Winmore

Even as media influencers trend #Girlpower and #Selflove, society at large is inadvertently causing young girls to grow up with insecurities and self-doubt. With images of impossibly thin women being circulated across the internet and tabloids, raising girls with confidence and high esteem can be daunting.

While girls have consistently outperformed boys with their academic achievements, there is an increase in their rate of stress, anxiety and depression in the recent years. They carry an additional pressure to do well, thanks to gender stereotyping and societal expectations which take up a large portion of their mental space, harming their mental health.

As parents, your influence on your daughters cannot be overlooked. Here are some helpful answers to your questions, ‘how to boost my daughter’s confidence’ or ‘how to raise girls with self-esteem’.

1. Model confident behaviour
   Know your impact on your daughters. While younger girls may be more vocal about your influence on them, your teen is secretly watching your body language and responses to crises.
   When you succumb to societal pressure or express self-doubt, she is most likely to imitate it. On the other hand, she will absorb your positivity and confidence when you are being yourself and take pride in your decisions.

2. Direct your praises away from looks
   A girl is often complimented for her appearances, more than who she is or what she does. Paying undue importance to what she wears will dampen her motivation to do well in life. Instead, praise and highlight her integrity, sense of humour, punctuality and honesty.

3. Show her female role models
   Introduce her to literature that have women succeeding in spite of struggles (read, Wonder Woman, Hermione Granger, Jo March). When you are watching television with her, make sure she identifies and appreciates female characters doing well in the roles of doctors, athletes, government officials, detectives, lawyers or business leaders. Seeing powerful women out there gives her the confidence to make bold decisions and own choices.

4. Make her media literate
   Help your daughter develop a critical eye to filter derogatory and unhealthy trends in what she sees in the media. Have open discussions about how things work in the real world so that she doesn’t become a victim of body shaming, bullying and self-doubt.

5. Teach essential skills
   Let your daughter learn cooking, not because she is a girl but because it is a survival skill everyone should know. Meanwhile, teach her also to repair her bicycle, change bulb, build things around the house, which will make her competent and confident.

6. Motivate her to believe in herself.
   Whenever there is a decision to be made for the family, take your daughter’s opinion as well. Let her know that her voice is important while not giving in to unreasonable demands and whims. Push her to take healthy risks outside of her comfort zone, so she progresses in life.

Your Daughter is Unique!

Let’s face it: it is difficult to handle a teenager than a younger child. The good news is, there is no need to “handle” them. Girls in their adolescence starts exploring their individuality in their own ways. What they essentially require is your scaffolding, so that she navigates through life in the fun-filled healthy way.

At Winmore Academy, one of the top CBSE schools in Bangalore, we help all our students to be the best version of who they are, because there’s no one else who can do that for them!