5 Tips for Raising a Girl

Now that I have both a daughter and a son, I am suddenly very aware of the differences between them and the way I am raising them. It's very important to me that they are both raised to be happy, confident and empathetic people who are always true to themselves! So I've found 5 tips from the internet that I really believe in and are, in my opinion, important when raising a girl:

1. Be specific in your compliments:

When you tell your daughter how smart she is, it means much more if you use concrete examples. Tell her "You have a really good memory" or "Boy, you sure know your dinosaurs."

2. Encourage competence: 

Don't be too quick to help your daughter with homework or chores. If she asks for help, ask her to try working through it for a couple more minutes on her own first.

3. Don't make assumptions about her strengths and weaknesses:

Just because your child is a girl doesn't mean she'll struggle with fractions – or that she'll ace reading tests. It also doesn't mean she won't want to go fishing or try out for Little League. Follow her cues to best nurture her strengths and work on improving her weaknesses.

4. Encourage a healthy body image:

When she asks the inevitable "Am I pretty?" answer her with an enthusiastic yes. When you praise her appearance, try to highlight her actions, too: "You looked so graceful at gymnastics today" or "Your eyes really shone on the stage."

It can also be helpful for older girls to hear that models in magazines don't look like real girls or women and that their photographs are altered to make them look thinner and more flawless than they actually are.

5. Prepare her for Sexism:

Even today, some people think that girls can't do some things that boys can. If you notice your daughter watching TV shows or movies where girls stay in the background while boys save the day, point it out and talk to her about how different things are in the real world.

Do you have any to add?