Building Confidence in Young Girls
I spent much of my adolescent years as the quiet and shy girl who could withstand a 6 hour car-ride without even clearing my throat. Fast forward to 2019 when I can now have a meaningful conversation with just about anyone! I had so many questions for my younger self. What were you scared of? Who or what caused your timidness? When did this all start? While I have no answers to these questions, I've taken the steps to answer this-how can I prevent this from happening in my generation? I've outlined 2 tidbits needed to build confidence in young girls (and even older ones too!)
Words of encouragement, and be specific when you say them! Saying "good job" or "nice work" is vague and does not specify exactly what you are proud of or encouraging. Your little girl runs over to you and shows you the picture that she has been working on and instead of saying "good job" try saying "wow, you drew a beautiful picture, I like the colors that you used!" This will encourage her as she draws a thousand more pictures that will flood the door of your refrigerator.
Put up a picture of her in her room and write little notes about how beautiful her features are! No, this does not create vanity, instead, it gives that little girl the confidence she needs to know that from the very hair on her head to her little toes, she is fearfully and wonderfully made!
Building confidence in young girls is not an over night job. It starts with the support of every mother, grandmother, aunt, teacher, and woman in sight of that young girl! Confidence is a needed trait that our youngest girls need to embody even at a tender age, in order to be strong, bold, and have an effect on this generation!
