Now, at last, their prayers have been answered.
A book giving advice on tackling everything from alcohol and sleep-overs to tattoos and hissy fits will seem a welcome lifeline to mothers and fathers nearing the end of their tether.
Advice: The book will give help to parents on girls' lives from toddlers to age 21, but focuses mainly on teenage life including alcohol and hissy fits (posed by models)
But given that Your Daughter, A Guide For Raising Girls was written by headmistresses and staff from more than 200 leading private girls’ schools, will its helpful tips for ‘gels’ be suitable for all?
Although the book covers issues affecting girls from toddlers to 21-year-olds, a significant chunk focuses on the tense, troublesome teenage years.
Demand: Girls' School Association head Helen Wright said the book came about after parents asked for advice
Published next month by The Girls’ Schools Association, it suggests girls who want a tattoo may be bribed to change their mind with the offer of a shopping spree.
And if your terrible teen wants to appear sophisticated by drinking alcohol, give her a special punch ‘rumoured to contain vodka’, even though the strongest ingredient is fruit squash. As the book says: ‘You wouldn’t be the first parents to carry off that particular white lie.’
Association president Dr Helen Wright said the book came about as a result of parental demand.
She added: ‘Parents are always coming to us for advice and it’s our joint responsibility to help bring up their daughters to make sure they turn into the most amazing women that they can.
‘It’s hard bringing up young girls. Parents recognise that girls come under so much pressure in the outside world and they are looking for sources of help.’
Dr Wright, 40, said some children did not have good adult role models, adding: ‘What we don’t have any more is this extended family, providing grandparents and wise aunts to tell children things.
‘It is absolutely essential, particularly for teenagers, to have other adult mentors.
‘Greater geographical mobility is absolutely great but the downside of that is that there are fewer family members around.
‘So schools have a very valuable role to play in that respect, particularly boarding schools.
‘As heads we are always giving advice about how to deal with tricky situations or just reassuring parents that if they’re having difficulties with their teenage daughters, it’s perfectly normal.’
Dr Wright, who is head of £28,950-a-year St Mary’s Calne boarding school in Wiltshire, believes teachers are in a unique position to help parents, whether their daughters are in the private or state sector.
The mother of three, who hit the headlines last year when she returned to work seven hours after giving birth to her daughter Jessica, said: ‘Girls are girls, wherever they are. The thinking applies to everyone, helping girls negotiate the pathway from childhood to adulthood.
‘We give advice on raising your daughter to educating your daughter, with problems along the way such as boyfriends or curfews.
‘We think very firmly that schools aren’t just about educating girls to pass exams. What we’re really doing is allowing them to grow and develop and gain confidence. A lot of this is also about reassuring parents that they are doing a good job and that nobody is perfect.’
She added: ‘Being a teenager is often a tricky time and it’s often a time when parents have more questions. What we say in the book is that “You’re not in this alone. Schools can help you”.
‘I know as a mother that my children will need other adults as well as me to help bring them up. You need good schools and other adults around to help guide them through the forest of childhood.’ ( dailymail.co.uk )
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