What's Happening to Our Girls?
Too much, Too soon, How our kids are overstimulated, oversold and oversexed
 Why are girls as young as five years old concerned about their looks and addicted
to shopping?
Why are they having sex and binge-drinking so young, responding to chat-room
predators, and bullying their peers via email and text messages?
Why are depression, cutting and eating disorders
on the rise, and why, with so much choice, do so many just want
to marry young and have babies?
In a few short years our girls have become
vulnerable – not just teen girls, but also young girls and baby
girls. They are being forced to grow up faster than ever before.
What a twelve-year-old girl experienced at seven is not what
a seven-year-old girl is now struggling with. Many of the guidelines
we offer girls no longer apply, or are contradicted by messages
from media and advertising telling girls how to look, think,
behave and feel.
Over two year Maggie Hamilton interviewed
girls, teachers, school counsellors, psychologists, and law enforcement
and medical personnel to get an insider’s view on what girls
are experiencing at present from birth to the teenage years.
Informed, revealed, compassionate and at times
shocking, What’s Happening to Our Girls? is a book for parents
and all those who want to better understand and support girls.
Reading group notes for What’s Happening to Our Girls? are also available online.
Links to media coverage of What’s Happening to Our Girls?
Techno
Junk Separates Teens From Parents, Stephen Lunn, The Australian,
3 August 2009
Maggie
In Conversation with Richard Fidler, ABC Radio
Maggie
on Life Matters With Richard Aedy, ABC Radio
Maggie
on Mornings with Margaret Throsby, ABC Radio
Alarming
milestones for young Australian girls, The Daily Telegraph
Early Responses to What’s Happening to Our Girls?
'As Maggie shows in this great book, as fathers and mothers we don't know it
all. If we want to find real solutions for our girls, we need
to really
listen to our daughters.' -
Stephen Boston, father of three girls
'What’s Happening to Our Girls? moves
parenting into the twenty-first century by highlighting the power
of outside forces in shaping
the personalities, morality and ultimate wellbeing of our daughters
… Although directed at raising girls, the message is equally
important for those parenting boys. This work is a must-read
for both parents and young adults attempting to understand and
bridge the generation gap.' -
Bill O’Hehir, senior psychologist
'Having worked with men and boys for 20 years, I was amazed, fascinated and quite
horrified to read such a succinct and well-documented account
of all the issues facing girls today. The pressures created by
society’s expectations and the marketing evil that is being unleashed
on our girls means that every parent should read this book as
a way of understanding what is really going on, and what they
can do.' -
Dr Arne Rubinstein MBBS, FRACGP, CEO, Pathways Foundation
Viking, Penguin A$26.95
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