Little Girls Can Be Mean: Four Steps To Bully-proof Girls In The Early Grades (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Some good points, but the driving home of the four points solution to solve every problem is not entirely realistic. It didn't help that the girls used as examples in this book are very emotionally mature and able to express themselves with just a little prodding from mom, even girls as young as five. I don't think it can be as simple as the authors suggest. Of course this four-step process needs to become a lifestyle of interaction with your daughter, and I respect the idea of keeping open communication and developing a relationship of trust with a child, so that made the book worth reading. While this book had a lot of very good suggestions and techniques, and was certainly worth reading (if only due to the sheer lack of bully-related books for the elementary crowd), the authors made some truly baffling suggestions throughout. It really felt as though, for every four reasonable or good ideas there was one that was completely bonkers. The suggestion that you encourage a child to lie (when at this age they have no understanding of white or courtesy lies, let alone lies of self-preservation) was so incredible I had to read the paragraph several times to really believe what they were suggesting. The idea that a child stating "that's your opinion" or similar was non-aggressive clearly hasn't ever seen that phrase in action with young children. While I absolutely agree that thinking that you don't care what others think is a good means of self-preservation, announcing it is aggressive and will escalate the situation. The other thing I found annoying was the authors almost complete reliance on the authors' own children as examples. It really dug holes into the professional and expert personas they were trying to establish. All that being said, I think the method has merit and in a very short time beginning to implement it I can see how it does foster a sense of team and trust between my daughter and I. I have yet to test it in a bully situation but it shows promise. Just take their actual suggestions with a generous dash of salt.
What do You think about Little Girls Can Be Mean: Four Steps To Bully-proof Girls In The Early Grades (2010)?
Not a cover to cover read but there are some helpful hints and activities I'll refer to over time.
—kingdomgurl1
I felt like this book could have been wrapped up in a few chapters rather than an entire book.
—Alex
Lots of tools in this book to help you lead your daughter through tough times.
—nickola
