But being a teenage girl? Almost impossible.
And if you’re the parent or carer of a teenage girl, how do you help? How do you support your teenager through the chaos?
Miss-Connection is the magic paper potion you need to help you help your daughter through the teenage years.
But it’s kind of more than that.
This isn’t a book that just gives you some tips and tricks on how to help your teenage girls through challenges. It’s a window into their minds.
This is your chance to hear from young girls, in their own words, about what they need from you.
Dr Justin Coulson is an honorary fellow at the Centre for Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne. He also has six daughters. He also surveyed hundreds of teenage girls across Australia as he researched for this book.
The result is an insightful, honest and raw look at the views and opinions of teenage girls. What they think, what they struggle with and what they need.
Some of it is very confronting, but all of it is the truth (as evidenced by quotes from young girls throughout the book). So if you want to better connect with your girls and help them when they need you the most, you're going to want to get hold of this book.
The book covers a lot: screen time, boys, sex, drugs, pornography, anxiety, friendship troubles and school. It provide support and advice through it all, telling you how to support your teenage girls through each of the challenges they might face as they grow.
My daughters are only six and four, but I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book now. A lot of the advice is based on creating a strong connection with your girls as soon as possible. The stronger the connection, the easier it is to weather the storms.
It makes perfect sense. If your girls trust you, they will talk to you, and if they talk to you, you can help them. Coulson provides brilliant ideas on how to build this trust. He gives you advice on language to use, questions to ask and ways to approach different challenges, all supported by the suggestions of young girls — their insights into what they need from their parents.
If you’re keen to better connect with your teenage daughter. If your daughter is on the verge of becoming a teenager (or even younger), I highly, highly recommend Miss-Connection.
Title: Miss-Connection
Author: Dr Justin Coulson, PhD
Publisher: ABC Books, $32.99
Publication Date: 20 January 2020
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780733338892
For ages: Adults
Type: Adult Non-Fiction
