Suicide attempts among teenage girls have increased by 50% during the pandemic. If your daughter feels insecure and lacks confidence, it can hold her back in life. She may be afraid to speak up in class, try new things, or make friends.
She may miss out on opportunities to help her grow, resulting in depression and suicide. Confidence building will help her develop a growth mindset. To do that, keep reading to learn how to build confidence in your daughter.
How to Make Your Daughter Feel Pretty
A mother’s influence on her daughter’s body image is profound. Always be body positive when asked questions such as, “Do these jeans make me look fat?” or don’t talk excessively about food or external beauty, since beauty comes in all shapes and forms.
Avoid “morality of orality,” which means referring to food and yourself as “good” or “bad.” For example, don’t say, “Today I was awful since I ate pizza; thus, I will not eat dessert.” After all, confident women love themselves and others regardless of weight and appearance.
Make Her Media Literate
Watch television with your daughter and discuss what you see. Help her in developing a critical eye for decoding and filtering media messages.
Avoid Pleasing
Encourage your daughter to advocate for her needs and desires. Create chances for her to use her voice.
Ask her, “What do you desire in life?” Let her choose, and respect her decision.
Team Sports
Females who play on a team know how to feel confident. This is because they are turning to other girls for support instead of guys.
This activity teaches them to communicate, form friendships, and accept diversity. These life lessons help strengthen your teen’s self-esteem, preparing them for the future.
Don’t Borrow Clothes
Borrowing clothes make your daughters into a follower of your fashion sense. She will lose out on her own individuality since clothes are a way of expression.
Let her pick her own clothes to create her style and aesthetic. This teaches her to find and think for herself. This prevents her from blindly following society’s rules without thinking.
Stay Away From Physical Attributes
Make an effort to reduce praise about a girl’s physical looks. You want to focus on compliments about who she is and what she does in the world.
Match every compliment you make about your daughter’s beauty with at least two non-appearance praise. Do the same for other females you encounter, such as her friends, nieces, etc.
Develop Talents
Get her engaged in activities that foster a feeling of self-assurance. For example, a beauty pageant in Texas promotes confidence and self-esteem in young girls.
Introduce her to sports, music, theater, and art. Anything that inspires expression through language, creativity, or action can help her succeed. Check what she loves, and open up the opportunity for her to participate.
Acknowledge Efforts Over Performance
Focus less on the result and more on efforts and developing new talents. Confidence comes from mastery while learning to handle failure creates resilience.
Don’t Disparage Other Ladies
Don’t allow the boys and men in your home to insult other women. Avoid letting children taunt one other about food or appearance. If this occurs in your home, it can harm your child’s self-esteem.
No Damsels in Distress
Dads should avoid treating their daughters as delicate and defenseless flowers. It sends the message that women are helpless when the opposite is true. Women should feel empowered and capable in all situations.
Instead, teach her how to replace her own tire. Show your daughter the same thing you will teach your son.
More on How to Build Confidence
As a parent, you want to know how to make your daughter confident. The first part is teaching them how to accept their bodies and be proud of who they are. Another way is to encourage them to participate in sports that make them feel good about themselves.
The goal is to support them as they navigate school and all the challenges ahead. Parenting can be challenging, but we can help. Check out our blog posts for more tips on how to build confidence.
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