I still think that Val's point is well-made, however-- it will not be socially acceptable to point out to potential friends that air travel is many thousands of times LESS hazardous than a short trip in an automobile. Fear is inherently irrational much of the time, but you don't make many friends with others for minimizing their fears as "irrational." So I vehemently disagree with the idea of a "presentation" regarding risks. I think that most adults can see why this would (socially) be a disaster amongst peers in a professional setting, right? It's intrusive and presumptuous... Our risk assessment may well be skewed by previous personal trauma.
That's all and well if fear is the issue, but from moomn's OP, it isn't. Many of the girls feigned fear to fit in, and that groupthink is, in large part, what made his DD feel left out.
As a Bayesian, I'm a proponent of respectfully helping others update their priors. Calmly presenting facts is, IMO, quite different from the mockery you have in mind and empowers people to think clearly and rationally.
As a personal aside, I see a lot of families locally (not here on the forum) are tacitly encouraging a disempowered female concept by focussing excessively on Disney princess themes, encouraging fear/avoidance of sports and some wildlife, and unduly emphasizing personal grooming and appearance. I can appreciate how the Princess Complex a lot of young girls exhibit today, as in the spider example, would be disheartening to a girl raised in a less stereotypically feminized household.
