Positive Parenting for Teen Girls

Teen girls are at risk for getting into trouble. When they mature early, that risk is magnified "because they are more likely to be accepted by and form relationships with older boys, who are more likely than younger children to engage in undesirable behaviors."*

What protects these girls from engaging in harmful or delinquent behaviors? Researchers who queried over 300 fifth-grade girls (average age 11 years) found that a warm and nurturing relationship with the mother - whereby the mother was affectionate, they did things together, and the parent knew about her child's friends and how she spent her free time - "may decrease girls' susceptibility to negative peer influence."*

What is the message here?

The extent to which your relationship with your daughter is open, respectful and loving can impact on her ability to cope with future social challenges.

As the researchers state, "by listening to their daughters' difficulties and providing support and encouragement, nurturing parents can help them develop better coping skills and diffuse negative emotions that might otherwise manifest as aggression."

Strengthen her, before her blooms can fade.

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*Arch Pediatric Adolescent Med. 2008;162[8]:781-786