Why do girls giggle so much? Why does everything have to be pink? Why are they so scary once they hit puberty? How can I stop her from marrying an idiot?

If you want effective strategies instead of platitudes, real solutions instead of catch-phrases, and a book with chapters on 'What dads want', 'Girl-talk: communicating with the other side', 'Mean girls - the new cult of bitchiness', 'Every dad's nightmare: sex, drugs, and parties', 'Puberty - it's not as scary as it seems' and 'how to be a cool dad', then welcome to the real world of raising girls.

Dave and Camille from radio station Classic Hits discuss the new book, Fathers Raising Daughters with Clinical Psychologist, Television Presenter and Author, Nigel Latta.

Listen to the podcast

Enjoy!

Dave & Camille

In case you haven't seen the "get dad to reenact a famous movie scene" concept check out the following:

I think the concept is great but they could have really pushed it a bit further. So definitely try this at home, but whatever you do ... stay away from reenacting the Fatal Attraction scenes ... now that's just wrong!

-Stef

By Mark Lakewood

Do you sometimes get frustrated disciplining your child because the discipline appears to be ineffective? Do you sometimes change your discipline in search of the most effective one to use on your child? Have you come to the conclusion that no discipline is effective on your child? If you are experiencing any of these thoughts or feelings today, I would like for you to consider the following:

Have you ever wondered why so many people commit murder when they know the consequence is the death penalty or a lifetime in prison?

By Annie Fox

Over the past decade research has indicated that girls are getting their periods earlier and earlier. Experts weighed in about the ramifications of the early onset of puberty. Higher risk for cancer, violent victimization and depression made the list. (Depression in girls can lead to cutting, eating disorders, substance abuse, and sexual promiscuity.) Scientists explored the possible causes of this “trend”. Turns out, according to the research done by biologist Sandra Steingraber, American girls’ onset of menarche (getting their first period) has pretty much stayed the same for the past 35 years. That is, 12.8 years to 12.6 years. What has changed fairly dramatically is the onset of thelarche (the development of breasts). According to the studies Steingraber reviewed in her report "The Falling Age of Puberty in Girls: What We Know; What We Need to Know", “By age 8, 14% of American girls have breasts.” (The report is available as a free download at www.breastcancerfund.org)

A while ago we made a mention of the recent film adaption of "Where the wild things are" - so one of our readers went to see it (again) with his children and wrote a review ... check it out!


By Pete Rorabaugh

"Let the Wild Rumpus Start!"
Those may be the most memorable words I have ever read aloud as a parent.

That is Max Records, who plays Max in everyone's favorite story about a boy who dreams he is a king. Last month I saw Where the Wild Things Are with my two oldest (9 and 11). I had already seen the movie once -- on opening night. I am that kind of fan of an assortment of things (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Cormac McCarthy, lots of musicians). I was really excited about the film. For once, I thought, an indie-kids movie.

What parent hasn’t dreaded report card time, especially when a child is underperforming? How do two kids, born of the same genetic material, turn out so differently when it comes to school performance and their work ethic?
When is it wrong if the “problem” child gets more attention than the one who gets his work done and maintains good grades? These are questions most households face and we are definitely in the middle of them right now.

My older son, Will, is multi-talented when it comes to music and disinterested when it comes to school. He plays several instruments and is almost a walking encyclopedia of contemporary music and even knows quite a bit about music from previous generations. He’s also multi-talented at fooling me about his school-work, even though he’s clear the truth about his grades will always surface.

Ever wonder why Generation Y is called Generation Y?

[originally published by Journal de Quebec]

-Stef

E-mail is so ubiquitous that we forget that it isn’t talking on the phone or having a conversation in person. Subtlety, facial expressions, or tonality are all lost in an e-mail message. I have found this has gotten me in trouble when I think I’m being funny, subtle, or sarcastic in an e-mail. And, the habit many of us have of forwarding a joke, photo, or an article creates even greater problems in many cases.

I think e-mail should probably be treated as Eliza Doolittle was advised in “My Fair Lady” about making conversation. “Stick to the weather and health” was Professor Higgins’s caution. Even that proved problematic as Eliza went into too much embarrassing detail about her own family’s health, before she completely blew it with her expletive encouraging one of the racehorses to “move your bloomin’ ass!”

Kids and video games – a match made in heaven? As dads we’re often faced with having to decide whether to:

1) Get our kids a video console in the first place (and if yes – which one!)
2) How long they get to play on it
3) Which games are appropriate

There is an ongoing debate about the first two – see our article and comments about video games and stats. To answer the 3rd question most parents check the rating of a game (if the game has one). But apart from the actual game related content we are now dealing with another component – advertisement.

My son has his first girlfriend and I am pleased that he is now old and mature enough to enter the dating stage. I’m excited for him. In a funny way, I’m re-living vicariously my long-forgotten feelings of first love and all the nervousness, anxiety, and “What am I going to do?” anxieties I felt at his age. Nonetheless, I need to allow him to have his space, and keep my distance while still making sure that they’re acting appropriately. But I don’t fully know how much to ask, observe, or try and find out. Mostly, I think I need to let him discover for himself.