Veteran Fox News anchor and chief breaking‑news correspondent Trace Gallagher has spent three decades mastering what to say on camera. When it comes to parenting his two adult daughters, he says the most powerful tool a father can use is silence.
Listen, don’t lecture
Gallagher, 58, told Fox News that his daughters, now 25 and 22, don’t want a lecture when they have a problem. “They just want you to hear them about the problem,” he said with a smile. “You need to sit, you need to shut up and you need to listen.”
In an age of nonstop social‑media feeds and growing mental‑health challenges for young women, many fathers feel compelled to fix, analyze, or lecture. Gallagher admits his own instinct to talk – honed by a career built on speaking – was often the wrong response.
Quiet attention builds security
He explains that when fathers give steady, quiet attention without rushing to judge, it creates a sense of security for their daughters. “They want to be heard, they want to get it off their chest,” Gallagher said. “Instead of screaming and yelling, these girls just want to talk it out. And when requested, they want your advice – but only when requested.”
Gallagher recalls a moment on the soccer field when his youngest daughter fell. He simply said, “Hey, it’s all good. You know, it’ll be fine.” Five minutes later she scored a goal, a reminder that a father’s calm presence can be soothing and encouraging.
From football to fatherhood
Gallagher also reflected on his own childhood, recalling how his mother forced him to stay in football practice despite his desire to quit. That tough love helped him fall in love with the sport, a lesson he now applies to parenting: perseverance and personal responsibility matter.
“If you want to do something, if you want to quit something, you need to do it. You need to fight your own battles,” he said.
New book shares the message
In his new book, Turns Out They Were Right All Along, Gallagher drives home the idea that good guidance often comes from unexpected places and that listening is the first step toward meaningful advice.
“My advice to everybody is listen,” he concluded. “Listen to people. Hear them out. Sometimes it hits you like a sledgehammer, and sometimes it seeps in, and you don’t really understand it for years. So listen.”
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
