As a child, confidence was not one of my strong suits. In fact, I lacked it. A lot. I hated my hair, and really, the way I looked. And I’m sure I wasn’t alone.
I have two wonderful daughters, and I don’t want them to feel the way I did growing up.
I want to raise daughters with high self-esteem.
To love who they are, be happy with who they are.
Inside and out.
But I’m scared.
Already, at 4, Julia has talked about how she looks, what she’s wearing, and wonders often if others will like her clothes .
And Lauren? At 2, she is also particular about her clothes. In the mornings, she let’s me know what she will and will not wear. Perhaps it is 2 year-old defiance, but if it isn’t I need to be prepared.
I was astounded when I read Dove® research that shows,
• Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful (up from 2% in 2004)
• Only 11% of girls globally are comfortable using the word beautiful to describe themselves
• 72% of girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful
• 80% of women agree that every woman has something about her that is beautiful but do not see their own beauty
• More than half (54%) of women globally agree that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic
SOURCE: Dove Research: The Real Truth About Beauty: Revisited
This is not the way I want my daughters to feel.
But how do I talk to them? What do I say? Thankfully, Dove has made it easy with their Let’s Talk Toolkit.
Anxiety about beauty begins at an early age, and can even keep girls from doing what they love. You can change that with a conversation. Reach out to the girl in your life and talk to her about beauty, confidence and self-esteem.
You can find the expert tips and real-world advice to get started on the Self-Esteem Wall. Then, once you’ve had “the talk,” share your experience to help inspire other moms and mentors on the Self-Esteem Wall where you can share a sentence, small story, or upload your favorite photo of you and the young girl in your life from your desktop, Facebook or instagram.
Help Dove reach their goal of boosting confidence in 15 million girls by 2015.
Thanks to Dove for sponsoring today’s discussion. I’m pleased to be apart of it and promote healthy self-esteem in kids, especially my daughters.
How do you build your child’s self-esteem?
Well this is ten kinds of awesome! I was scared wen I found out we were having a girl. That was a little more than 3 yrs ago. But I’m glad to say I am less scared now. one sure way I boost my girl’s self esteem is by modeling good self esteem for her. Gives me a great reason in none other, to practice self love :) what a beautiful campaign! Go dove!
sarah @littlewhitewhale recently posted..the sunday spill–about the light and the heat
Thanks Sarah! I have to agree, it’s a bit scary to have girls because of self-esteem issues which seem to plague them. And yes, I agree again, modeling good self-esteem will help them, along with being aware and educated :)
And self-love? Yes, another good thing.
I feel bad for girls – so much pressure they face!
Lisa @ Two Bears Farm recently posted..H is for Hermit Crab
Yes, girls have a tough time, this is why I feel this campaign is important. And even more so that I have 2 daughters!
My girls are very opinionated about their clothes, and their hair. My 5yo likes to read my celebrity magazines, but I rarely let her, because I’m afraid of what she’ll see. Because of that, I’m definitely not resubscribing, and instead letting her look at Glamour, or another magazine with the same pretty pictures and clothes, but a positive image/perspective. I’m nervous about them growing up, but I turned out okay, I think. Being a young girl is hard, no matter what, I think.
Greta recently posted..Great Expectations: The Robot Mommy
I’m shocked at how young girls are opinionated about clothes, I don’t remember being like that. Maybe I was?
Media is more powerful than we realize. I’ll have to monitor it for a while longer and then hopefully give my girls the tools to decide what is real, acceptable, or matters.
Your daughters are so so pretty and I LOVE their hair. They both have lovely skin and the prettiest of eyes too. You know what? I know a woman who is way overconfident about her looks – the only woman I know who is – and she can be very annoying to be around. Still there is a middle ground where we’re not all tearing ourselves to shreds. In the doco About Face, I was fascinated to hear that Paulina Poroskova (sp) never felt beautiful as a model even though she was perfection.
Jody Brettkelly recently posted..Halloween: Superheroes and Villains
Thanks Jody.
I agree, there is a fine balance between high self-esteem and arrogance. I want my daughters to have high self-esteem and humility.
My daughter is 8 now. We like to call her Punky Brewster thanks to her mismatched fashion choices on a daily basis. However, she thinks the outfits are beautiful and walks around with her head held high. Sometimes I have to remind her grandparents (on both sides) not to try to shame her into changing into something more coordinated. This is her way of expressing herself. If I don’t let her do this now, I am already starting to affect her self-confidence by not seeing the beauty in her outfits as she does. I work at a gym, and I am hoping the positive atmosphere there with the ladies just wanting to sweat and be healthy (it is a not a gym of bodybuilders by any stretch) will help to influence her ideals as she grows.
I love it. I think Julia and Lauren channel some Punky Brewster too!
And I’m good with it.
Carolyn recently posted..Pay It Forward Please
As a mom of two girls, I think about this allthetime.
I love the campaign, the discussion, and the focus on bringing our girls up!
Galit Breen recently posted..Let’s Talk About Chutzpah
Yes, allthetime!
Dove’s campaign is wonderful, which is why I was glad (and honored) to be apart of it!
Carolyn recently posted..Pay It Forward Please