Empowering your daughter to grow up to be a strong, compassionate, and intelligent woman, is simpler than you may think. There is one little secret to follow. And that is to be the type of woman that you’d like your daughter to become. Your actions will speak louder than any lectures that you may hand out. I’m going to go over this in more detail and some other topics to think about when raising your daughter.
Model Healthy Relationships
How you handle conflicts and how you interact with other people will speak volumes to your daughter. While sometimes we need to ignore wrongdoings or be quick to forgive, other times we need to say no, this behavior with how someone is treating us is not ok. Model for your daughter how you handle when someone is treating you wrong. It’s been said that we teach people how to treat us by what we accept. This is especially true in romantic relationships between a man and woman. Show your daughter your grace-filled side that is quick to forgive, but make sure to model that it’s not ok to put up with any form of abuse including verbal. Don’t ever resort to name calling or belittling someone else, no matter how heated discussions may become. Show your daughter how to handle even hard people-matters with dignity and respect.
Open Communication
Talk to your daughter. Then wait and listen. Listen. Listen to her talk back to you. Let her know that she can talk to you about anything. Keep the lines of communication open and make time to talk, and I mean really talk each day.
Take Care of Your Body
If you want your daughter to be fit and healthy, then model that behavior in yourself to her. Better yet, plan times that you can engage in healthy fitness activities together. Go for bike rides, trail runs/walks, swims, or do workout videos together. Being fit just won’t happen, you need to go after it and put some effort in. Don’t complain about the results you don’t see, for the work you didn’t do. Make fitness a part of your daily schedule and include your daughter in on it.
Give Her Responsibilities
Don’t be afraid to hand over some responsibilities to your daughter. Not only will it ease the family chore burden for you and others, but it will teach her responsibility and work ethic. Pet care is a great assignment for little girls. Allow your daughter to be in charge of filling water and food dishes, brushing the cat, taking the dog for a walk, cleaning up the barn, etc. Make sure to keep an eye on if the animals are being taken care of properly.
Involve Her In Your Life
Mothers are thought to be the most influential person in a daughter’s life. Of course, this is not always the case, and there are lots of exceptions to this thinking. But the truth is that a little girl will benefit greatly from you allowing her share in your life’s trials and triumphs. Let her be your little shadow when you balance your checkbook, cook, or workout. Especially share when you succeed and accomplish goals.
Invest In Her Life
There never has, nor will there ever be a little girl just like yours. Though she may share some of your likes and dislikes, enjoy the fact that she is uniquely special. Invest in her life by showing an interest in her hobbies and passions. For example, if you have a budding artist on your hands, go to a painting class together. If she plays soccer, go to the games and try not to miss any.
One of my favorite times of the day is right before bed. This is when my daughter and I have a heart to heart time. I’ll ask her what the best part of her day was, and then we’ll talk about if there were any bad parts of the day. Make time to really listen to your daughter’s heart when you speak to her.
Don’t Overschedule Her Day
Moms are often running full speed all day trying to get in all that we need to do. Be careful to not overschedule your daughter’s day also by signing her up for a full schedule of classes and events. It’s good for a child to be bored sometimes and find ways to entertain themselves. This is when they learn that life is not always handed to them. They need to get it and find their ways. Plus, overscheduling can bring on stress. Childhood should have many moments of carefree times.
Sleep Is Important
A growing child needs adequate sleep to function properly during the awake hours. Make sure that your daughter is resting her growing body enough on a daily basis. Make sure that you too are doing the same. Not only will she be healthier now, but she’ll be learning how to grow up to be a strong and well-rested woman.
Final Thoughts
Congratulations on being given one of the most important roles on this earth. As moms, we have the privilege of being role models for our daughters. Remember that chances are, all eyes are on you most of the day. Instead of being intimidated or annoyed, use this as a chance to make yourself better in all ways. Soon you will have an empowered little girl rise to womanhood sooner than you think. Someday you will look with swelling pride at the classy and strong lady that your daughter has become.