Today is the International Day of Girls, a perfect opportunity to share this article Courtney recently sent to me from the New York Times. The article, which addresses a confidence gap for young girls, has made me think about how one of the bigger shocks of my girls getting older is witnessing the self consciousness creeping in. I’m still getting used to the worries they have about how they are perceived by others and the inhibitions and loss of innocence and naivety.
I think that every child at a certain age becomes aware of who they are and of their environment, but it seems especially relevant for young girls. As a mother, these are the kinds of challenges that I feel most inept dealing with. Changing nappies: no problem. Dealing with teething: I got the hang of it. But the subtle changes in perception and confidence is something I find a lot more complex. A little kiss and a cuddle are no long an easy solution.
In truth I find this stage of my children’s lives the most intense, exhilarating and terrifying. I simply love seeing the women they are becoming, but my confidence as a mother can be rocked by the complexities of their emotions, good and bad.
I found this NY Times article really interesting and it resonated with a lot of the behaviour of girls in my environment. The fear of taking risks and fear of failing is a real thing for pre-teenage and teenage girls (and for a lot of adults too). One of the points in the article that stood out to me was the idea of leading by example. I have never considered this, but for us, as parents, it actually is a good thing to admit that we have failed, have ridiculously embarrassed ourselves and have survived it. (And trust me, I will ridiculously embarrass myself again and survive it – yet again;)). If I can teach my kids that it is ok to fail, to be embarrassed and to brush it off and start again — I will be a little bit proud of myself!
Please share your thoughts on this topic, as it’s always good to start a conversation and hear other mother’s experiences.
Emilie x
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