Growing Strong Girls: Practical Tools to Cultivate Connection in the Preteen Years

Absolutely phenomenal! I gobbled this up in two days! I love the specific exercises at the end of each lesson and the resources are fantastic. A must read for mommas of girls!

Six stars! Lindsay's book is wonderful; helpful; insightful. As a father, the content, her pacing of the content and her inclusion of insight from others who want to Grow Strong Girls is spot on! I am so grateful for Linday and her work to help us Grow Strong Girls. THANK YOU!

This is a beautiful book. I so wish it had been around a bunch of decades ago! The book covers so many vital aspects of being simultaneously female and sane in this culture today. Here are a few examples, some of which were just not talked about in those earlier days: cultivating good relationships with friends; dealing with other girls who can be competitive; asserting oneself with healthy, sensible boundaries; coping with challenges in school; defining and maintaining a healthy relationship with technology; addressing body image issues and the nonsense (!!!!) that the media feed young women about physical appearance; understanding emotions; spirituality; and above all, ways to develop & nurture an airtight connection to one's own deeper self. I love that author LIndsay Sealey encourages girls to find a place of stillness and silence where they can hear their own evolving voice of reason and strength as they grow more independent. So much good for preteen girls - so many fine ideas for protecting them from the onslaught of less constructive attitudes, pressures, and incessant noise from the outside world.This book would make a great gift for parents, teachers, and anyone else who has anything to do with young girls. The book is attractively laid out and presented, with numerous uplifting quotes, a "Cultivating Connection" section at the end of each chapter, and a final "Resources" chapter full of positive suggestions for further growth. Having grown up in a very different age, ("Always let the boy win, girls!) ( "We don't need to have lab sciences for girls - they'll just get married and have babies." - spoken by a professor at a women's college) (Girls can only be nurses, teachers, secretaries, or wives and mothers.") etc. etc. etc., I so appreciate the strong, empowering messages here that can help young girls (and perhaps some of us older ones!) keep focused on the things that really matter.

As the father of two girls quickly approaching the dreadful teen years, I’m willing to listen to any advice that may assist me in preparing for that adventure. Lindsay Sealey’s GROWING STRONG GIRLS offers practical guidance on how to adapt and manage the challenges facing girls these days.Unfortunately, growing up these days isn’t has simple as it was when I was a kid. Yeah, the “everything is relative” argument works on some childhood issues, but the internet and social media is a beast I couldn’t have fathomed as a child … it changed everything. What I like about Sealey’s book is that while she encompasses the full spectrum of girl-issues, she spends a good amount of time dealing with the internet throughout as it tends to wrap its tentacles around many critical aspects of girls’ lives.GROWING STRONG GIRLS is divided into twenty-eight easy-to-digest chapters. Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect of life that impact young girls, starting with the premise of being true to one’s self and covering other issues as “mean girls”, dealing with setbacks, social media, planning ahead, etc.. What I liked about the book is that the chapters all follow a pattern that thoroughly explain/detail each topic and end with colored inset labeled “Cultivating Connection” that suggests conversation starters with daughters that incorporate the advice/lessons/objectives Sealey writes about. There are also additional colored insets and sidebars at the end of chapters that provide resources (books and websites) for both girls and parents. Motivating and insightful quotes from well-known females are peppered throughout the entire book. GROWING STRONG GIRLS maintains a positive position from beginning to end … the entire book is aimed at being uplifting and encouraging and I did not find any aspect of the book to be alarmist, gloomy or negative.While I applaud the uplifting/positive approach to the subject matter, GROWING STRONG GIRLS tends to be a little “sugary” at times. As I read, I felt that the author was speaking to females/mothers not fathers. It would have been nice if the author would have incorporated more of a father’s perspective into the conversation and taken less of a girl-speak tone … I see my role as a father is being critical in my daughters’ ability to establish/cultivate relationships with males throughout their lives. But, for the most part, Sealey offers tangible food-for-thought on how girls develop emotionally: the self-criticism/insecurity (everyone has flaws, those flaws make you unique), overcoming setbacks/failures (failing doesn’t mean you’re a failure … turning setbacks into learning lessons), nutrition (food as fuel for a healthy life, not a crutch) and social media (being yourself, not how others want you to be). I did get a chuckle out of the list of positive role models for girls: Simone Biles and Bethany Hamilton (sure) … Lena Dunham (huh?). One aspect of the book that I liked is that it does not ever seem to take a preachy approach and approaches the subject matters in a discussion-oriented format. As a parent, I found it helpful in pointing out issues and solutions that I might not have considered … the guidance is to better inform parents in developing an approach to their growing daughters … it does not attempt to tell you how to parent.Overall, GROWING STRONG GIRLS is a nice resource to get parents (mothers and fathers) thinking. While I felt the material appears to be aimed at females, I certainly find it being a decent source of information for fathers as well.

I am grateful for this book, I just inherited a 12 yr old girl, and I am an older spinster. I need a lot of help and found this book to be clear, concise and covering subjects I need information on. Chapter 15 Girls can be mean and 16 setting boundaries was an eye opener. Social media, keeping it real is giving me tools for that discussion.If you are a parent this book may be too simple, but the author has experience with lots of families "gone wrong" in the communication department.I really like the large print quotes. I found myself skipping the pages and reading the blue box, end of chapter highlights.

This book has some very good resources in it for parents of girls 9-16. It talks about what being strong means, but more than that, it gives you simple ways to cultivate meaningful conversations. It offers good suggestions to adults of different kinds-Parents, Teachers, Coaches, Mentors. It has activities you can do, questions to ask, and reasons behind all of those. I found that the theory portions were a bit repetitive, but that was OK b/c the practical advice was so that made it worth the read. I am so glad I found this now (my daughters are 6 & 8) and there are many things in here about being intentional with my relationships with them that I am going to be able to utilize. Overall, it's a good book with very well organized and thought out practical applications that will have you encouraging your girl to be strong!

I absolutely love this book and am so glad I got it. I highly recommend this to anyone raising girls !! One of the hardest things I struggle with in raising our daughter is connection and helping my daughter learn to feel her feelings and deal with them good & bad !! I find in today's society it's so hard to see our daughter not feeling confident or good about herself , especially with social media and I hope that with all the stuff I have read I can help understand more and help our daughter get through these preteen stages of life 💗

Lindsay Sealey is an incredible speaker, writer and group facilitator. Lindsay really knows how to keep her audience engaged...she speaks from life experiences and she's able too translate that to her audience which let's them know that thier not alone.Growing Strong Girls is a great tool for parents, counselors and girls and educators. It's an easy read and gives lot's of tools that you can put in your toolbox and use when need be.We are very fortunate to have Lindsay come to our school and share her wisdom with young women whom are navigating their way in this complexed world.

When parenting we are often keenly aware that this is truly the most important job we will ever have. Thus insighting constant doubt and worry about our parenting abilities . Growing Strong Girls helps one navigate positive growth, conversation, healthy topics all while encouraging positive relationships with peers and parents. It's truly a must read for anyone about to navigate the tween years in our ever changing society. I think while my daughter goes through these next few years I will be keeping this one by my bedside!!

Excellent book!!!!! Very relevant today with all the stresses young girls face. The best preteen book I have read that addresses loads of the issues preteen and their parents encounter and need guidance on. I contacted Lindsay directly by email and now have our 11 year old enrolled in her summer program. Cannot give enough praise for this fantastic book!!!

What a gift Lindsay has! To be able to connect with children & young adults as well as share her insight & guide us, parents and caregivers, how best to connect too.I wish I had read this 10 years ago when I had a tween. It's a must read for all those involved with the growing up of our children - especially girls!Inward, Outward & Onward.