Larchmont Author Hopes To Empower Girls (And Their Parents) With New Book

LARCHMONT, N.Y. -- With Hillary Clinton earning the Democratic Party's nomination for president, girls across our country now have a front row seat to history. But how will they appreciate the significance of this moment and learn how to become leaders themselves if they'd rather spend their days counting likes, hearts, comments and snapchat stories?

Larchmont resident Laurie Wolk.
Photo Credit: *Submitted*

Jeanne Muchnick

07/06/2016 6:00 a.m.

Enter Family Coach and Author Laurie Wolk, whose new book, "Girls Just Want to Have Likes: How to Raise Confident Girls in the Face of Social Media Madness," takes readers inside the social media world of tween and teenage girls. The book, published in June by Difference Press, offers important strategies to help parents understand how to reconnect with their daughters by knowing exactly what has them so transfixed.

"It’s okay to need help," said Wolk, a Larchmont resident and mom of three. "This is new for everyone and we have no guidelines or role models to follow."

She encourages parents to seek support from those who have spent time studying its effect and talking with friends who have older children. "Because of social media kids today are not developing critical life skills that they need," she said.

A few eye-opening stats about girls and social media:

The average 8 to12-year-old uses online media an average of six hours a day.
The average 12 to15- year-old sends more than 40 texts a day.
One in two teens believe they are “addicted” to their mobile device.
78 percent of teens check their mobile device hourly.
77 percent of parents feel teens get distracted and don’t pay attention when together.

Wolk said "Girls Just Want To Have Likes" offers tools for parents to better understand the social media landscape, create a Family Media Usage Agreement, teach your daughter how to communicate “in real life," and build her leadership skills at home.

In order to teach tween/teen girls the important life skills she refers to in her book, the author also runs a workshop called "Girls Just Want to Do Good." In the four week class, Wolk works with adolescent girls to create a custom charity project that reflects their individual interests and skills. She has developed Girls Just Want to Do Good into a platform to talk about and teach the girls proper social media behavior, how to communicate "in real life" and leadership skills.

For more information, go to www.GirlsLeadershipLeague.com/ or www.lauriewolk.com/ or email lauriewolk@me.com.

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