I ‘ve literally stumbled upon this great collection of books aimed at parents of tween (7-12 years old) or teen (13-17) girls.
The list is sorted into themes:
- gender stereotypes
- body image & self-esteem
- dad and daughters
- princesses
- sexualisation
- bullying
- growing up
I have personally read many of them and I would highly recommend them: many of them are serious books based on solid research. My personal favourites are Packaging Girlhood by Lamb & Brown and The Lolita Effect by Durham, they both includes a broad review of scientific sources supporting the reflections and arguments put forward.
You can visit this great list of resource by clicking the link below:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/inesalmeida/top-20-books-parenting-girls-survival-guide-hixz
Good reading! 😉
I am not a parent yet but its encouraging to see resources like this available. without being able to vouch for how helpful they are I will still be letting friends who are parents of girls approaching these ages know about this. would you consider reviewing any of the books in particular? has anyone else read any of these books who could review or recommend them?
I have read ‘Odd Girl Out’. It was very interesting read. It has lots of great resources and I felt like it was ahead of the game on the Bullying issue that is such a hot button topic currently. The book is a few years old now, but I feel that it is still relevant.
Very interesting list! It looks like I have a few titles to add to my reading list.
Clara, Like you, I don’t have children and haven’t read any of these resources but if you’re looking for a resource that is for an adult woman making her way in business, I recently read two FABULOUS books: “Wonder Woman: Sex, Power and the Pursuit of Perfection” by Deborah Spar and “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead ” by Cheryl Sandberg. Both works are incredibly insightful and thought-provoking.
Thanks for sharing this reading list! In today’s world, there are not a lot of messages of self-love and self-esteem out there for young ladies. Likewise, their negative experiences do not get acknowledged, which can lead to feelings of isolation. It’s really wonderful to know there are resources out there to help guide our young ones in a healthy direction. We should try to spread them as wide as possible and reach out to girls 😉
I think that it’s very important that this information for tweens and teens reach them in some way. A lot of them need it. I grew up reading Young Miss magazine, Seventeen Magazine, and others. However, I think there should be information for girls regarding how to confront insecurities about their apperance, such issues if they have parents that tell them that they are ugly, fat, etc.
Thanks for the follow-up email you sent me Francesca! I know you must be busy so I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my questions in person and I must say that I truly enjoy our private conversation. This BuzzFeed list is great stuff. I actually read “Good Girls Don’t Get Fat” a few years ago and found it very helpful. I’ve found the author’s observations to be a great guide in how to raise daughters to have and healthy body image and even how I view myself.
I run a housewives bookclub for the women on my block and we’ve read a few of the books on the list to break-up the monotony of fiction novels. The women and I really enjoyed topic presented books and found that we could relate on many levels. I personally, I related a lot to the content of Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence. During my adolescent years, I was always been on the receiving end of bullying and malice by my female peers. This books helped me understand what happened to me, how it shaped me, and how I could use those experiences to help my daughter survive the social aspect of school.
My nieces are big readers and I am going to show this list to my Sister and see if she wants to introduce them to this list. Knowing my sister she may have already done this and I just don’t know it LOL. They are big page turners, they like the hardbacks (old school readers, not reading on Kindle or anything) so any new book I can send their way they are usually headed to Barnes & Nobles the next day looking for it. Thank you for this great list!
Thank you for sharing this great resource of books! The hardest part in parenting is that we can not practice, the stakes are very high every time you do it 🙂 It is great to know that there are books that give you knowledge on how to lead your teen child through this challenging time. It is very important that we are not affraid to use these books. I remember that my parents felt very awkward whenever I asked them about boys, dating, and asking them about sexuality was out of the question. This caused me a lot of confusion over the years, I had to figure out things on my own. I once received a Christmas present from them, a book about sexuality. The problem was that I was already eighteen at the time, and the whole situation was very awkward. These books can get parents ready to approach these subjects from a place of wisdom and understanding.
Oh man! I wish I’d had these growing up…they would have been helpful for both me and my parents, but alas, the only thing that got me through elementary and middle school was my older cousins’ advice and my mom’s (often bad!) advice. These will surely be on my read list. Great resource of great books!
I may have read Odd Girl Out before but I’m not sure. Thanks for the reccomendations Francesca!
So glad I ran across this list just now! My 9 year-old daughter is currently being picked on BECAUSE she’s a beautiful dancer, thin, and has pretty features. She IS a “girlie girl.” Mean girls have found her insecurities in her crooked teeth and her “allergy eyes” (dark circles caused by severe allergies), and have targeted her out of jealousy due to her natural talent and ability (and confidence) in dance, and have tried to knock her down by hitting her where it hurts her the most. These are all interesting titles, and I look forward to reading the ones regarding mean girls and bullying. Sometimes my own “baggage” makes me doubtful of how I initially react when my daughter says she’s been picked on, and I think these books will give me some insight. While I typically have an “anything goes” kind of attitude toward those who claim everything is “gender stereotyping” and the “princesses are bad” attitude, I can understand parents’ concerns, and it looks to me like those books in that category on the list may increase awareness, but may also fuel the fire for those who are inclined to dive off the deep end and avoid ALL gender stereotyping or “princess” fun. To me, “all in moderation” is a good attitude to have, and we need to be careful not to make parents of “girlie girls” feel ashamed for allowing their girls to enjoy such things when it is a natural interest or disposition for them. My girls love princesses, and anything that’s pink and sparkles, and I’m honestly not seeing a need to “fix them” or suggest otherwise to them, but they also love Transformers and Legos! So I’ll pass on those books, but definitely interested in reading the ones about mean girls and bullies.