A guide for connecting with your daughter’s heart.
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Dad, Here’s What I Really Need from You (LiveUp Affiliate Resource)
Dad, Here’s What I Really Need from You (LiveUp Affiliate Resource)
$15.00
In stock
In stock
Description
Dads, your daughter needs you to be her hero. In a time when young girls may be drifting toward unhealthy decisions and relationships, you can take action to transform your daughter’s life, choices, and future.
Author Michelle Watson, PhD, (LiveUp Resources affiliate and founder of The Abba Project) packs your parenting tool box with ideas, encouragements, timely information, dialogue helps, and biblical wisdom. This book will equip and strengthen dads as they learn to:
- walk in God’s vision for fatherhood
- speak your daughter’s love language
- understand your daughter’s needs, wants, longings, and passions
- bridge resistance and distance that emerges between dads and daughters
- hone tools to mend a broken home or heart and heal the past
Dads and daughters can grow together in remarkable, authentic ways through God’s powerful hope and healing. Embarking on this mission to become your daughter’s hero will leave a life-changing impact on you, your daughter, and your relationship with each other.
Additional information
| Suggested Demographic | fathers of daughters |
|---|---|
| Author | Michelle Watson, PhD |
31 reviews for Dad, Here’s What I Really Need from You (LiveUp Affiliate Resource)
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Anonymous Customer –
This is a great book with solid advice on how to form a better relationship with daughters, specifically focused on the teen and younger adult years where there may be more turmoil.
Michelle has great advice for fathers looking to better connect to their daughters on an emotional level, encouraging positive interaction without judgement in order for fathers to foster healthy and long lasting relations with their daughters.
The book has a spiritual perspective to it but is ultimately a great read regardless of what faith you come from. I would highly recommend this book to any father.
Debbie Scheide –
A great professional resource. A friend gave this book to me after hearing the author speak at a conference. He suggested I might find it useful as a professional recommendation to my therapy clients. My initial thought was it could be very helpful for Dad’s who don’t understand or don’t know how to meet the needs of their daughter. After reading the book I found several other therapeutic uses. This book was extremely helpful to a grandfather raising his granddaughter. It has been
helpful to Dad’s who struggle with addiction and are trying to rebuild their father-daughter relationship. I have also recommended this book to men who have been sexually abusive to their daughters, to help them gain empathy and perspective. Lastly, I have recommended the book to men who are struggling to understand the brokenness between their wife or partner, and her father. This book has been an excellent professional resource. I think it could also be excellent for Dad’s of daughters, in a small group discussion setting. Lastly, a wonderful book to help women articulate their needs from their father. All around, this book is a great professional resource.
Carolyn D. –
A book EVERY Dad needs to read; What a daughter wants her Daddy to know. Excellent author!
Anonymous Customer –
This is a game-changer! If you’re a dad, you need to ready this book. If you’re not a dad, read this book. Mom, you too! The insight into the dad-daughter relationship is unlike anything else I’ve seen out there. But better still, the author really gets to the heart of male-female communication – at any age! I’ve already recommended this book to at least 5 other people.
JpB –
This book is a great resource for Dad’s of all ages, but particularly for tweens and up.
However, if you interact with women regularly there are several excellent insights. So, this a book that can be applied to all relationships with women. I read the book with my girls in mind (2yo and 3yo), but came away with several ideas and truths about my bride.
The main call to action us to pursue your daughter’s heart. The author then goes onto explain how to do this through questions, anecdotes, and encouragements. The chapters are short, to-the-pint, and effective, you may want to use it as a devotional or daily reading of sorts. However, once you get going you will want to keep digging into the material. If you get the paperback, I suggest using a picture of your daughter(s) as a bookmark – it grounds what you are reading.
If the material is beneficial to you, I suggest checking out her website where she has other resources and podcasts.
James L. Renfro –
A book written so guys can understand. My husband has devoured this book. It not only helped with our daughters and their relationship with their dad but also my husband understanding me. This is written by a woman specifically to men. My husband said that the way she explains things helps tremendously! If you want to connect with your daughter READ it.
Meyer I. –
Priceless advice. Amazing insights, practical advice, provocative questions, and transformational exercises!
Darryl L. Brenzel –
Dr. Michelle Watson has written a great field manual for dads with this book. I purchased it after hearing her on Focus On The Family and I was not disappointed in the least after reading it. Sometimes a program makes a book sound good. This one truly is. All the chapters are short and very readable but each has at least one action step to take. Meat only, just the way we guys like it. And the suggested questions in the back of the book for dialogue on father/daughter dates are excellent. This book is likely to both encourage you by showing you things you are already doing right/ well and encourage you to step up your game where it needs to improve. And you will be shown how.
Now, I have to admit, I do not have an actual daughter of my own. But my wife and I have sponsored a young lady in an orphanage in Honduras. We go there to do volunteer work and visit twice a year. During this past trip I used some of the date questions and it definitely brought our conversations to places it had not been before.
Whether you just need a brush up or to begin anew with your daughter(s) this book will help you to do it. One clear step at a time.
Juan G. –
Five stars. Very good!
Syble Lee –
Good read. This book is a very well organized read.
Anonymous Customer –
Great book
Steven Twigg –
Great book for Dads with daughters.
R Mulhollem, M. A. L.P.C. –
I encourage ALL my patients to read this when dealing with fathers. Best of the Best !
twgbooks –
This is the most practical, helpful, and inspiring book I’ve ever read about being a father to my daughters. It’s filled with tools I’ve begun to put into use to improve my communication with them and really show my love in a more tangible way. Every father would benefit from the insights. Sometimes it takes a woman to help us knuckle-headed guys understand what our daughters need! Thanks Michelle!
Marco C. –
Seemed to be a very good book, but my daugther is 7-years-old, and the book clearly is focused on teenagers
Hank Wagner –
I love being a dad and have always wanted to be the best dad that I can be. My wife Pam and I have one son and one daughter. They are both amazing children and we love them dearly.
I did not learn much about great parenting from my parents, but they did the best they could. I didn’t learn anything in school that could be placed on the positive side of parenting. But I knew that I wanted to be the best dad that I could be, so I began to buy books, and read. To be great at anything requires learning, coupled with a determination to apply what has been learned. Books give us the ability to learn from people that we may never have the opportunity to meet.
I love Dr. Watson’s book because it has so much practical advice. And it is great to hear it from her perspective because she is a daughter and fully understands how our daughters feel. And because of so many experiences with other daughters she brings a unique mix of knowledge and wisdom to her book. This book is loaded with real life stories to help us see a visual of what is possible. And she helps us put things into action by nudging us with her questions, strategically placed throughout the book.
This book should be required for all men with daughters, and all men who are married to someone else’s daughter. Men are different than women and it is important for us to know how, why, and what we can do about it? We need more dads who are hungry to learn more about the most important role they will ever have, father. Get this book on your nightstand, you will be glad you did.
Hank Wagner
Give this book a chance to change your relationships forever. This decision will not only impact your life in the present, but will also immediately affect future generations.
Barbara –
Very nice book – purchased as a gift for my son so he could glean from it for his daughter (my granddaughter)!
E.H. –
This is an amazing book! It’s both deep and easy to read, which I think every dad can appreciate!
It’s also gentle; Dr. Watson empathetically and warmly takes dads one step at a time through various aspects of their relationships with their daughters. Along the way, she provides insights into what daughters are often thinking and feeling, and she gives practical suggestions for strengthening dad-daughter bonds. She writes out of her own experience with her dad and her work with numerous dads through her faith-based ministry, The Abba Project. In fact, I would imagine that this book represents much of the core material through which Dr. Watson leads her support groups for dads.
Dr. Watson also writes with courage. She describes briefly, yet honestly, emotional wounds she experienced from her father and grandfather, and she connects that with every dad’s own need to heal from his own “father wounds.” This is one of the ways Dr. Watson’s training and experience as a licensed professional therapist is most evident. She helps dads to see that strengthening their relationships with their daughters also involves a reckoning with, and a healing from, their own disappointments with their own fathers. In my opinion, while there is an abundance of great stuff in this book, this portion is particularly outstanding.
This book will provide a renewed sense of hope to many a dad who feels wholly unable to connect with his daughter, but it will also help dads who already have a vitalized relationship with their daughters to build an even stronger bond.
Steve –
Best resource on Dad/Daughter relationship. This book is not a typical self-help book for Dad that wives or daughters place on his desk surreptitiously. It is formatted and written in a way that men appreciate, with plenty of practical advice, interwoven with real-world stories, and written by an expert who gets to the point with short, pithy, well organized chapters.
Some of my favorite parts are the tools chapters. I’ve used the “I’m wondering…” tool countless times, not just with my daughters, but with my wife, friends, business associates, etc. I’ve also been encouraged by suggestions to “Light Up When I See Her”, and “leading with vulnerability.” Her ideas are rooted in a deeply biblical perspective.
I have two grown daughters, and I’ve found the suggestions just as relevant as they would have been if I had found this resource earlier in their lives. I love my daughters deeply, and the thoughts and ideas contained in this book have given me a better insight and sensitivity into their hearts, and motivate me to continue get to know these two wonderful people better and better.
cpatty –
From beginning to end, this book is filled with deep and rich insight to help dads connect with their daughters in practical, genuine, and straight-forward ways that can make a forever difference in their relationship. The author keeps each chapter short and to the point, making it easy for dads to know what to do to build deep, loving, honest and meaningful relationships with their daughters. My husband has used a number of the suggestions with our daughter and the results were incredible! “Dads, this is THE book you want to buy to know how to better relate to and understand your girl!”
CruzVan –
Great for dads that care. What am I doing wrong in communicating with my seventeen year old daughter? Until I met Michelle Watson and participated in the Abba Project (group/year five) and subsequently read her book, I was at a loss in how to dial in to my daughter. Michelle’s book is filled with faith based approaches on how to capture your daughter’s “heart” by using a father’s “heart”, not his “head”. The father/daughter dates (Appendix) Michelle recommends in her book forced me to begin listening to my daughter, without distractions. This did not happen over night .Our dates “broke-the-ice” of communication roadblocks. We were beginning to dialogue, not just on dates, but daily conversations, short as they may have been!
Dr. Watson’s book provides great insights and “how to’s” as regards improving a father/daughter relationship and/or salvaging one. My regret is that I wish I had read her book four years earlier! My daughter is a freshman in college this year and irrespective of the distance between New York and Washington states, we both are heartfelt in communicating with each other. It is never too late!
The book’s 47 chapters are laid out to either read cover to cover (as I did), or jump around chapter by small chapter, choosing a chapter that grabs your interest. Most helpful in this read are the margin notes that support paragraph main points; especially helpful if you missed one!
Whether your daughter is fourteen or forty, this book is a must read for all fathers. It remains on my nightstand for ease in reference.
DSM –
Fathering a daughter is so complex. Just when you think you have it figured out, things go sideways. This book is a huge gift to fathers of girls of all ages. Michelle Watson brings a wealth of professional experience, sound practical advice and tells it in a way that we all can understand. I would encourage every father of a daughter to read this book actively, highlighting the meaningful parts, writing your personal notes in the margins and refer to it often when spending time with your daughter. The suggested dialogue in the “dad-daughter dates” is a gold mine! I have no doubt that this book can dramatically improve the relationship of every father and daughter.
Kendra –
Highly recommended. Dr. Watson has a way of communicating on a level that is concise and to the point, while at the same time asking you to look within and open yourself up to new ideas. This book is for men who desire change in their relationship with their daughters, but don’t know where to start. She gives you the roadmap and tools to not only start the process, but to dig deep and keep it going.
Craig J. –
I have been blessed with three beautiful daughters. Each is unique from the others in expressing herself and responding to her father’s attempts at communication. Although they are now married and have children of their own, all are still very close to me (and their mother). How much better it would have been had Dr. Watson’s book been available during their teenage years rather than dad always having to ‘play it by ear.’ Encouragement of their self esteem and the not-always-successful father-daughter communications were essential parts of character building during their teenage years (and still are today). I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of Michelle’s adult relationship with her own father. My girls will never stop being my daughters and Dr. Watson’s book will remain applicable to our building, and forever maintaining, a sound father-daughter relationship.
This book is a must read by all fathers – young and older.
David Murrow –
Helpful, realistic, and fair to men. Michelle Watson has created a practical guide that will help men understand their daughters’ hearts. As a father of two young women, I can tell you what a mystery they can be.
Michelle does her best to make the book accessible to a male audience. Her writing style is snappy and she gets to the point. The chapters are short and easy to read. Many chapters have areas to write down observations or action items, which I really appreciated.
Best of all, Michelle avoids the blame-the-man paradigm that’s so prevalent today. Her tone is encouraging and her advice is solid.
This is not the first father-daughter book I’ve read, but it’s one of the best. I’d highly recommend it.
Steven M. Pringle –
Dads of daughters – you and I need a resource like this! It’s like having a toolbox to “dial into your daughter’s heart!” Straightforward, wise, practical and genuine – this is a must read! Michelle Watson provides a gritty handbook for dads – It’s a lifeline we need but may not know it. Whether your daughter is 13 or 30, this book gives us a fighting chance to win her heart rather than win an argument! Having had the privilege of being in the Abba Project (“season five”), I believe that this resource has the potential of changing our nation…One dad’s heart towards one daughter at a time.
Jeannie St. John T. –
Great book for fathers who want healthy daughters!
Dr. Michelle Watson is an amazing woman and her new book is a future classic. The book glows with Michelle’s vitality and love for people. Her words vibrate with God’s wisdom. I am crazy about her stated goal of helping dads raise healthier daughters. Doesn’t our world need just that – healthy women who aren’t continually struggling to fill the hole left by Daddy? Could actually happen? Could Michelle help dads who are doing the best they can do an even better job?
I wouldn’t have expected a woman could have enough insight to accomplish that goal and teach men, but Michelle has the insight.
• If you are a dad, she will immediately grab your attention and inspire you to understand and help your daughter more effectively.
• If you are an ADD dad, the layout of the book will make it easy to stay focused and comprehend the principles Michelle lays out.
• If you are a dad who needs a list to help access your strengths and weaknesses. There is one in Michelle’s book.
• If you need a mission, a mindset or a miracle, you’ll find all that here.
We need a book like this, don’t we? Wouldn’t it be something if an entire generation of women could grow up whole? If enough dads read this book, it just might happen. I believe it will happen for the daughters of dads who listen to and put into practice the advice in Dad, Here’s What I Really Need from You. I’m sending a copy to my son immediately.
Whitney Parnell –
Dr. Michelle Watson is an authority on the father/daughter relationship, and I can’t sing the praises of this book enough. It acts as a roadmap for dads who might be confused by their complex daughters and the best ways to connect with them. As a daughter myself, some of these insights actually worked backwards, and helped me understand my own dad better! Dr. Watson knows what she’s talking about, and I think this book is very important in the landscape of dads and daughters.
Joe Wickman –
I’m Dad to 4 daughters.
That’s right. With my wife that makes 5 women in our house. The dog and I are hopelessly outnumbered.
I’ve always been a good Dad. I love their Mom. I work hard to provide a decent life for them. I love each of them to pieces, and I’m not afraid to show it. I’m present and supportive, and I consider it my mission in life to model and teach them how to love God and their family. I’d do anything for them.
So why is it that, after 13 years of being a “Good Dad”, I found my parenting gears slipping?
Overnight my older daughters entered the teen years, and stepped from childhood into adolescence. “I know how this goes,” I thought. I’ve coached parents through this as a pastor. I’ve walked along smart, loving people as they’ve navigated the teen years. I thought, “I’ve got this.”
Except I didn’t.
The communication skills I’d used with my girls up to and through age 12 just weren’t working as well as they used to. In fact, my “guy talk” that comes so naturally was not only making communication difficult with the daughters I love, it was actually shutting them down. The more I tried to “fix” the problem with them, the more I had this creeping suspicion that we just weren’t connecting like we used to.
Don’t get me wrong. My girls weren’t going off the deep end. I wasn’t fighting huge behavioral battles. But I did recognize that we, as Dad and daughters, were beginning to walk down a path. The disconnect that was just surfacing would lead to a greater and greater disconnect if I kept walking down the same path.
I realized that, as a guy, I just wasn’t equipped to navigate the world of teenage girls. I had a choice to make. I could keep frustrating my daughters and myself by demanding they think and talk like me. Or I could “man up” and go get some new skills. I knew I needed to learn how to do what I’ve coached others to do, to talk less and listen better. But to be honest, that’s just a lot of work. I knew I needed some insight from someone else.
That’s why I’m glad I made the acquaintance of Michelle Watson. I “bumped into her” online when I wrote an article about parenting girls a year ago, and I’m glad I did. Learning about her work with Dads of daughters inspired me. And when she asked me to receive, read and review an advance copy of her book, I knew this was just the kind of resource I was looking for.
This book is a God-send.
I started using the insights the first day I opened it. In a few short weeks since I started reading, “Dad, Here’s What I Really Need From You” I’ve made some great gains. We have. My girls now know that what’s important to me is our relationship. Yes, there are rules in our home. Yes, we have standards. But the way I’m communicating all that has forever shifted. The black-and-white world of this Dad is now getting colored in by the insights of his daughters. We’re actually communicating, back and forth, in a way that values her, respects both of us, and gets us to where we need to go.
Yes, I’m still Dad. I’m still the only dude in our home. So I’m not going to think like them or talk like them. But I’m doing the hard work of really valuing their words. (So. Many. Words.) The great thing is that we’re actually making much more progress than when I used to “go all Dad” on a conversation and just “win”. No more shutting them down. Now they’re talking more than ever. And I’m reconnecting with them at the level I’ve always hoped to.
What’s even better is that this is even improving my relationship with my wife. She appreciates the efforts I’m going to with our girls. And I’m even learning how to listen to her heart better.
This book is now my top recommendation to Dads of daughters.
Know someone who’s the Dad of daughters?
Get it. Do it. Give it.
James A. Watson –
While the comments I make will be viewed as biased, since I am the father of the author, I can honestly say this is the most practical book on dads and daughters I have ever read. Many books that are written by women will often emphasize the emotional aspect of relationships while Michelle hits hard the practical, very logical steps with anecdotal father support for what she says. I can guarantee that if a dad engages with the content both he and his family will benefit greatly. The information is truly life changing!
James A. Watson
Kevin Renner –
Worth its weight in gold. Michelle Watson’s book “Dad, Here’s What I Really Need From You” is chock full of advice for any father raising, or about to raise, a daughter. I wish I’d had this 19 years ago. The author is a therapist with a soul, and a wealth of practical insight that comes from working with fathers and daughters for decades. She provides a roadmap for those of us who are ordinary men who want our daughters to have extraordinary fathers. In short, this book is a gold mine.
Kevin Renner, Author
In Search of Fatherhood: Daughters Praising, Speaking Up, Talking Back