As the parent of teenage girls and an educator as well, any insight in the teen mind is welcome. Mr. Sax shares data-backed reasons anxiety is increasing in our girls today. He provides plenty of evidence to make a convincing case. But what can we do about it? Suggestions are made by the author on how to address these issues, but this is where I find the book falls short. Some good ideas are included, but they often have a one size-fits-all approach or require societal change. While I agree single-sex schools have their advantages, not all parents have this option. What else can parents do? Social media is having an impact on girls, but I flat out disagree with his suggestion of putting monitoring software on my daughters phone. Where are the suggestions to wait until a child is old enough to need a phone, limit the model of the handheld device, establish a relationship built on trust, and/or require access to said phone at any time? Again, I would like to have seen more parenting strategy suggestions.
Overall I do recommend this book. Important issues are addressed: things that are easy to overlook in the day-to-day routine of raising girls, things that may have an impact before we think they will affect our girls. Armed with this knowledge, parents can better help their daughters navigate the teen years.