Trace Gallagher Says the Best Parenting Advice He Ever Got Was to Stop Talking and Listen
Fox News chief breaking news correspondent Trace Gallagher says the most powerful tool a father has is quiet attention, a lesson he learned raising two daughters and explores in his new book.
Veteran broadcast journalist Trace Gallagher has spent three decades telling audiences what they need to know. But when it comes to raising daughters, the Fox News chief breaking news correspondent says the most important skill he developed was learning when to stay silent.
Gallagher, father to two daughters now 25 and 22, says the instinct to fix, explain or lecture often gets in the way of what young women actually need from their fathers. His conclusion, as he puts it, is blunt: sit down, stop talking and listen.
«When they have a problem, they don't really want you to talk to them about their problem. They just want you to hear them about the problem,» Gallagher said. «You need to sit, you need to shut up and you need to listen.»
The observation carries weight in a moment when young women face mounting mental health pressures and families navigate a culture of constant commentary and fast-moving social feeds. Gallagher argues that fathers in particular tend to treat their daughters' anxieties as problems to be solved rather than experiences to be witnessed.
He admits the adjustment did not come naturally. «I'm a talkative guy. My career is talking,» he said. «When I was younger with them, I would try to explain what I think.» Over time, he realized his daughters did want his input — just not on their schedule. «You just listen, and you nod, and you only jump in when they ask you to jump in,» he said.
That quiet presence, he suggests, builds a specific kind of security. Daughters who know their fathers are paying steady attention without rushing to judge or correct them are more willing to talk things through. «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 explores the theme in his new book, «Turns Out They Were Right All Along,» which traces the guidance he has received across his life and career. He once imagined raising an «all-American quarterback» son, but now describes having daughters as «the greatest thing in the world.»
He points to a moment on the soccer field with his youngest daughter as an example of what attentive silence looks like in practice. After she took a hard fall during a youth match, she looked toward him. «I said, 'Hey, it's all good. You know, it'll be fine,'» Gallagher recalled. Five minutes later she scored a goal and looked over at him again. «It is soothing for them to know that somebody is really paying close attention,» he said.
That approach contrasts with the lesson his own mother delivered when an eight-year-old Gallagher wanted to quit football. Instead of making the call for him, his mother — nicknamed «Big Red» — told him to go quit himself. He walked onto the practice field, where the coach blew his whistle three times and shouted at him to run laps for being late. Gallagher obeyed, then was told to get on the field and stay quiet. Eventually, there were footballs.
«I fell in love with football and played it through college,» he said. Looking back, he believes the coach saw the hesitation coming and refused to let him walk away — and that his mother knew exactly what she was doing. «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.
Gallagher frames that lesson as part of a broader case for resilience. Talent and teamwork matter, he says, but the willingness to show up every day despite difficulty is what moves most people forward. «You build your career, you build your character and you build your esteem. You build your confidence,» he said, summing it up as career, confidence and character.
His central message, both in the book and in conversation, is that good guidance is invaluable to young minds — and that it rarely arrives on a predictable schedule. «The best lesson is that wisdom, guidance, advice — it comes at the most unexpected times,» he said.
His advice to parents and anyone else willing to take it is simple. «Listen to people. Hear them out,» he said. «Sometimes it hits you like a sledgehammer, and sometimes it seeps in, and you don't really understand it for years. So listen.»
