An absolute must-have parenting guide to raising girls in the 21st century.

'An excellent book' Vanessa Feltz

'Required reading for all parents, teachers and grandparents' DAILY MAIL


'There can be no keener revelation of a country's soul than the way it treats its children.' Nelson Mandela

Childhood, as a stage in human development, has been steadily eroded. Children today are introduced to 21st-century adult values and behaviour at an increasingly early age, long before they are developmentally ready to cope with them. We expend immense time and effort attending to their material needs while simultaneously neglecting their developmental needs.

In this important polemic, Sue Palmer believes that if we do not get a grip on this problem soon, the increase in developmental disorders, behavioural difficulties and mental health problems recorded by experts over recent decades will soon spiral out of control.

Sue discusses challenges faced in the 21st century including:

-the problems facing parents in an age of materialism
-the way gender wars have intensified those problems
-the debate about the 'female brain'
-the reasons why contemporary culture can be so damaging for children, especially girls
-the challenges involved in detoxifying family life

Every parent, grandparent, teacher and carer of girls needs to read this book.

Sue Palmer is a writer, broadcaster and consultant on the education of young children. She is well-known to UK teachers as a specialist in literacy, especially the teaching of writing, but concern about children's lifestyles led her to research and publish the bestselling book TOXIC CHILDHOOD: How the Modern World Is Damaging Our Children and What We Can Do About It, followed in 2007 by a practical handbook for parents, DETOXING CHILDHOOD: What Parents Need to Know to Raise Bright, Balanced Children, and her most recent book 21ST CENTURY BOYS. Sue is also a popular speaker, addressing thousands of teachers each year across the UK and around the world - and increasingly invited to address audiences of parents, health professionals and others concerned with children's well-being. She writes frequently in the national press, and has worked as a consultant to the National Literacy Trust, the Basic Skills Agency, many educational publishers, the Department for Education and the BBC.