Leading clinical psychologist Lisa Damour identifies the seven key phases marking the journey from girlhood to womanhood, and offers practical advice for those raising teenage girls.We expect an enormous amount from our teenage girls in a world where they are bombarded with messages about how they should look, behave, succeed. Yet we also speak as though adolescence is a nightmare rollercoaster ride for both parent and child, to be endured rather than enjoyed.

In Untangled, world authority and clinical psychologist Lisa Damour provides an accessible, detailed, comprehensive guide to parenting teenage girls. She believes there is a predictable blueprint for how girls grow; seven easily recognisable 'strands' of transition from childhood through adolescence and on to adulthood. Girls naturally develop at different rates, typically on more than one front, and the transition will be unique to every girl.Each chapter describes a phase, such as 'contending with adult authority' and 'entering the romantic world', with hints and tips for parents and daughters, and a 'when to worry' section.

 

Teenagers are tough and anyone who has their own needs help. Witty, enjoyable and genuinely insightful, Get Out of My Life is now updated with how to deal with everything from social media to online threats and porn, as well as looking at all the difficult issues of bringing up teenagers, school, sex, drugs and more. But it's the title of the second chapter, 'What They Do and Why' that best captures the book's spirit and technique, explaining how to translate teenage behaviour into its true, often less complicated meaning.