Newsletter Has Good Advice For Parents Of Adolescent Daughters
Friends - enemies. Elation - frustration. Laughter - tears.
Emotional extremes often mark the tumultuous relationship between a parent and daughter during adolescence.
How to communicate with and enjoy your daughter during these critical years is the subject of a niche newsletter aptly named Daughters. Celebrating its first anniversary of publication, Daughters is proving to be an meaningful resource for parents of girls ages 8 to 18.
Published eight times a year by Hoos Communications, the mission of Daughters is to provide the concepts, information and support necessary to parent girls in today’s world. It also serves to help girls meet the challenges of adolescence.
Each issue covers at least 10 topics, such as countering the influence of the media, confronting sexual issues, avoiding the beauty trap and coping with diets, cliques, divorce, depression, fatigue …
Peruse a single issue and you will undoubtedly walk away with useful information. The concise eight-page newsletter is packed with action-oriented articles and helpful sidebars. The information is authoritative, written by doctors, psychologists, teachers, nutritionists and other experts.
An example is the November/December issue, which discusses the crucial role dads play in their daughter’s lives.
Nickey Marone, author of “How to Father a Successful Daughter” (Ballantine, 1988) writes: “Fathers, because of the ways they tend to be raised in this society, tend to exhibit qualities of resilience. The challenge fathers face is to model those behaviors with their daughters, not just with their sons. A father is in a unique position because he can reassure an adolescent daughter that she is going to be an attractive young woman and he can teach her the self-reliance and resourcefulness which can help her lead a fulfilling life.”
In the same issue, co-authors of a book on teenage health care share how much sleep an adolescent girl requires (eight hours), what she can do about sleep disorders and how she can relieve stress to improve sleep.
There is a piece on how to de-escalate a fight between mother and daughter (hint: the answer lies in active listening).
And nutritionist Carol Beck advises parents on how to help their daughter with the issues of dieting and body awareness during the teenage years.
Writes Beck: “A parent who eats both healthy and pleasurable foods regularly and balances regular exercise with his or her food intake provides a strong model for a growing girl. Even more importantly, if you create a family environment where your daughter is valued for who she is, not how she looks, you’ll be providing her with the inner resources and self-esteem she needs.”
Daughters has been acclaimed by authorities Mary Pipher, author of “Reviving Ophelia,” and Judy Mann, author of “The Difference: Growing Up Female in America.” It has received praise from organizations like the National Coalition of Girls Schools and the Girl Scouts of America.
A one-year subscription is $25. To subscribe, send your name, address, and telephone number, along with a check payable to: Daughters, 1808 Ashwood Ave., Nashville, TN 37212. For credit card subscriptions, call (800) 829-1088. For a sample issue, send $3 to the above address.
, DataTimes MEMO: The Family Track is a weekly column of notes and information for families. Send items to Lynn Gibson, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615, or fax (509) 459-5098.