Bringing up Girls: Practical Advice and Encouragement for Those Shaping the Next Generation of Women » (Abridged)

James C. Dobson, Ph.D., hosts the daily radio program Family Talk with Dr. James Dobson. He is founder and chairman emeritus of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization that produced his internationally syndicated radio programs, where he was heard by more than 200 million people every day in 160 countries. A licensed psychologist and marriage, family, and child counselor, he is a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. For 14 years Dr. Dobson was an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, and he served for 17 years on the attending staff of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in the Division of Child Development and Medical Genetics. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California (1967) in the field of child development. The author of more than 30 books, including Bringing Up Boys and his most recent bestseller, Bringing Up Girls, he has been heavily involved in governmental activities related to the family. He was elected in 2008 to the National Radio Hall of Fame. Dr. Dobson is married to Shirley and is the father of two grown children, Danae and Ryan, and the grandfather of Lincoln. He resides in Colorado.

You’ve got daughters? Then you’ve got questions.
Parents, teachers, and others involved in shaping the character of girls have a lot on their minds:

• Are girls really fundamentally different from boys? If so, should they be treated differently?
• Whoever said that girls are “sugar and spice and everything nice” never met my teenager. What can I do?
• My adolescent daughter seems to be on an emotional roller coaster. One minute she’s giddy with excitement; the next she’s moody and withdrawn. Is this normal?
• As a mom, I so badly want to be “best friends” with my daughter. Why isn’t it working out the way I dreamed?
• How does a dad’s role in his daughter’s life influence her character and decisions—including her eventual choice of a husband?
• How can grandparents contribute to raising a healthy granddaughter?
• What’s the best way to educate girls?
• How are girls affected when their parents divorce?
• What should we be doing to shape the next generation of women?

In Bringing Up Girls, Dr. James Dobson, America’s foremost authority on parenting, tackles these and many other questions, offering wisdom and encouragement based on a firm foundation of biblical principles.
JAMES C. DOBSON, Ph.D., has devoted his career to helping children and families. A licensed psychologist and a marriage, family, and child counselor, he served on the faculty of the University of Southern California School of Medicine for 14 years and on the attending staff of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles for 17 years. He holds a Ph.D. in child development from the University of Southern California. Heavily involved in governmental activities related to the family, Dr. Dobson served on the task force that summarized the White House Conferences on Families and received a special commendation from President Jimmy Carter. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the National Advisory Commission to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. He has also served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Board on Missing and Exploited Children, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Panel on Teen Pregnancy Prevention, and the Commission on Child and Family Welfare.

Contents

Acknowledgments....................ix
1 The Wonderful World of Girls....................1
2 Girls in Peril....................5
3 The Fair Sex....................13
4 Why She Is Who She Is....................25
5 Teaching Girls to Be Ladies....................37
6 Embarrassing the Angels....................53
7 Girls and Their Mothers....................59
8 Young Women Talk about Their Fathers....................71
9 Why Daddies Matter....................87
10 Fathers to Daughters....................99
11 Cinderella at the Ball....................105
12 The Obsession with Beauty....................115
13 Related Questions and Answers....................133
14 The River of Culture....................151
15 Consequences....................167
16 Good News about Girls....................183
17 Charming Your Daughter....................195
18 Puberty and Adolescence....................199
19 Bullies, Buddies, and Best Friends....................209
20 Questions and Answers about Puberty and Adolescence....................231
21 Protecting Your Daughter from Invasive Technology....................245
22 The Last Word....................257
Addendum: Helpful Resources for Parents....................269
Notes....................273