Favorite Resources for Parents of Girls

  • Celebrating Girls: Nurturing and Empowering Our Daughters by Virginia Beane Rutter (1996)
  • The Dad Man and Dads & Daughters®: Great resource for dads & stepdads www.thedadman.com Fathers are a powerful, yet largely untapped resource in our society. On this site, you will learn how men can be better fathers, and how everyone can activate fathers to help enrich and strengthen our families, communities, organizations, workplaces, and schools.
  • Dads and Daughters: How to Inspire, Understand, and Support Your Daughter by Joe Kelly (2002)
  • For All Our Daughters: How Mentoring Helps Young Women and Girls Master the Art of Growing Up by Peggy Echinovera (1998)
  • Growing a Girl: Seven Strategies for Raising a Strong, Spirited Daughter by Barbara Mackoff (1996)
  • How to Say it to Girls: Communicating with Your Growing Daughter by Nancy Gruver (2004)
  • Keep Talking: Mother-Daughter Guide to Pre-Teen Years by Lynda Madison (1999)
  • The Mother-Daughter Book Club and 100 Books for Girls to Grow On by Shireen Dodson (1998)
  • The Mother-Daughter Project: How Mothers and Daughters Can Band Together, Beat the Odds and Thrive Through Adolescence by SuEllen Hamkins and Renee Schultz (2008)
  • Mother-Daughter Wisdom: Creating a Legacy of Physical and Emotional Health by Christiane Northrup (2005)
  • Ophelia’s Mom: Loving and Letting Go of Your Adolescent Daughter by Nina Shandler (2001)
  • Raising Confident Girls by Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer (2001)
  • Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Our Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher (1994)
  • Things Will Be Different For My Daughter by Mindy Bingham and Sandy Stryker (1994)

Empowerment

  • The Girls’ Circle: Promotes girls’ resiliency and connection by equipping group facilitators with skills and resources to hold girls’ support groups in their communities. The Girls’ Circle Facilitator Activity Guide, Complete Set, Facilitator’s Manual, and many other resources are available at www.girlscircle.com.
  • Girls Inc.: Inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Publications include “Know Your Rights: An Action Kit for Girls,” “Money Matters: An Economic Literacy Kit for Girls,” “In Their Own Words: Young Women Write About Their Lives,” “Luann Becomes a Woman,” and others available at www.girlsinc.org.
  • Hardy Girls Hardy Women: Dedicated to the health and well being of girls and women, so that all girls and women experience equality, independence and safety in their everyday lives. www.hardygirlshealthywomen.org.
  • New Moon Girls: A Safe, Creative, and Positive World for Girls:
    New Moon Girls is an online community where girls create and share poetry, artwork, videos, and more–all in a fully moderated, educational environment designed to build self-esteem and positive body image. www.newmoon.com (for girls 8-14)
  • Uniquely ME!: A Girl Scout Self-Esteem Program that empowers girls by helping them to develop the skills necessary to face life’s challenges. www.girlscouts.org.
  • The Ophelia Project: Dedicated to saving the selves of girls by protecting and reconnecting families through awareness, education and advocacy. www.opheliaproject.org.

Womanhood

  • The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf and William Morrow (1991)
  • Daughters of the Moon, Sisters of the Sun: Young Women and Mentors on the Transition to Womanhood by K. Wind Hughes and Linda Wolf (1998)
  • Nourishing Your Daughter: Help Your Child Develop a Healthy Relationship with Food and Her Body by Carol Beck (2001)
  • Promiscuities: The Secret Struggle for Womanhood by Naomi Wolf (1998)
  • Ready, Set, Grow! A What’s Happening to My Body Book for Younger Girls by Lynda Madaras (2003)
  • The What’s Happening to My Body Book for Girls: A Growing Up Guide for Parents and Daughters by Lynda Madaras (2000)