Sometime in 2001, while having breakfast with a friend one morning, he remarked that his wife often calls him a DODO in reference to his being a “Dad Of Daughters Only.”

Since 1996, this buddy and I had been meeting once a week for breakfast. I had three daughters and he had four, so we had plenty to talk about. We both looked forward to the weekly escapes as a way in which we could swap stories, share our concerns and pick each other’s brain for advice on how to best raise our daughters while saving our marriages in the process.

A few years after that fateful breakfast, my buddy moved to a different community and I genuinely missed our weekly breakfasts. I often thought about uniting other men in our area who I knew had been blessed with daughters only.

The more I thought about it and talked to other guys, I realized there are millions of men trying to raise girls. What we needed was an online community.

I scoured the Internet to see what was available. Sure there were websites dedicated to raising daughters. But, they were usually haughty sites run by PhD researchers who appeared to have plenty of theories about raising girls, but little in the way of practical experience.

It seemed to me that most of the parenting sites or discussion groups about daughters were either populated by women or run by women. That meant they offered much different perspectives on raising daughters.

Now, I’m the first to admit that moms make excellent nurturers, but dads have different responsibilities and vastly different approaches toward preparing girls to lead successful lives. We need to be strong dads AS WELL AS support and encourage each other in that mission.

If we don’t fight for our daughters, who will?

What you see on these pages is the second attempt at creating a brotherhood of men united in the common purpose of raising the next generation of women.

Yet, I never stopped thinking about creating a fun online resource for fathers who find themselves surrounded by women and girls.

I want to take a more humorous approach to fatherhood than you are likely to find on other sites. After all, if we can’t laugh at the predicament in which we find ourselves, we’re doing ourselves and our daughters a major disservice – and we’re in for one heck of a tough time.

Don’t worry, we’ll be tackling serious issues, too, and giving you the resources you need to become the best DODO you can be.

As I restart this venture, , please tell me what you would like to see on a website designed for dads of daughters. Feel free to e-mail me your ideas at greg@dododads.com.

In the months ahead, I’m looking forward to meeting other men and sharing stories from the front lines as well as the successes you’ve enjoyed along the journey.

GREG GERBER
Founder, DODO Dads