Girlhood

The early years of a little girl's life will shape her future in powerful ways.

Maggie Dent, Australia's queen of common-sense parenting, has investigated the development period from birth to age eight. Drawing on nearly 5,000 survey results, the latest research, and her own extensive experience as an educator, counsellor, facilitator, mum and grandmother, Maggie shows us how to help our girls build an emotional and psychological base for life. Secure foundations, Maggie argues, will help insulate our girls against anxiety and other mental health challenges as they grow into their teens and feel more capable and resilient while keeping their own authentic voice as they enter womanhood.

Written with all the rigour, compassion and humour we have come to expect from one of Australia's best-loved parenting voices, this is both a deeply practical guide to raising girls, as well as a celebration and intimate meditation on the state of being female, which women of all ages will relate to.

About the Author

Commonly known as the 'Queen of Common Sense', Maggie Dent has become one of Australia's favourite parenting authors and educators.

Maggie is the author of eight major books, including the bestselling 2018 release Mothering Our Boys and her 2020 release From Boys to Men. She hosts the ABC podcast, Parental As Anything and in July 2021 released a book of the same name.

Maggie is a dedicated advocate for quietly changing lives in our families and communities. She is an ambassador for Telethon in WA and a champion of the Telethon Kids Institute. Maggie is also a proud ambassador for mindfulness app Smiling Mind and The Sanctuary, a crisis shelter in the Sydney Hills for women and their children who are fleeing domestic violence.

Maggie is the mother of four sons and a very grateful grandmother to a growing tribe of precious little boys and girls. She lives in the South Coast region of NSW with her good bloke Steve Mountain and their dear little dog, Mr Hugo Walter Dent.