Girlhood: Raising our little girls to be healthy, happy and heard

by Maggie Dent

'Maggie is a national treasure.' Tracey Spicer, AM

'. . . sage wisdom for parenting and supporting girls.' Mona Delahooke, PhD, bestselling author and pediatric psychologist

The early years of a little girl's life will shape her future in powerful ways.

Maggie Dent, Australia's queen of common-sense parenting, has investigated the development period from birth to age eight.

Drawing on nearly 5,000 survey results, the latest research, and her own extensive experience as an educator, counsellor, facilitator, mum and grandmother, Maggie shows us how to help our girls build an emotional and psychological base for life.

Secure foundations, Maggie argues, will help insulate our girls against anxiety and other mental health challenges as they grow into their teens and feel more capable and resilient while keeping their own authentic voice as they enter womanhood.

Written with all the rigour, compassion and humour we have come to expect from one of Australia's best-loved parenting voices, this is both a deeply practical guide to raising girls, as well as a celebration and intimate meditation on the state of being female, which women of all ages will relate to.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Childrens

496 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Commonly known as the ‘queen of common sense’, Maggie Dent has become one of Australia's favourite parenting authors and educators. She has a particular interest in the early years, adolescence and resilience, and is an undisputed 'boy champion'.

Maggie is the author of eight major books, including the bestselling 2018 release Mothering Our Boys and her 2020 release From Boys to Men. She hosts the ABC podcast, Parental As Anything. In July 2021, she is publishing a book based on the podcast called Parental As Anything: A common-sense guide to raising happy, healthy kids – from toddlers to tweens.

Maggie is a dedicated advocate to quietly changing lives in our families and communities. She is the mother of four sons and a very grateful grandmother.

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very disappointed in this book. In chapter three, Maggie says that girls are women are more emotional then boys and men. I’m shocked that Maggie perpetuates this incorrect gender myth. A quick google search will come up with countless studies and articles debunking this harmful belief. It’s simply not true. I am baffled as to why Maggie choose to include this especially as she acknowledges that the study she she referenced to supports this BS belief, only used an extremely small sample size - only 25 women and 21 men. It’s like she was desperately searching for ANYTHING that supported her belief that girls and women are more emotional then men and boys, despite the overwhelming evidence that this is false.

She also mentions quite a few times that girls are “sharper” then boys. Although she quite clearly states that this is just her observations from her granddaughters and her memories of raising her boys, this is also completely untrue. Children in general may very well be “sharper” then they were 30-40 years ago due to change in culture, education and general health but overall, there is no way one gender is “sharper” then the other.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t read after chapter 3, the “women are more emotional then men” fable made me want to throw this book on a bonfire.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of so many useful tips about raising girls and gives you so much to think about. I will be rereading parts of this for years to come.

[Bec Kitson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was completely fine.

I listened to the audio book - Maggie Dent's narration is wonderful. I feel like it was possibly twice as long as it needed to be? Lots of repetitive bits - I lost count of how many times the author told me that little girls need to play. And I was a little disappointed at how conventional the wisdom was? Maybe that says more about me, than the book - but I was hoping I'd learn something new or interesting - especially when the author (Maggie Dent) is so revered. And I'm not sure that I did. Oh! That's a lie. Apparently little girls have incredible natural memories - more so than little boys. That was interesting.
The anecdotes from parents were all massively one note, "here is a story of my child being kind to a lonely kid" - I found myself rushing to finish towards the end.

Tldr: pleasant, but far too long.

[Sunshine Biskaps · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Girlhood: Raising our little girls to be healthy, happy and heard" by Maggie Dent
Reviewed on 22 July 2022

I love Maggie Dent and enjoyed reading her books about raising boys. This book about raising girls is just as excellent as all her other books. It is well-researched and the information in it is paramount to raising well-rounded children, particularly young girls. I loved the point she makes that women are often portrayed in media as needing to be saved, like some damsel in distress and a hero needs to come to her rescue because she would not be a able to get herself out of the mess. These days, we need to raise our girls to speak up for themselves and be independent. I enjoyed reading Maggie's thoughts about kids with special needs, particularly ADHD. She would love to see the "Disorder" part of ADHD be removed. Children on the spectrum are the way they are, but this does not make them "wrong".

Here are some other points and good reminders:

It's important to give care to create special bonds between girls and parents in the early years.
Sleep is so, so important.
Mothers are more stressed these days than they were before.
All parents can benefit from a close social network.
Girls seem to be more aware, clever, creative, and imaginative than boys.
We can change mindset with confidence.
Resist the need to control her world.
Aunties have very important roles in the lives of girls.
What we speak is what they hear and also what they will speak.
Focus on respectful communication.

Hey, how sweet was that story about the 4 yo girl who, unbeknownst to her parents, snuck two dead birds under her pillow just in the case that her care and nurturing will bring the bird back to life overnight?

I listened to this at 2x speed. I would highly recommend it.

[Jenny (Bookbookowl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a five, almost six year old daughter, so Maggie Dent’s Girlhood was perfectly timed for me to read. There was some really helpful information in here, especially with regards to navigating the, frankly terrifying, issues in girl friendships. Navigating them yourself is one thing, but the thought of having to watch your daughter navigate them, we’ll, that’s an entirely different situation 😅
Did I agree with or find everything in the book helpful? No. But there was definitely enough here to give me some practical ideas to have on hand and some alternative viewpoints to the way I would generally deal with certain things.

Certainly worth a read if you have daughters under six years old!

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some helpful things here, although much of that was just helpfully putting many things I knew together in one place - but I found it hard going in the second half. I think the whole thing could have been about half the length. Lots of ideas were repeated across multiple chapters.
Also, as a very minor point that was really getting me by chapter 20, I found the sub headings continually misleading as they implied more of a singular point to a chunk of text, when it was more a stream of consciousness which varied in the main ideas it covered.
Overall, fine, long, in line with key messages I'd already heard/picked up.

[Katie Murdoch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A far from perfect book - the quotes from Melinda Tankard Reist were worrying and I do wonder about some of the generalisations about gender - BUT the practical tips will help me with parenting my daughters. In particular there was good advice on parenting a sensitive girl.

[Bree Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of food for thought. I recommend to all mummies (and educators) of little girls.

[Katie Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

So insightful! Maggie has created a useful tool to have in my pocket, for raising my little lady.

[Kate Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book for parents, caregivers and (I think) educators on raising little girls.

[Mayari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished Girlhood by Maggie Dent, and I had to share what an eye-opening, grounding read it was. It’s written by one of Australia’s most respected parenting educators, and it’s all about raising girls—specifically from birth to eight—in a world that often misunderstands or overlooks their emotional, social, and developmental needs.

Here’s what stood out to me:

⸻

Core Idea:

The early years of a girl’s life are pivotal. What happens in those formative stages—how she’s spoken to, how her emotions are handled, and how much autonomy she’s given—directly influences the kind of woman she will become. Not in a pressure-filled way, but in a deeply respectful, empowering way.

⸻

Key Insights from the Book:
• Girls aren’t just small boys. They process emotions differently, often internalize stress, and need us to notice their unspoken signals.
• Body image and appearance talk starts early. Dent urges us to shift away from comments like “You’re so pretty,” and focus on what girls do—how they think, create, feel, and grow.
• Conflict is part of growth. Rather than rescuing them, we guide them through it—naming feelings, building emotional literacy, and helping them set boundaries.
• Temperaments matter. Whether your girl is a “Rooster” (strong-willed), a “Lamb” (sensitive and gentle), or an “Orchid” (highly sensitive), knowing who she is changes how we support her.
• Over-apologising and hedging language start young. Girls learn to make themselves small to stay liked. Dent urges us to raise daughters who take up space with grace and assertiveness.

My Reflections (and How I’m Applying it to my daughter):

Reading this made me realize how much I want my daughter to own her voice, her body, and her worth—without apology. I’ve started being more intentional about:
• Praising her actions and qualities, not her looks
• Helping her name what her body is telling her when she’s upset or overstimulated
• Letting her practice age-appropriate independence (even when it’s messy or slower)
• Noticing and gently correcting when others speak about her appearance too often
• Teaching her that conflict and big feelings are part of growing up—and she has tools to navigate them

Dent’s biggest message is this: Girls who feel seen, heard, respected, and trusted grow up resilient, secure, and kind. And it starts with how we respond now.

Highly recommend this book if you’re raising (or helping raise) a little girl. It’s not preachy—it’s practical, heartfelt, and deeply human.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started off reading this but just didn't have time to properly read and absorb it, so I went for the audiobook from my library to listen to on my commute.
It was great! I've previously listened to Parental as anything, which I also got a lot out of.

I really liked how many different aspects of a girl's growing up were covered. The section on the early sexualisation of girls in dance classes made me despair. It's so awful that people don't realise how damaging this is and think it's funny to see toddlers, preschoolers and primary school aged girls exploited with sexualised clothing and dance moves.

I appreciated that Maggie put in a section specifically recognising the importance of fathers.

Overall, highly recommended!

[Jessica Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great analogies for raising girls and understanding little girls.

I did expect to have more aha moments, so was a little disappointed that there is a lot of information in here that I found to be fairly common knowledge. Plus I would have liked more detail about the psychology of girls and teens. Also didn’t find the little anecdotes from parents added anything to the reader’s experience or understanding, I found them a bit distracting and sometimes unrelated the content they were inserted into.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of a tome but we'll worth the read. I have so many highlights to go back over and the resources and references provided are excellent. There are also a lot of things that parents still do based on how they were raised, that should be changed based on the research that's been done - really, a step forward in how to educate and raise children in this day and age.

"It provides essential insights that bring awareness to the invisible shackles still place on girls in our society."

[Maz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book. It has some amazing perspectives and insights into raising children, and breaks down how children can differ so greatly, and how to adapt to each individual child. There were some bits that felt a bit whack, or that I probably won't practice with kids, but by and large, I really like this, and found some solace in it as an adult

[Benjamin Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book and a must read for any parent, not just those with daughters. Sections are well organised and are clearly written. There’s a lot to take in, but the Maggie main ideas and chapter summaries help recap the essential pints. While I feel my approach to parenting is well aligned to Maggie’s methods, there was plenty for me to think about and try to implement in this book.

[Deb Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s very long (even as audio book) and bit disappointing in parts as it felt a bit condescending. And perhaps not up to the gender spectrum of 2024. As some of the content applicable to all children? Anyway interesting to hear her perspective and there is some good advice in here but it’s a slog and some of it irrelevant. Probs good as hard copy to dip in and out of for relevant info.

[Elise Willetts · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some useful tips and takes from this book, and there are some chapters you can do away with (don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater). This isn’t a parenting bible and doesn’t claim to be. On the whole, a good starting book for parents looking for easy-to-read, general advice on raising daughters:

[Ame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good overall. However was extremely disappointed about the inclusion of the stereotypical negative rhetoric about fathers in the only chapter that attempted to acknowledge the imporantmce of fathers in raising daughters. Sad effort on this part.

[NS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while and a few false starts to get through this one - really helpful content but a bit long. Listened to the audio book and Maggie Dent was fantastic! If you have little girls this is definitely worth reading / listening to 👌🏼

[Vi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very useful information between a lot of page fillers and data based on insignificant sample sizes to back her point.

[Elisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

An thorough rumination on girlhood - practical for parents, carers and educators. Also recommend Maggie's ABC podcast Parental As Anything if a bite size listen fits your schedule better.

[Otilia Marcu]

Recomandare 2025 de la Flavia Hiriscau

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical and easy-to-digest advice that is reinforcing and encouraging.

[Alexandra Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! love Maggie Dent

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth reading by all mothers of little girls! It was a long read (so it took me a while!) but listening as an audiobook was helpful because I felt like Maggie was giving me a lecture.

[Laura Rayner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid read that offered a lot of relief. I really appreciated Dent's early disclaimer about gender fluidity; it made me feel safe enough to trust the rest of the advice. The concept of "micro-connections" is a key takeaway for me and validates that I don't need to be perfectly "on" every minute to be a safe base. 

It’s a reassuring guide for "good enough" parenting.

[Dani Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐ Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.6/5)

Breakdown:
• 📚 Clarity & Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.0)
• 🎯 Depth & Insight: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.0)
• 🧩 Evidence & Examples: ⭐⭐⭐ (3.0)
• 💡 Practical Application: ⭐⭐⭐ (3.0)
• 💗 Engagement & Impact: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.0)

Review:
Loved this non fiction book, especially reading it as someone becoming a mother this year. I found the practical examples and pragmatic application very helpful, and it struck a good balance between evidence and real-life insights.

I’ve seen some criticism of it being too gendered, which I don’t agree with—I found it to be really balanced and modern in its approach. A thoughtful, reassuring and useful read that I’d happily recommend to other parents.