Most Helpful Customer Reviews
64 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bringing Up Girls Review, May 17, 2010
This review is from: Bringing Up Girls: Practical Advice and Encouragement for Those Shaping the Next Generation of Women (Hardcover)
Several years ago I read Dr. Dobson's book Bringing Up Boys. As the mother of a boy and the wife of a man who used to be a boy, I was thrilled to learn what made them tick. So, I was very excited to have the chance to review Bringing Up Girls through the Tyndale Blag Network!
Dr. Dobson, in Bringing up Girls, first relates the physiological and psychological differences between boys and girls answering the question: What makes girls unique? Everything he writes is well backed up with current research. He goes on to talk about the importance of mothers and then fathers in a girl's life. He broaches some discussion of discipline. He looks at modesty and why this is such an issue with girls today. He sites research related to our current culture and technological trends that affect girls particularly. He attempts to give parents a better understanding of why their little girls (and big girls) are the way they are are and to equip parents to raise these girls to be the young women God wants them to be.
I was very impressed with Bringing Up Girls (as I was with Bringing up Boys). I find the physiological differences between boys and girls very interesting- especially as our culture has tried for so long to tell us boys and girls really aren't all that different. I think Dr. Dobson does an excellent job of bringing in a wide array of statistical research as well as writings form other learned people on the topic. He also provides real life interviews with girls and parents to give practical examples.
Dr. Dobson is very opinionated about such issues as stay-at-home moms, abstinence, and modesty. Some readers may not appreciate this "political incorrectness", but , as I happen to agree with most of what he says, I do appreciate his candidness. I also appreciate the fact that he is willing to be counter-cultural to address some of these important truths that parents need to know.
I will definitely recommend Bringing Up Girls and plan to pass my copy on to other moms who are raising these young woman of the future.
Tyndale House Publishers has provided me a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
63 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as I thought it would be, May 24, 2010
This review is from: Bringing Up Girls: Practical Advice and Encouragement for Those Shaping the Next Generation of Women (Hardcover)
I'm a big fan of Dr. Dobson's, so I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed. It seemed that there was little practical advice. Instead, there were pages upon pages of warning about how depraved our culture has become and how toxic it is to girls. It was filled with discouraging statistics. There is a place for such warnings and such statistics, but I thought that this book focused on them without providing the counterbalance--the advice of how to help our daughters grow strong and healthy, avoiding becoming one of those statistics. Despite this, there were a few gems in the book. The one that stands out the most for me was the early emphasis on the role of the father--too many fathers do not realize how important they are in their daughters' lives, right from the beginning. The early part of this book did a good job in pointing that out. After those couple of chapters, however, it was all negatives and no advice for how to avoid them. I hoped for better from Dr. Dobson.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
67 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yay! I'm the First Review, April 22, 2010
This review is from: Bringing Up Girls: Practical Advice and Encouragement for Those Shaping the Next Generation of Women (Hardcover)
Upon awaiting anxiously for a couple of years for this much anticipated book, I'd have to give it a very high rating! Similar to Dobson's book, Bringing Up Boys, this book offers outstanding advice based on the current culture in raising up daughters.
Whoever said that boys and girls were the same was wrong. Scientifically, Dobson has shown the difference of the two genders. They are wired so differently. In a culture where we are self-obsessed, girls are growing up at a young age feeling "fat" and insecure. Girls as young as nine are dieting. Sixty percent of girls at age 15 will have eating disorders. So what's a parent to do?
Thankfully, we have the guidance of people like Dobson who has thoroughly analyzed the female gender and has given us great perspective on what to do. There has been insurmountable evidence that points to the importance of fathers in a daughter's life. There are chapters devoted to both mothers and fathers in this book.
I like the examples from families like the Wilsons who started the Father-Daugther Purity Ball. Included in the book is an interview from them and how they raised their seven children. Knowing one of them personally, I can tell you that their emphasis on purity in their daughter's lives has truly made a difference.
There is a chapter on bullies and buddies. From the news, we hear of more incidents where girls have been harmed or have even committed suicide because of bullies. As I think back on my youth, I was also harmed by bullies who made for a difficult teenage experience. Dobson stresses the importance of parents talking with their teenagers about these issues.
What I also enjoyed was the questions and answers sections in this book. Real parents sent in their questions with common themes and Dobson answers them with great advice.
My advice to all parents of girls is to pick up a copy of this book! It would probably be better to own it then check it out at the library. That way you can refer to it from time to time! I am so happy that I waited for this book and could receive it so quickly! It'll be worth your money spent! Thank you, Dobson, for another great book!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
