No More Mean Girls

October 16, 2017
Hurley (The Happy Kid Handbook), a child and adolescent psychotherapist, bases this timely parenting guide on the observation that today’s girls tend to encounter harmful stressors, including peer pressure, cyberbullying, and low self-esteem, at much younger ages than in past generations. Addressed to the parents of girls aged three to 13, the book takes on the “mean girl culture” and alerts parents to the signs of relational aggression—behavior intended to harm someone by damaging or manipulating her relationship with others—in their daughters’ daily lives. Hurley helpfully illustrates her advice with a multitude of stories illustrating how girls relate to each other in elementary and middle school, and she provides well-organized ways for them to develop a sense of identity, acquire resilience and autonomy, improve their communication skills, stand up for themselves, and become individually accountable. Most of the book’s hands-on advice appears either in list form in the many “Parent Teacher Conference” boxes throughout or in plentiful “Girls Can” activities and strategies created for the author’s in-school empowerment program. Hurley’s user-friendly layout and compassionate advice ensure that her book will be a useful workbook not just for parents, but also for youth counselors, teachers, and other caregivers. Agent: Lauren Galit, LKG Agency.

November 15, 2017
According to author and social-worker Hurley (The Happy Kid Handbook, 2015), relational aggression among girls is starting at younger ages, leaving many parents of elementary-school-age children perplexed. Hurley provides real-life examples of girl-on-girl relational aggression and provides approachable ways to help young girls through it. With chapters on labeling, perfectionism, popularity, and bullying, among others, Hurley addresses the common overall themes of girl infighting and shares thoughtful insight as to how to spot them in a child. She cautions parents against brushing off hurt feelings and stresses the importance of realizing that although an offense may seem trite, it can be overwhelming to a young girl, who is still in the process of developing her emotional and social IQs. Her suggested activities pave the way for thoughtful parent-daughter discussions and help parents support and empower their daughters. Hurley pairs insightful and instructive discussion of the social battles young girls face with the tools families need to help tackle them successfully. This is a helpful guide for raising strong, assertive, socially intuitive young women.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)