Raising a strong and confident daughter is not a walk in the park in today’s complex society. That being related, you are capable of raising the most wonderful daughter by instilling various character traits to help her become a strong, independent, confident and successful young woman.
Powerful girls grow up feeling secure with their identity without a sense of inferiority. They take action, make positive choices about their own lives and for others. At the end of it all, these young women will grow up to lead full, valuable and humbly confident lives.
Your parental role is to be an encourager, to send your daughter into her teenage years with the affection and approval she needs as well as the skills and character traits that will keep her connected in different ways with others.
Instilling the characteristics of a strong and confident child
1. Friendship skills
Friendships to girls are important, but relatively complex too.
Girls are unanimously temperamental and sensitive beings. There will be friendship issues that mostly happen when you are away from her.
Whether your daughter is shy or outgoing, she will need to pick up some social skills with people around her. Teach your daughter to share and take turns during play, regulate her aggression by teaching her to express anger the right way, apologise for mistakes, read emotions of what others are going through from their looks and behaviour, and trust with discernment by not being too gullible.
These characteristics of a strong child may take some maturity to master, but they will help your daughter get along with others.
Read also: What Not to Do to Your Introverted Child
2. Give opportunities to fail
Resilience is earned. While you want the best for your daughter, sometimes the best thing you can do for her is to let her struggle and fail in a safe environment.
It is through these experiences that they become better and stronger with obstacles. A girl is not always rescued by heroes like in movies or fairy tales. Being capable to handle difficult situations on their own can be a very powerful skill. Resilience from setbacks can mould the characteristics of a strong child.
3. Love and involvement of a Dad
It is an amazing feeling to have both parents loving a child. Apart from a loving mum, a daughter needs the love and involvement of her dad.
Dads are often interested in different things from mums, but dad is also your daughter’s life’s source and strength, as well as her masculine role model. Being the first male present in her life, a dad is very much looked up to by his daughter.
A caring dad is a protective armour to prevent bad choices from happening, while an involved dad improves school results, increases self-esteem and career successes.
4. Teach media smarts
As your daughter grows to near her teen years, she may be connected to the mass and social media in ways that you have not introduced. Exposure to media can create harmful effects such as comparing herself to others, body shaming, and even online bullying.
Media can hinder the way your daughter’s self-esteem and positivity are built. Teach her to practise caution when reading mass media news. Guide her on what’s safe and what’s not safe to share on social media. Affirm her that ‘like’ counts and negative comments do not at all define her.
Read also: Simple Activities that Teach Children About Love
Indeed, the foundation years spent building the characteristics of a strong child will follow through her growing up years to adulthood, and these traits will help your daughter take charge of her own emotions and actions. Your little girl will become the fine young woman whom you once had so much heartache over.
