'In this insightful and practical exploration of female young adulthood, Madonna offers a remarkable way of understanding and sharing the realities of growing up for so many of our daughters.' - Dr Justin Coulson A must-read guide for parents of teenage girls that explores what our girls need us to know in order to support them through the unprecedented pressures of growing up in today's world. The world is a very different place from two years ago. And the impact on our 16-, 17- and 18-year-old girls is huge. At one of the most critical times in their development - an age when they're ready to spread their wings and look to the future - they have had to deal with enormous disruption and dislocation, and come to terms with living life from their bedrooms. The long stints of remote learning and the anxiety of at-home exams has compounded with the ever-present pressure of the ATAR and worries around friendships and relationships, who they want to be, gender identity, alcohol, vaping, and sex, body image and mental health. Self-harm and eating disorders have risen dramatically. For school-leavers, the uncertainty around university study and the jobs market only adds to the heavy toll. To support our girls, we need to understand the pressures this generation is under by listening to what worries them and what they need - and journalist and social commentator Madonna King has done just that. Having consulted 1000 young women, along with parents, senior educators, and health care professionals in her research for this book, L Platers delivers the answers we need as parents to help our girls on the road to adulthood. 'Madonna tells us the truth about what Australian tween and teen girls are feeling and thinking. Best of all, she equips parents with useful tips on what our girls need from us and wish we knew.' - Rebecca Sparrow, author of Ask Me Anything

From the author of BEING 14 and FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS comes a book that shares what your daughter needs you to know about her shift from child to teenager - how she feels, what she thinks, what worries her and what you can do to help. Science tells us that the shift from childhood to teenager is happening earlier than ever before. Girls are starting puberty well before the age of thirteen. With heightened pressure from what they see in the media, in movies and on TV, girls are leaving childhood behind well before they hit their teens. This shift is an abrupt one and can come as a shock to parents. Not surprisingly, emotions can be heightened and relationships can be fraught. So many parents struggle to understand the pressures their daughters are under and how to deal with their emotional volatility. Journalist and social commentator Madonna King has an extraordinary ability to connect with experts, schools and the girls themselves to deliver the answers parents need and the communication their children want. This is an important book that shows that 10 is the new start of a girl's teenage years. It raises the issues our girls might not be talking about publicly, and guides their parents on how experts believe we should deal with it.

Is your daughter 14? Are you struggling to know what's going on inside her head? Are you worried? This is the book that can help you understand how she's feeling, what she's thinking and what you need to do to help her navigate her tricky teens to grow and become a fabulous woman. BEING 14 gives a voice to every teen girl. Madonna King has interviewed 200 14-year-old girls, talked to successful school teachers, psychologists, CEOs, police and neuroscientists to reveal the social, psychological and physical challenges every 14-year-old girl is facing today. - How much independence do they need? - What is the power of a friendship group? - How do you help build self-confidence? - Why the obsession with selfies, social media and FOMO? - How are parents unknowingly making life so much harder for them? Overwhelmingly, these young girls - on the brink of womanhood - struggle to tell their parents how they feel. That's why BEING 14 gives you the answers you are looking for. It's your daughter, talking to you. And her hope, beyond anything, is that you will listen.