Girls everywhere are starting to worry about their weight and their hair and their clothes and everything else, at an earlier and earlier age.
It used to be something that teenagers and maybe preteens worried about. Now girls in kindergarten are comparing themselves with others and starting grade school with low self-esteem.
How can moms help girls empower themselves and raise their self-esteem?
Read on for three simple ways to create a happy, physically and emotionally healthy daughter.
1. Show her equal amounts of love and discipline.
There is no way a baby under a year old can be spoiled, but for any kids older then that be sure to provide a sense of discipline. Giving a girl some healthy boundaries will lead her to reject impatient, belittling behavior as an adult. She should learn that the world does not revolve around her and that is okay.
2. Tell her YOU are beautiful.
Most moms know enough to consistently tell their daughters that they are beautiful. They heap the praise on their daughters but give little to themselves. Girls will mimic their mother's behavior far more often than they will act on what they hear.
So stop complaining about the extra padding on the rear or the stretch marks that make bikinis impossible. If girls know their moms are beautiful women, then maybe they will believe that about themselves as they become women.
3. Teach her to be independent.
While it is a tricky road, moms should try to teach their daughters that it is less important to fit in than it is to be themselves. Discouraging peer worship is an important way to keep a girl's self-esteem higher. She can have friends and be part of the crowd, but her independent voice should be heard as well.
Girls need to know that they are loved, that they are beautiful, and that they are accepted for who and what they are. Moms with self-esteem problems of their own should work on their own issues so as not to pass any insecurities or issues on to their daughters.
Moms should not throw their hands up but try, try, and try some more to create empowered girls. Girls CAN be empowered with a little bit of dedicated time and effort. Just keep trying!
Sources:
Babble.com. Web. Published 7 October 2012. "Speaking about International Day of the
girl: 7 ways to empower girls".
http://www.babble.com/toddler/speaking-about-international-day-of-the-girl-child-7-ways-to-empower-girls
Shine.Yahoo.com. Web. 2 January 2013. "I am beautiful: how to raise girls with self-esteem."
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/am-beautiful-raise-girls-self-esteem-172500477.html
Reviewed January 3, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith