Your daughter may still ask your advice although she may not take it! Hopefully you will have given her the domestic and financial knowledge and skills she needs at this stage but be prepared for the fact that she will make mistakes on her route to full independence. Often the best learning comes from taking risks and sometimes failing. She still needs your approval, perhaps more than at any time since her childhood. The reality of preparing to leave home (or not?!) is daunting to even the most confident-seeming girl. Make sure she knows how much you love her and how proud you are of her; you will always be the most important influence in her life, even if she does not acknowledge it.
Guest contributor Claire Young talks about the importance of entrepreneurship and enterprise skills for girls in today’s difficult economic climate. Job hunting, or deciding on a career path as a young person in tod...
A decade ago, you might have been justified to react in horror to the prospect of your absent-minded offspring shuffling off around-the-world with a backpack full of dreams – but thankfully, gap-years have come a lo...
Although the recession has affected the numbers opting for this rite of passage, enthusiasm for taking a year out from studies to see the world prior to commencing university remains high. Typically, the year works like ...
Q. My daughter has finished her A levels and is taking a gap year before starting Uni. She doesn’t seem to have the confidence to go out and find a job – how can we help her? A. The thought of launching yourself stra...
Q. My daughter has been offered a place at University College Oxford, which was her dream university. Now, with less than eight weeks to go, she says she can’t do it. She suffered a lot of anxiety attacks this year as...
Read other families experiences of raising and educating girls. How did they research, debate and decide on the best school for their daughters? Was it the right choice for their daughter and how do they know? Read the real-life stories…
Read our experts’ replies to those questions that every parent asks. Our “agony aunts” draw on their experience as parents, teachers and Heads to offer suggestions, explanations and solutions