Hopeful Trends in Father Engagement

What if the way you love your daughter today shapes her marriage 20 years from now? 🤯

In this episode, fatherhood researcher Dr. Jeffrey Shears shares what 20+ years of studying dads has revealed—and it will change the way you think about your role.

✅ Why your daughters internalize how you treat their mom (and how it shapes who they're attracted to)

✅ How "Nacho Tuesdays" became a game-changing connection strategy with his girls

✅ The generational ripple effect—how your fathering impacts grandchildren you'll never meet

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What if the way you father your daughter today shapes the marriage she has twenty years from now? In this episode, Dr. Jeffrey Shears—a fatherhood researcher, girl dad, and the chair of the Moynihan Institute for Fatherhood Research and Policy—shares over two decades of findings on why dads matter more than they think. You'll hear how generational fathering works, why Nacho Tuesdays became a game-changer for connecting with his girls, and what it really means to move men from risk to resource.

1. "You are literally responsible for your son-in-law's marital satisfaction. What you do with your daughter impacts generations."
2. "I never met a guy who said, 'I don't want to be a good dad.' The desire is there—they need support."
3. "Every man can be a potential risk, but every man can also be a potential resource to children and families."
4. "Kids don't remember the stuff you bought. They remember the time, the conversations, the intentionality of hanging out with Dad."
5. "If your father tells you that you can do something, you internalize that. Dad's words build a confidence nothing else can."

Your daughters internalize how you treat their mother—and it shapes who they're attracted to and the health of their future marriages.

Fathers who affirm their daughters' abilities have a measurable impact—girls with engaged dads are overrepresented in STEM fields.

What you do as a dad ripples across generations. Your great-great-grandchildren will be shaped by values you instill today, even if you never meet them.

The desire to be a great dad is already there in most men. What's missing is the support, the models, and the community to show them how.

Every man is either a risk or a resource to a child. The question isn't whether you'll have an impact—it's what kind.

Dr. Jeffrey Shears is a professor of social work jointly appointed at North Carolina A&T State University and UNC Greensboro. He serves as the inaugural chair of the Moynihan Institute for Fatherhood Research and Policy and is the board chair of the Fatherhood CoMission. He's spent over 20 years researching the impact fathers have on child development, with a particular focus on generational fathering and intergenerational transmission. He co-authored What All Dads Should Know with Dr. Clarence Shuler. Jeff is a proud girl dad of three daughters and lives in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.

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• What All Dads Should Know by Dr. Jeffrey Shears & Dr. Clarence Shuler

• Dadsknow.com – Dr. Shears' Website

• Fatherhood CoMission: fatherhoodcomission.com

• Moynihan Institute for Fatherhood Research and Policy (via Fathers Incorporated)