Tween Survival

Oh pre-teen and teenaged girls. The tortured soul, the raw emotion, the unbelievable sensitivity of young girls. I figure we have a good ten years until we'll be confronted with all this as parents, and I joke that my husband will be so old by then that a lot of the drama won't register. Still, it's never too early to prepare.

The current January/February issue of Daughters magazine (www.daughters.com) focuses on nurturing the parent-daughter relationship during the angst-ridden tween years. Here are some highlights:

*Steer her from smoking: One in four girls smoke by high-school
graduation--effective tactics to curb smoking from a leader of a
girls' tobacco-free group

*Girl-led conflict resolution: Teach your girl to work out
disagreements with friends using six simple steps

*Get an inactive girl moving: Guidance for girls who aren't jocks to
enjoy the brain- and body-boosting benefits of exercise; plus tips on
using active play to build girl-parent bonds

*Eating disorder 911: What to do if you think your daughter could
have a dangerous eating problem

There's also a nice pullout section about handling the "do-not disturb'' treatment.