This is my daughter, Elliott. She is three and she is fierce, she knows what she wants and when she wants it and she is quick to tell you her opinion. I love this girl so much but she tests my patience on a regular basis, and the worst/best part is that she reminds me so much of me. I often find myself juggling between keeping her in line and encouraging her strong personality; I want her to know it is okay to question authority and it is okay to have your own opinion and it is okay to make your own decision. But some days I just wish that she would do as I ask, when I ask her to do it.
Every day I struggle with knowing how to parent her just right, while I wish that I could use the same parenting skills with her that I use with my boys, I can’t. Not only is she uniquely her (all three of my kids need a slightly different approach since they are all unique) but she is my only daughter and the world is a different place for our daughters than it is for our sons. I find myself worrying about what she will be like as a teenager; will she still have the same confidence and strenght that she does now? Will she still “tell it like it is”? Or will her spirit break along the way and she will be overcome with peer pressure? I realize that worrying about all of that now sounds a little extreme, since she is only three and the teenage years are a little while away, but studies have shown that girls as young as six are influcenced by gender stereotypes. Yikes!
My goal is to start laying the foundation now so that my daughter knows that she is more than a pretty face, that she is strong and capable of whatever she puts her mind to! One of the ways I do this is by reading her books with strong female leads and by encouraging her to watch shows on Netflix with strong female characters.
Our family has been watching Trollhunters, Julie’s Greenroom, Masha & the Bear and Home lately and we are loving the roles the ladies have been taking in these shows. *I personally think Masha is not so well behaved but she is quite the independant, strong, little girl and Elliott just loves here!
I would also recommend that you (Mom, Dad, Auntie, etc) watch Stranger Things; not only is it a binge-worthy show, it features a pretty amazing female lead!
What tips do you have for raising strong women?
