By Greg Gerber on
9/18/2009 10:13 AM
As parents of young girls, which of us has not reached for the camera when we find our daughters covered in suds in the tub on bath night, frolicking naked in the back yard kiddie pool, or lying buns-up on the living room floor watching something on television.
The bare-bottom pictures of youth have been a parent's cherished momento since the day the first camera was invented. But now, thanks to an overzealous government and an absolute paranoia about child pornography, parents who snap pictures of their unclothed children risk losing their kids, going to jail and a tarnished reputation.
An Arizona couple faced such a nightmare last year when they snapped a few pictures of their three daughters crammed into a tub during a family vacation to California.
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By Greg Gerber on
9/22/2008 7:07 PM
"Have you ever been so sad that you can't think?" The words just screamed out from an e-mail I received from the 8-year-old daughter of a friend of mine.
Their daughter is caught in the middle a nasty divorce. Normally bright eyed and full of life, she is screaming for reassurance that someone loves her, notices her, cares about her and will be there for her.
It was a great reminder of the duty all of us men have to the girls within our circle of influence. They need, want, desire -- and deserve -- positive male attention.
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By Greg Gerber on
9/4/2008 12:20 AM
News this week that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant is opening up a debate I don't think anyone in this country really wants to have. Because the truth is sometimes kids do stupid things and dads cant do a darn thing about it except try to clean up the mess.
Yes, Bristol Palin is young and so is the baby's father. Yes, it would be nice if she could have waited a little longer to become a mom. And, yes, Bristol did make a bad decision in conceiving a child out of wedlock. But, after spending some time trying to get to know the Palin family tonight, I'm confident that Bristol can count on her parents' support in the months and years ahead.
Like all committed, loving fathers everywhere -- God is excellent at cleaning up messages and transforming a negative experience into a rewarding blessing. And Jeff Palin will be there to help.
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By Greg Gerber on
8/20/2008 7:19 PM
An article appearing recently in the Toronto Sun suggests that parents have to "learn to keep your mouth shut, and only offer your opinion when asked."
No, it's not some sassy 16-year-old giving the advice. It's a real live -- and registered -- family and marriage therapist living in Canada.
Has anyone else noticed that the rise in problems we have with adolescents today -- tattoes, drugs, alcohol abuse, early sexualization, teen pregnancy, low academic achievement, lack of manners, inconsiderate behavior and unbelievably stupid decision-making -- correlates directly with the number of registered family therapists employed in the country? The greater the population of therapists, the more problems our children have in coping with their own problems.
My father, and all his buddies, knew that the best way to raise kids was to keep them on a short leash and set high standards of expectations. I can assure anyone tha
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By Greg Gerber on
8/20/2008 5:25 PM
A 1994 study indicates that 30- to 39-year-olds are having sex an average of 86 times per year, and 40- to 49-year-olds are having sex an average of 69 times per year. Doug and Annie Brown have been married 11 years and have two daughters, age 9 and 5. After reading an article about a club of people who agreed to forgo sex for 100 days, the Colorado couple set out to to the opposite and write a book about it. In the hilarious, romantic book, “Just Do It – How One Couple Turned Off The TV and Turned On Their Sex Lives For 101 Days (No Excuses!),” the couple highlights how they set out to accomplish what seemed at times an impossible goal.
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By Greg Gerber on
8/14/2008 11:17 PM
I have always loved watching the Olympics. The pagentry, the intense competition, the sportsmanship -- it's a wonderful event that I wish took place every year instead of every four.
This year, as I was watching the women's gymnastics competition, something seemed a little out of place. Having three daughters, I consider myself somewhat qualified to guestimate the ages of my daughters' friends. There is no way I would suspect that several of the "women" on the Chinese gymnastics team were anywhere near 16. Several look as young as 12. For one in particular, I suspected the ring from the potty seat hadn't completely worn off yet.
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By Greg Gerber on
8/4/2008 10:48 PM
Despite what our legal system may say about fathers, my feeling is that a father cannot kidnap his own child.
People will be quick to say that fathers who abuse their children should not have any unsupervised contact with them -- and I totally agree. The problem is that often the charges against fathers are patently false.
When I read stories like the one last week about the guy who "kidnapped" his 7-year-old daughter, my heart goes out to men like that. I certainly am not going to rush to judge the guy for wanting to strike back against an unjust system and do something -- anything -- to spend some quality time with his child.
I can't imagine what it would be like to deal with the frustration, anger and pain that our unfair legal system imposes fathers simply because judges are under the impression that fathers are irrelevant and that a child of any sex is better off with the mother.
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By Greg Gerber on
7/22/2008 9:55 PM
When a California man apparently had enough bad behavior from his 13-year-old daughter, he made her stand on a busy street corner holding a sign that said she is a liar who disrepected her parents.
Of course, a California psychologist blasted the tactic by suggesting that the father open up more lines of communication with his daughter. In a bid to ensure job security, the shrink suggested the parents and child needed counseling to figure out an appropriate way to discipline the girl.
I think Clayton is doing a fine job. In fact, he may become one of my heroes. Dismissing the counseling suggestion, Clayton suggested that if his daughter's activities continue, next time he'll take her to the mall to hold the sign again.
Clayton Delouth is one guy who truly understands that any man -- even a physchologist -- can father a child, but it takes a DODO to raise a daughter.
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By Greg Gerber on
7/6/2008 11:09 AM
By the time I finished reading a story which appeared recently in London's The Daily Mail, I was almost nauseous. The story centered around an 11-year-old beauty queen and her mother who is transforming this innocent girl into a selfish little waif who will undoubtedly think the world revolves around her.
The story describes a girl who got her first set of false eye lashes at 8, and whose parents spend $594 per month (£300 English pounds) on beauty treatments including hair extensions, fake tans and pedicures.
The root of this whole sorry is evident when father, Martin, is described as a man who is never at home and who seems to exert no influence at all over the raising of his daughter. He's an emasculated male not even trying to raise a daughter by leaving the job entirely in the hands of a self-centered beauty queen.
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By Greg Gerber on
6/17/2008 7:45 AM
A court in Hawaii rules that some other adult must pay $690,000 because an 18-year-old student on a field trip violates a school policy against drinking and a state law against drinking, gets drunk, falls off a hotel balcony and dies. The ADULT student is not responsible for her actions, but the adult chaperone is?
Rather than blaming some other parent for their ADULT daughter's lack of judgment and common sense, the victim's parents owe all the chaperones on that trip a huge apology for subjecting them to the idea they had to invest their time and money in babysitting some other parents' ADULT daughter who valued partying more than competition, and drunken behavior more than revealing in the splendor of a tropical paradise.
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