Parenting Teenage Girls

Parenting Teenage Girls

Entitlement. Irregular emotions. Obsession with social media. Premature discovery of sex. These are just a few of the issues that parents raising a new generation of girls are dealing with. As a parent, navigating a healthy relationship with your child during these teen years can be challenging if you don't have the proper tools to communicate.

In the new book, Parenting Teenage Girls In The Age of a New Normal (Ark House $24.99), teenage expert and author Michelle Mitchell draws upon decades of experience working with teenage girls and provides her unique parenting strategies in response to the biggest issues impacting this generation of girls, such as:
Bullying
Social media
Sexuality
Disrespect
Drugs
Anxiety

Featuring straight forward advice that really works, Parenting Teenage Girls In The Age of a New Normal book is a practical and empowering resource to help foster stronger relationships between parents and their teens and pre-teens.

Brisbane-based Michelle Mitchell worked as a teacher before establishing Youth Excel, a charity which helps young people make positive life choices during difficult times. As a national speaker, Michelle has a unique ability to transfer years of knowledge and experience to people of all ages and professions. In 2013, Michelle was awarded Inspirational Women Speaker of the Year by the Queensland State Government. Michelle is recognised as a teenage expert and is regularly quoted in the media. This is her second book.

Parenting Teenage Girls
Ark House
Author: Michelle Mitchell
ISBN: 9780648084525
RRP: $24.99

 

Interview with Michelle Mitchell

Question: What inspired you to write Parenting Teenage Girls?

Michelle Mitchell: I have been in this industry for 18 years now. Things in the sector have changed and they are never going back. The question that parents are asking me and the issues that schools are facing have changed. The biggest change I have noticed is that kids didn't have to be 'bad kids" to get into serious trouble anymore. It isns't about a postcode anymore. No one is exempt. I wanted to put a practical resource in the hands of every day parents to help them navigate this new normal.


Question: How important is a parent's understanding of social media, especially when the parent of girls?

Michelle Mitchell: A lot of the issues that I talk about in the book are typical teenage issues. Backchat, boys, mood swings, friendship dramas, drugs and alcohol have been around in every generation. What is different is how they are interacting with young people's online life. Technology is driving youth culture into places that it hasn't been before. With 49% of young people sending a sexually explicit image and 67% of young people receiving them, I'd say understanding social media is critical!


Question: Are the communication tools required for girls different to boys?

Michelle Mitchell: In general, I think girls talk more about feelings. However, keeping conversation positive is the key. Parents need to learn how much attention to give a girl's concerns without magnifying them. I like to explain it like this. If a girl scratches her knee, put a band aid on it and tell her to keep playing. If she brakes her arm, you'll need to give it more attention. Working out whether you are dealing with a scratch or the brake can be the tricky part.


Question: What advice do you have for parents who's children are experiencing bullying?

Michelle Mitchell: When addressing bullying keep a record of what is going on and go to the school armed with facts, not just feelings. Schools can't do anything unless you have recorded facts. Sometimes this intervention is helpful and other times it doesn't solve the problem. I also suggest back up friends. Back up friends are friends outside of school that a girl can go to when things aren't going well at school. They might be cousins, their sports team, dance group or friends in the street.


Interview by Brooke Hunter

Parenting Teenage Girls
Ark House
Author: Michelle Mitchell

ISBN: 9780648084525
RRP: $24.99