Little Girls Can be Mean

“More than ever, young girls are facing painful social challenges that require real skills to respond…offers useful strategies and tools to help parents empower their daughters from the earliest ages.” –Rachel Simmons, bestselling author of Odd Girl Out and The Curse of the Good Girl

“A valuable guide for understanding and demystifying the friendship issues, social cruelty, and bullying of elementary-aged girls. A must-have book for parents, counselors, and educators.” –Rosalind Wiseman, bestselling author of Queen Bees and Wannabes

“From clinical studies to mainstream media, the problem of girl aggression has been the subject of growing concern, but most of the recent focus has been on middle- and high-school students, not on elementary-school girls. That’s part of the problem, argue the authors of this reassuring guide, which offers practical tips and personal anecdotes aimed at alleviating female “relational aggression” in the critical early grades. In each chapter, the authors, both developmental psychologists, illustrate how adults can guide girls through a four-step process to identify and deal with tough social situations. Throughout, boxed activities for educators, parents, and girls themselves give the tide a highly interactive, proactive feel, and an appended section suggests ways that adults can apply the same techniques to their own lives. More than just invaluable advice about preparing girls to cope with bullying, gossip, and friendship riffs, these are empowering strategies for adults to communicate and connect with their daughters while they are at a highly receptive age and to help them develop resilient self-esteem before they hit the middle-school jungle.” –Booklist

Dr. Michelle Anthony, an expert in developmental psychology, is mother to three young children, two girls and a boy. She is a certified K-3 teacher and president and cofounder of Wide-Eyed Learning, a company devoted to facilitating communication and learning between parents and children. She is also a columnist for Scholastic’s Parent and Child magazine. Dr. Anthony holds a B.A. in Education from Brown University, an M.A. in child studies from Tufts University, and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from University of California at Berkeley. She lives in Centennial, Colorado.

Dr. Reyna Lindert, also an expert in developmental psychology, is mother to three young children, two girls and a boy. She is a certified parent educator and vice president and cofounder of Wide-Eyed Learning. She holds a B.S. in human development and family studies from Cornell University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in developmental psychology from University of California at Berkeley. She lives in Beaverton, Oregon.