12 Going on 29: Surviving Your Daughter's Tween Years

Motivational speaker/mom Silvana Clark, in concert with her now-teenaged daughter Sondra, confirms in this book the confusion and possible unpleasantness tween girls and their moms around the world face in these sometimes-trying years. Through surveys and interviews with some 100 mother-daughter pairs, the Clarks show us what preteen girls are thinking and wanting, how mothers can successfully help their daughters navigate these years to avoid the potential minefields, and how they can successfully guide their daughters while keeping a respectful and loving relationship intact.

The tween years―ages about 9 to 12―are a time when girls seem to grow astonishingly quickly toward establishing their independence and adult identity. It is a time of testing new feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, and can be a time of testing mom's patience, persistence and energy. From cell phones to body piercings and hair dye, seductive clothes and strange boyfriends, girls want to test the waters and experience what the world has to offer. Motivational speaker/mom Silvana Clark, in concert with her now-teenaged daughter Sondra, confirms in this book the confusion and possible unpleasantness tween girls and their moms around the world face in these sometimes-trying years. Through surveys and interviews with some 100 mother-daughter pairs, the Clarks show us what preteen girls are thinking and wanting, how mothers can successfully help their daughters navigate these years to avoid the potential minefields, and how they can successfully guide their daughters while keeping a respectful and loving relationship intact.

What's a mother to do during these tough years? The good part is that (although they likely wouldn't admit it) mothers remain the number one role model for girls at this age. Setting and keeping rules and boundaries with a tween can be challenging, though. Sondra, now a spokeschild for charities working with children in developing countries, shares insights into the way that pre-teen girls think today. And her mother shares her own successful approaches and those of dozens of other mothers with tween girls. Topics addressed include emotional and physical development of tween girls, dating, drinking, clothes, friends, music, money, and more. Step-by-step scripts for handling mother-daughter conflicts are provided, along with tips for communicating with tweens.