cover image Things Will Be Different for My Daughter

Things Will Be Different for My Daughter

Mindy Bingham, Susan Stryker, Bingham. Penguin Books, $15.95 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-14-024125-9

Do you want to help your daughter to grow up into a confident, capable young woman? Here is the book for it, offering just the right information, support and good company needed for building self-esteem in girls from infancy through young adulthood. Solidly grounded in the latest research, the thoughtfully written, well designed, workbook-style text invites active participation from mothers and daughters. Numerous how-tos and exercises (involving discussion, fantasy, writing, critiquing, role-playing and more) build trust and intimacy while nurturing the self-knowledge, values, strengths and skills a girl (and her mother) need for developing a ``hardy personality.'' Though sections for fathers are included, mothers, as the title suggests, receive far more attention, and a powerful message, too: if they truly want things to be different for their daughters, they themselves may need to develop some new behaviors and attitudes. (Feb.)