Why are girls as young as five years old concerned about their looks and addicted to shopping? Why are they having sex and binge-drinking so young, responding to chat-room predators, and bullying their peers via email and text messages? Why are depression, cutting and eating disorders on the rise, and why, with so much choice, do so many just want to marry young and have babies? In a few short years our girls have become vulnerable - not just teen girls, but also young girls and baby girls. They are being forced to grow up faster than ever before. What a twelve-year-old girl experienced at seven is not what a seven-year-old girl is now struggling with. Many of the guidelines we offer girls no longer apply, or are contradicted by messages from media and advertising telling girls how to look, think, behave and feel. Over two years Hamilton interviewed girls, teachers, school counsellors, psychologists, and law enforcement and medical personnel to get an insider's view on what girls are experiencing at present, from birth to the teenage years. Informed, revealing, compassionate and at times shocking, this is a book for parents and all those who want to better understand and support girls...