Kelly H. (momiac) reviewed Raising a Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of a Healthy Woman on + 168 more book reviews
Interesting.
Ines A. (ipalicea) reviewed Raising a Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of a Healthy Woman on + 9 more book reviews
Great read for any parent wishing to learn more about raising girls.
Michele S. (majkmom4) reviewed Raising a Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of a Healthy Woman on + 11 more book reviews
Talks about raising a daughter during each period of her life. Generally speaking, it is applicable to a "typical" girl, but who is "typical?"
Sarah B. (caffeinegirl) reviewed Raising a Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of a Healthy Woman on + 114 more book reviews
The first 50 pages of this book were a bit of a slog through a basic explanation of sexism. This was a rough start for me, so, assuming I pretty much have a handle on how girls are assumed to be weak because they have feelings, I skipped the rest of this section.
I found the other two sections to be of varying levels of helpfulness. I think most parents (self included) need to be reminded from time to time that it's more important it is to let kids establish their own boundaries, express themselves, and explore their identities in the safe environment of a loving family than it is for any single day to be "easy" for the parents. It's natural to lose sight of the long-term goals when you're under the pressure of schedules and deadlines, and I find myself turning to parenting books every few years to remind myself of what my priorities should be. But this book was not very satisfying, mostly because it's too general (literally, one piece of advice is "Provide age-appropriate toys, books, and experiences that nurture a girl's whole being." You mean, give your kid toys and books to play with and do stuff with them?), but also because it's 50% quotes from parents and daughters that don't actually help. For example, to pick one at random, here is a quote from the section on intuition:
Our physics teacher decided to introduce quantum physics ideas to my class. Some of the boys got it right away. I'm usually very good at that kind of thing, but I just couldn't get it, you know, that energy can be both a particle and a wave? Then, in a flash, I could picture it in my mind. --Lea, sixteen
Not only is this frustrating because it does this do little to help us understand how intuition works in a girl's life, it clearly applies to both boys and girls. In fact, it occurred to me multiple times that boys could benefit just as much from having parents who are open to their emotions, aspirations, and problems. Most of the advice in this book would apply equally for both daughters and sons.
Overall, I would recommend this book to parents who have a daughter and have no idea why feminism exists. Only the first section is specific to girls, and most of us are already aware that girls will face obstacles in their future in the form of stereotypes about women. If you already feel you understand that problem, there are better parenting books out there.
I found the other two sections to be of varying levels of helpfulness. I think most parents (self included) need to be reminded from time to time that it's more important it is to let kids establish their own boundaries, express themselves, and explore their identities in the safe environment of a loving family than it is for any single day to be "easy" for the parents. It's natural to lose sight of the long-term goals when you're under the pressure of schedules and deadlines, and I find myself turning to parenting books every few years to remind myself of what my priorities should be. But this book was not very satisfying, mostly because it's too general (literally, one piece of advice is "Provide age-appropriate toys, books, and experiences that nurture a girl's whole being." You mean, give your kid toys and books to play with and do stuff with them?), but also because it's 50% quotes from parents and daughters that don't actually help. For example, to pick one at random, here is a quote from the section on intuition:
Our physics teacher decided to introduce quantum physics ideas to my class. Some of the boys got it right away. I'm usually very good at that kind of thing, but I just couldn't get it, you know, that energy can be both a particle and a wave? Then, in a flash, I could picture it in my mind. --Lea, sixteen
Not only is this frustrating because it does this do little to help us understand how intuition works in a girl's life, it clearly applies to both boys and girls. In fact, it occurred to me multiple times that boys could benefit just as much from having parents who are open to their emotions, aspirations, and problems. Most of the advice in this book would apply equally for both daughters and sons.
Overall, I would recommend this book to parents who have a daughter and have no idea why feminism exists. Only the first section is specific to girls, and most of us are already aware that girls will face obstacles in their future in the form of stereotypes about women. If you already feel you understand that problem, there are better parenting books out there.
