If your daughter doesn’t want to be a mother, what do you do? You can try to convince her that motherhood is not for her, that she’s not good enough for it. Or you can tell her you love her and want her to have the best life she can have, and that you’re going to do everything in your power to make sure she has that. But you have to understand that this is a very difficult thing for a young woman to come to terms with, especially when she is in her early teens. She is still very much in love with her father and wants to spend the rest of her life with him, but she also has a strong sense of self-worth and a sense that her mother is the one person in the world who can make her feel good about herself. And so, if you are trying to persuade her of this, you need to give her a lot of space and time to think things through. You have got to let her make up her mind about what she wants out of life. If you don’t do that, it’s very hard to get her on board with mothering, because she will feel that it is something she should not be doing. So, the first thing I tell my daughters is, “Don’t let your mother tell you what you should do. Don’t listen to her. Listen to yourself.” And the second thing that I do is to tell them that they are not alone in this. There are other mothers out there who love their daughters just as much as they do, and who want the same things for them. They just have different ideas about how they should be raising their children. That’s OK, too. It’s a good thing to know that others are doing it the way you want them to. I think that’s one of the most important things that we can all do to help our daughters make the right decisions about their own lives. (Applause.) And, of course, we all have a role to play in helping them make those decisions. We can help them by giving them the support they need, by being there to support them when they’re having a hard time, or by offering them advice and support when things aren’t going their way. All of us can play a part in making sure that our choices are the ones that are best for ourselves and our families and society as a whole. Thank you all so much for being here today. This has been a great opportunity for me to share with you some of what I’ve learned over the past few years about the challenges that young women face when it comes to fatherhood and the role of women in society. As you know, I’m a father of two daughters. My wife and I have been married for more than 20 years. Our daughters are now in their late teens and early 20s. One of them is pregnant with our first child. The other one is about to start college. Both of our girls are very active in school, both are involved in extracurricular activities and volunteer work. Our oldest daughter has just finished her first year of college and is planning to go on to graduate school and become a teacher. Her younger sister is starting college this fall and will be working toward a master’s degree in public health. Together, these two girls represent the next generation of leaders in our society, people who will shape the future of America and our world for many, many years ahead. When I look at their futures, my heart goes out to them because I know how much they mean to me and all of you. Their futures are so bright and so full of promise. What I want you to take away from this conference is this: We are a nation of mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and sons, husbands and wives, parents and children, all working together to create a better future for our children and future generations. Now, let me say a word or two about my own experience in being a dad. First of all, thank you for inviting me here to speak to you today, Mr. President. Your invitation is very warm and sincere. To be able to stand here in front of a group of young men and women from across the country and share my story with them, to hear their stories, is an honor and privilege that no parent should ever take for granted. For me, this was a personal journey that began when I was in my early 30s when my first daughter was born and my second was due in just a few short months. At that time I realized that my life was going in a different direction than it had been for most of my adult life, so I decided to leave my job as an executive vice president at a large financial services firm and take a year off from work and spend some time with my family.