21st Century Girls: How the Modern World is Damaging Our Daughters and What We Can Do About It

A Must - Read for 21st Century Parents

I remember my childhood very well. A very happy one , full with amazing memories. As a child ,time seemed to go so slow, a year felt like a lifetime. I was shocked when my 8 year old daughter said she had never had this kind of feeling, that she actually felt she didn't have enough time to do all she wanted to do. And lately I've been having the feeling that time is going fast , too fast...and that the world I knew as a kid is also changing fast and not necessarily for the better. Kids today don't have the time to just be kids anymore and to play as kids used to play. First thing one of my daughter's friends asked on her first playday at our house was " Can we watch a movie?? ". I had a hard time explaining to her that in our house we just didn't watch movies whenever friends came over. They were supposed to play. Play?? Yes...play!! Luckily my daughters also made friends with kids who enjoy playing - normal playing - but once in a while I still have to defend myself and explain why I'm not getting them an ipod, an ipad, a wii or a Nintendo. Why I'm not getting them all the Monster High Doll Collection, and why my 10 year old cannot wear shorts that are way too short to school and is still not allowed to have a computer in her room, and no, no, she cannot watch Big Brother. And often, very often , I feel I'm fighting a battle that is already lost. Quoting a sentence from Palmer's book: " There is a need for such a huge cultural shift away from consumerism that I feel powerless as an individual to act". Thanks , Sue, for this excellent book ! I'll do my job in spreading the word, and yes, "it's the economy!". Read more