Raising a Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of a Healthy Woman (Paperback)

~ (Author), Don Elium (Author) "Raising A Son was our initial endeavor in the publishing world, and the first time that we presented our ideas and experiences about boys to..." (more)
Key Phrases: healthy womanhood, inner guidance system, positive intent, New York, San Francisco, Carol Gilligan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Society’s confusing and often contradictory messages to girls and women make raising a daughter an especially daunting responsibility for any parent. Girls are born believing that they can do anything, but growing up they face new obstacles, as their bodies and social roles begin to change. In RAISING A DAUGHTER, Jeanne and Don Elium address these challenges and guide parents through each stage of a girl’s development, from infancy through middle childhood, the teen years, and early adulthood. A bestseller since 1994, this newly revised parenting classic is indispensable for new and experienced parents alike. The Eliums offer a sensitive balance of insight and information for mothers and fathers who want to help their girls navigate within a culture that often seems determined to exploit them. More than just a practical exploration of what it means to have a daughter, RAISING A DAUGHTER is a compassionate study of what it means to come of age as a woman in today’s world.

About the Author

JEANNE ELIUM is a former women’s counselor and elementary school teacher, and is the mother of both a son and a daughter. DON ELIUM, her husband, has a busy marriage, family, and child counseling practice in sunny Walnut Creek, California.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Celestial Arts; Revised edition (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587611767
• ISBN-13: 978-1587611766
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #174,455 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dad's eyes are more open and aware!, February 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Raising a Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of a Healthy Woman (Paperback)

I was given this book as a gift after my daughter was born last summer. Previously, I had two boys which I could relate to since I am a male and was raised in a family of all boys! Wow, this book was very eye-opening for me. How easily we forget how we see the world and unconciously perform actions which may have an undesired outcome on our child's development. Although still an infant, this book helped me realize that I already treat my daughter differently than my older boys. I will definitely re-read the Elium's book in a year or so, and will likely revisit it time and again. I would not advise this to be the 'one' book on how to raise a daughter. I also don't necessarily agree with every point. Overall, though, this is a useful guide full of interesting and thought-provoking material.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical an eye-opening!, April 28, 2000

By	Darin LaGarry (Ithaca, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raising a Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of a Healthy Woman (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it most enlightening. As a father of two young girls, ages 2 and 5, and already encountering some interesting parenting dilemnas, I was quite happy to discover that the techniques described in this book work quite well. I find that I am more patient and understanding of my daughters behavior. There is also a considerable amount of discussion about how our society tends to suppress the female psyche - I'm in agreement with this and feel that the discussions are necessary to make us more mindful of the unconscious pressures placed on our daughters. Definitely recommend adding this book to your parenting library.

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not very helpful at all..., January 28, 2006

By	Eustacia Vye - See all my reviews

As the mother of three girls, I picked this up at the library with excitement. Sad to say, it was quite a disappointment.

I am not sure what generation this book is aimed at; maybe fifty years ago girls were taught to be quiet, helpless, docile, submissive, not terribly bright, and Stepford-wives-in-training, and perhaps THOSE mothers needed to be told that these are not good traits to encourage.

These days, however, the issues in OUR house have to do more with the sheer drama of having three very loquacious little ladies who feel it is their God-given duty to point out ALL areas in which they are displeased (and they are frequently displeased), and to keep rehashing things over and over and over again as they have startlingly long memories and amazing perseverence...not to mention their annoyance at having to be accountable for their actions and responsible for their own chores and personal care (since they are all quite sure that they were born Princesses of the Blood and should never have to do anything for themselves).

In short, I didn't find much in this book that offered any sort of useful tactics for dealing with MODERN, assertive, girls who have perhaps a little too much self-esteem, and who are being raised by modern moms who encourage messy play, sports, responsibility, and academic excellence. There were a few odds and ends that were interesting (such as the fact that women prefer face-to-face contact, whereas men prefer side-by-side discourse -- that must be why my husband and I communicate best on long car rides, and why my daughters have always felt it necessary to follow me around all day constantly pestering me until I stopped what I was doing, sat down on the floor, and stared adoringly at them for hours on end). And I totally agree with the author's stance on no TV and being very careful about what music children are allowed to hear.

But mostly it seemed to be an endless rant about the supposed repressiveness of our society towards women, and how much better things were back in the Paleolithic before all this pesky Judeo-Christian-Western-European-patriarchal stuff was around. I mean, did you know that PMS symptoms are a direct result of oursociety's lack of reverence for the menstrual cycle? And here I've been all these years thinking it was the bloating and backaches that made me feel cranky, when in fact I was being Denied My Womanhood. (I'm being sarcastic, for those of you slow on the uptake).

In a nutshell: if you are a normal woman raising normal kids, this is a waste of time. It might be of interest for a person time-traveling from the Fifties who needed to have her feminist consciousness raised; or perhaps for the the sort who likes to be told what a victim she is and that the reason you didn't do well in high school trigonometry is entirely Society's Fault.