Untangled

We expect an enormous amount from our teenagers, and they live in an increasingly complex and pressured environment. Today's parents suffer intense anxiety because they are bombarded with descriptions of the competitive, global environment awaiting their daughter. Our culture has stopped talking about the normal challenges that have always been part of adolescent development - the rise of the "helicopter parent" reflects our current whitewashed view of childhood and adolescence, and many parents mistake every snag for a crisis. Adolescents' pervasive use of digital technology leaves parents doubting whether they can shield their daughter from danger or prevent her from creating and sharing an indelible record of a momentary, impulsive mistake. It's up to parents to guide their daughters into adulthood, but while academic psychologists and theorists debate various stages of normal development, parents have been left without an overarching picture of what to expect when they're expecting a teenager. World authority Lisa Damour provides an accessible, detailed, comprehensive guide to parenting teenage girls and articulates the seven parallel phases that characterize normal adolescent development, especially as it pertains to girls.