Growing Strong Daughters: Encouraging Girls to Become All They're Meant to Be

Today's culture offers broadening opportunities for women; yet it still pressures them to fit long-standing stereotypes. McMinn challenges parents, teachers, churches, and civic communities to create a social environment that nurtures strong, confident girls. Combining careful research with personal experience, McMinn takes a thoughtful look at gender differences and patterns limiting women's full participation in society. She discusses what it means to raise strong daughters made in the image of God and covers the various aspects of strength--confidence, interdependence, voice, and self-image.

From the Back Cover

How can you help shape your daughter to be confident and gracious, empowered to become the woman she was meant to be?

Today women enjoy more opportunities than in any previous century. Yet they are still pressured to be beautiful, thin, and sexy. In this sort of environment, our daughters get mixed messages about what a strong woman really is. How can we work to create a social environment that nurtures strong, confident girls?

This helpful book is filled with strategies and personal insights to guide you in growing a strong, capable daughter. McMinn discusses topics such as how you can teach your daughter to:
• be confident as well as interdependent
• feel confident in her ability to think and speak for herself
• have a healthy perspective toward her body and sexuality
• develop strong relationships with boys, both parents, and a future mate
McMinn thoughtfully examines these issues, reminding us of our God-given responsibilities to "grow" the next generation of women. Her personal insight, life experience, and careful research combine to make this book helpful for all who are involved in raising and nurturing girls--whether parents, teachers, church leaders, or civic communities. This revised edition includes a new preface, study questions, and updated studies, illustrations, and concepts.

Praise for the first edition:
"Reading this book will truly make a difference for mothers and daughters, and this will make a difference in our world!"--Judy and Jack Balswick, Fuller Theological Seminary

"McMinn speaks from her professional expertise as well as her personal experiences as the mother of three daughters. This thoughtful and perceptive guide should be on the bookshelves of parents, educators, and pastors."--Beliefnet

Lisa Graham McMinn is associate professor of sociology at George Fox University, where much of her teaching and work with students intersects with the issues she raises in Growing Strong Daughters. She and her husband Mark are the parents of three daughters.