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Community Corner

Girl Talk! Seminar a Big Hit in Ladue

Mothers and daughters gather at Ladue Chapel to discuss issues with author and social worker Carrie Silver-Stock.

On February 16, about 50 mothers and daughters gathered in the Fellowship Hall at for "Girl Talk!," a workshop led by author and social worker Carrie Silver-Stock, MSW, LCSW.

"Ladue Chapel is trying to have at least one community event per quarter," said Elizabeth Southern, chair of the adult education committee at the church. "At our Family Matters group, what tween and teen girls are facing with technology has been a topic of discussion."

The free workshop was specifically geared towards tween and teen girls and their mothers, and designed to help open the lines of communication between them.

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"I think it's just really, really hard to be a girl," Silver-Stock said at the beginning of the workshop.

This statement was met with many nods of agreement from both the daughters and the mothers in attendance.

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In one of several exercises that called for audience participation, Silver-Stock asked the mothers and daughters to imagine what it's like to be in the other's shoes, which she said is crucial in "bridging the gap" in communication.

"I'm thinking about how I have no idea how to use technology," said one daughter pretending to be her mother.

Technology seemed to be of utmost importance to both the mothers and daughters in attendance.

At the end of the workshop, Silver-Stock allowed time for an audience question-and-answer session, which mostly focused on technology issues such as texting, Facebook and e-mails.

It was agreed that parents (who for the most part have not grown up with such a huge amount of technology and methods of communication) and kids should seek out classes or information on being "cyber savvy," which means that they should be able to both use the various methods of communication and be safe when using them.

While the crowd's consensus seemed to be that the new methods of communication can be harmful amongst kids who aren't aware of the risks associated with them, they also thought texting was a great way to keep up communication between parents and kids.

After the workshop, Silver-Stock sold and signed copies of her book, "Secrets Girls Keep," which delves further into the issues that she discussed that night and suggests ways for girls to be open about what's going on in their lives and what causes stress for them.

Silver-Stock also runs GirlswithDreams.com, a social networking website for tween and teen girls that allows them to seek out advice from her and other girls their age. With parental permission, girls can blog and share advice about a wide range of topics.

"Not once have I heard the girls give bad advice [on the website]," said Silver-Stock. "They don't realize how much they're helping each other."

In the video, Silver-Stock, Southern and some attendees of the "Girl Talk!" workshop share their thoughts on the importance of events like this one.

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