Raising girls is a special kind of challenge which in my book, requires a certain mindfulness – we only need to look at all the problems girls of anxiety, body image issues and peer pressure girls seem to be drowning in today to know that. So what are the things that we, as parents, should teach our daughters? You know what they say, it takes a village to raise a child so I’ve called on my village of parenting bloggers to put together this list of things we should teach our daughters to be, not be, have, or do.
A for ADVENTUROUS
Grasp opportunities with both hands and ‘have a go’. Be brave. Be careful. Be safe. – Pack the PJs
B for BEAUTY
Beauty lies within. You can use products and potions to alter your appearance but it’s what’s inside that counts. And your inner beauty will always radiate out of your face like sunbeams, no matter what. – Babies And Beauty
C for CONFIDENCE
As much as we can’t teach it, we can help to instill it within them. Being confident within themselves can help massively later on. – Life With Boys
and CONSENT
And that what consent truly means and that they can say no. – Just Average Jen
D for DREAM
Dream – then turn them into goals and reality! – Living Life Our Way
and DIGNITY
It is a sense of self-worth, as human beings we have a right to dignity and it allows you to be respected. Dignity and respect helps people to feel a sense of importance and worthiness. – Raw Childhood
E for EQUALITY
They can do anything boys can do (although my daughter will only do it wearing pink!). – Whinge Whinge Wine
F for FERTILITY
We need to teach our girls how important it is to know what our body is saying. Welcome our monthly flow with appreciation and open arms. Know how to take basal temperature, understanding cervical mucus. Knowing what it all means. Knowing about re-useable sanitary pads, tampons and moon cups. Loving and knowing your body so that you are not grossed out about the blood that we release. – Hacking Parenthood
G for GUTS
Don’t be afraid to be gutsy and speak up when you see something that’s wrong happening. – Pondering Parenthood
H for HEALTH
It is so important to take care of your own health. Otherwise you can not take care of others. And much of the learned health behaviour comes from childhood – food preferences, exercise habits and the understanding of oneself. –Wave to Mummy
I for INDEPENDENCE
Independence – whilst having a support network around you in fantastic. There will be times when you have to stand on your own two feet. You will need to know how change a light bulb/plug/tyre etc. – Boo Roo and Tigger Too
and INCLUSION
Inclusion- In a world that can at times be divisive, stand up for others, look out for the vulnerable members of society and include them, lift others, collaborate. – Living Life Our Way
K for KINDNESS
Especially towards ourselves as females. It’s so important to be kind and caring, and have empathy in general but a lot of women forget to also put themselves first and make some time for self-care. – Scandi Mummy
L for LIFT EACH OTHER UP
Another girl’s success doesn’t take anything away from you, be happy for her, celebrate from her and learn from her. Don’t waste your time on jealous and comparison. You’ll achieve more lifting each other up than putting each other down. – Nomi Palony
and LOVE
Love what you do, love one another and love yourself. – Counting to Ten
M for MANNERS
Manners are sadly lacking in some children today. Please and thank you never hurt anyone and in fact go a long way. – Wishful Wonderings
and MONEY
It’s important for them to have a healthy relationship with money and know how to earn it, grow it and save it. It’s also important for them to know whilst money can buy you stuff and give you more choices, that stuff doesn’t make us happy. In fact a more minimalist approach generally makes us happier. Teaching them that all the toys in the world would only give them very temporary happiness. – Kirsty Dee
N for NEVER BE DEPENDENT
Learn to be independent. To do things for yourself and not have to depend on others. This will help them to become strong, confident and knowledgable. – Twin Mummy and Daddy
O for OPTIMISM
I always try and teach my daughter to be positive and optimistic about anything and everything she tries to achieve. – All About A Mini Norris
P for PASSION
Put passion in everything you do. If you aren’t passionate about something then look for something you are passionate about. – Mummy In a Tutu
and PLUCKING!
As mothers we should teach are daughters to put down the tweezers and go to a salon, overplucked eyebows at a young age, sometimes never fully recover! Let’s create a generation of women with fabulous natural brows. – Kerry Shaw Mummy of Four
and also PERFECT
That you’re perfect. Just the way you are. If someone bullies or is mean, that’s their problem and not yours. You’re great. Look after you and treat people how you wish to be treated. Things I wish my mum had said to me rather than “you change”. – We Forgot The Sperm
Q for QUESTION
Question everything. Don’t just accept or believe what you’re told. Make your own mind up in your own time and be proud of what you believe. – And Another Ten Things
R for RESILIENCE
There will be knock backs in life but get right back up and do it again. – Emma and 3
S for SEXISM
Expect it because it’s not going anywhere just yet. I don’t have a daughter but I will be teaching my son not to be sexist. – Mumzilla
S for the SHIT SANDWICH
Forget never saying anything negative but always counterbalance it with two good points, either side of the negative to offer constructive advice or criticism. – I Am Typecast
T for TRUST
Trust your own instincts and be able to stand your own ground. Also find someone to trust who you can confide in for whatever reason. It’s always good to have one person you can talk to about anything! – Mama Wilkos
U for UNIQUENESS
That being unique is far more important than fitting in with the crowd. – Five Little Doves
V for VERY AUTONOMOUS
Learn practical skills and learn to do things for yourself, to fix things, to understand how things work. Because you CAN do it all, you don’t need a man to fix things for you!! – The Ish Mother
W for WEIGHT
It’s important to stay healthy, but weight is zero indication of that. The scales teach you nothing apart from how to obsess about a number which means very little. Do you get out of breath running for the bus? If so you need to exercise more? Is food on your plate colourful, does it make you feel good? No? Then improve it. – Sprog On The Tyne
and WORK ETHIC
There is nothing you can’t achieve and nothing you cannot do. If you want something then go for it. The sky’s the limit, not your gender. – Babies and Beauty
X for X-PERIENCE
Live life to the fullest you can, because it is the sum of all your experiences that makes you the person you are, and experiencing life is good for you! – Motherhood: The Real Deal
Y for YOURSELF
Be yourself – not what someone else wants you to be. – My Boys Club
Z for ZAZZ YOUR SELF ESTEEM
It’s so important to feel comfortable and confident in your own skin. It’s something I constantly struggle with and have done since I was young. I hope to be able to help my daughter to strive for a high self esteem. She’s such a strong willed and opinionated little girl and I can only hope she stays that way and doesn’t let the world knock her down as she gets older –Even Angels Fall
What are the things you think we should teach our daughters? What would you add to this list? Do leave a comment and share below.
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I love this, so creative on you to organise this ♥
I just love this. Thanks so much for including me! I will share on my channels.
Nice! Empowering my daughter has been on my mind recently, the reaction if she’s not in a dress or wearing blue has built up and called for me write.
Absolutely brilliant post – and some really really important aspects covered here (No means No)! xx #coolmumclub
As a mum of 2 girls I absolutely love this!! Bookmarking for future reference & will tweet it too! 😉 #coolmumclub
As Mum to 2 girls I LOVE THIS! Can’t choose a favourite letter! Maybe C for Confidence and E for equality.
I so wish someone had taught me plucking. My mum was always very “you’re beautiful just as you are” when it came to makeup and stuff. Which while lovely didn’t offer much practical help! #coolmumclub
Fantastic post! I’m less worried about Anya than I am about Matthew because she is so much more confident. These have served as a reminder that I need to guide her a bit more to ensure she stays that way. #coolmumclub
Fab list – I do worry in particular about the issues surrounding weight and self-confidence for my daughter more than I do my son. We try to focus on health and never weight when talking about food or bodies to encourage a sensible attitude from an early age. Loving the ‘shit sandwich’ analogy, I must remember that 🙂 #coolmumclub
LOVE. THIS! Just everything about this is fab from your creativity to your message-from sexism to weight! Definitely “pin worthy”!!! #coolmumclub
Loved this post. Well done you and all the other clever mamas who contributed. Struggling to get the comments to post. There may be more than one now.
#coolmumclub
Love this! Equality, kindness and dream… Love them X
#coolmumclub
Such a great empowering list. I’d also add, trust your instincts (not sure if that’s T or I) x
#Coolmumclub
Well the reusable sanitary pads are a new one on me!! and you can definitely teach your daughter about C and D #coolmumclub
What a wonderful collection. To me ‘perfect’ stands out the most. I always feel I’m not good enough to my mother but my girls are going to be empowered not dis-empowered by me. #coolmumclub
I don’t think there is one thing I could disagree with here. I hope I can do my very best to instil all these in my daughter. #coolmumclub
I find raising a boy more of a minefield – maybe because I’m not one myself!! #coolmumclub
[…] thing is…I don’t want my daughter to be a pretty and bashful little princess. I want her to be a strong, powerful and independent […]