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For the skeptics: The research on dads’ influence on girls’ puberty

Several people took issue (some in an unfortunately hostile way) with my post that mentioned research showing that girls with involved biological fathers start puberty later than those with a non-biological father or no father at all. So to satisfy the critics, here are several citations that should satisfy your inner (and not-so-inner) skeptic. Fathers Influence on Daughters Puberty, by Karen Davis-Johnson. Posted April 5, 2011. Davis-Johnson is the editor of the Journal of Father-Daughter Communication. “Quality of Early Family Relationships and Individual Differences in the Timing of Pubertal Maturation in Girls: A Longitudinal Test of an Evolutionary Model. ” Bruce J. Ellis, Steven McFadyen-Ketchum, Kenneth A. Dodge, Gregory S. Pettit, and John E. Bates. Journal of Personal and Social Psychology. 1999 August; 77(2): 387–401.Abstract: In an 8-year prospective study of 173 girls and their families, the authors tested predictions from J. Belsky, L., and P. Draper’s (1991) evolutionary model of individual differences in pubertal

The bully pulpit

This whole bullying thing is out of control. Every day thousands of kids in the US cut school because they’re afraid of bullies. Tens of thousands more are literally sick over it, with symptoms like stomach problems, anxiety, and depression, just to name a few. And some—you’ve probably read about the cases—have actually committed suicide. Statistics on how many kids are bullied are hard to pin down for several reasons. First, it’s hard to define. Is teasing someone “bullying”? A kindergartener in New Jersey was the subject of a bullying investigation after he said that another child had cooties. To call that bullying diminishes the seriousness of the problem. Second, a lot of kids are so afraid, intimidated, or embarrassed that they don’t ever report being bullied. This is especially true of boys in general and boys who are bullied by girls. There are also some important differences in the

Houdini Part III

Yesterday, I continued my story with an account of my second or third step-dad. I talked about running away when I was 8 years old, and the abuse that occurred. I didn’t go into specifics, rather spoke in generalities. Moving forward in time, I am about 12, and my Uncle needs help on the family farm. Since he is a bachelor, I am asked to help. My step-brothers from my dad’s marriage are each tasked to help. Though not both of them at the same time. We spent the summer working on the farm, at first we slept in a tent, because it was an adventure. But then the tent was basically destroyed by a rain storm. So we started sleeping on the floor of the Quonset, still an adventure. One of my step-brothers took after me one night with a pick axe. That was the end of joint trips