navigate—from life-threatening bad advice about early sexual activity, to an epidemic of depression (some of it driven by social media), to a near complete misunderstanding of what makes for a happy, productive life. Dr. Meg Meeker is a truth-teller, because she cares about kids—and she knows about kids. She knows how your daughter thinks—maybe even better than you do—and she understands the challenges that parents face. If you want proven advice on how to be a better parent to your daughter, you’ll find it here.”

—BENJAMIN WATSON, tight end for the Superbowl champion New England Patriots, father of seven children, and author of The New Dad’s Playbook: Gearing Up for the Biggest Game of Your Life

“I devoured this book. I learned so much. As a family doctor, I plan to steal—oops, I meant to say share—many of the pearls of wisdom I gained from this indispensable book. My recommendation to parents: Read this book. Now. Then read it again or listen to the audio. Get it in your bones. Then the next time you encounter a tough situation with your daughter, ask yourself, ‘What would Dr. Meeker do?’ And do it.”

—LEONARD SAX, M.D., PH.D., father of a teenage daughter and author of the New York Times bestseller The Collapse of Parenting

From the Publisher

03/01/2020

Meeker (Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters) cites her years at a residential home for teens where she noticed the healing power of adult attention. The author believes that most self-destructive behaviors are actually attention-seeking, and that parents are meant to be the force guiding daughters through the disappointments and struggles of life. Meeker believes every daughter wants to give love, form strong attachments, nurture others, and be loved herself. She explores each of these topics with specific guidance for moms and dads. Taking control of screen time, body image, developing a healthy sexuality, and helping your child forge strong friendships are among the main topics Meeker covers. In a final chapter, Meeker explores how to encourage your child in a growing faith. VERDICT Evidence based and filled with practical strategies, this volume will provide valuable ideas for most parents, although Meeker's faith-based viewpoints may be a limiting factor for some.

Library Journal