Parent Like It Matters: How to Raise Joyful, Change-Making Girls

An accessible blueprint to embolden our daughters to be critical thinkers, fearless doers, and joyful change agents for our future—from the proud mother of teen activist Marley Dias, founder of 1000BLACKGIRLBOOKS.

“A stunning and pathbreaking how-to guide and memoir for every mom, dad, or caregiver who believes in rearing children to be healthy individuals and caring citizens.”—Khalil Gibran Muhammad, author of The Condemnation of Blackness

Renowned sociologist Janice Johnson Dias has devoted her life to nurturing and training girls to become changemakers—whether through her investment in her daughter Marley’s humanitarian projects or through her work with the GrassROOTS Community Foundation “SuperCamp” she co-founded for girls. In these unprecedented times, her work has never been more urgent, as parents find themselves asking: How do we teach girls to change the world? 

Dr. Johnson Dias knows that self-realized girls are created through intentional parenting. And so she asks parents to make deliberate choices—from babyhood through adolescence—that will give their girls the resources and foundation to take hold of their own futures and to create sustainable social change.  

Unlike other parenting experts, Dr. Johnson Dias doesn’t urge parents to focus solely on their children. Instead, she tasks them with a personal challenge: to find their own joy. Just as Dr. Johnson Dias brings her own jubilant passion to parenting, mentoring, and teaching, she inspires caregivers to do the same.  

Using cutting-edge research and Dr. Johnson Dias’s own experiences, the book offers information and strategies for making discussions of racism and sexism a daily practice, identifying heroes and mentors, educating yourselves together, and uncovering your girl’s passions and what issues drive her the most.  

Parenting is enormous work; it can be as overwhelming as it is fulfilling. Within the pages of Parent Like It Matters, parents will find the invaluable tools they need to raise  resilient, optimistic girls who determine for themselves what their world will look like.