Meet Kylie. She is my 9-year-old daughter. Kylie is a beautiful girl and still struggles at times with her self-confidence. Kids are cruel to each other. I remember growing up and kids were so mean to me. I was too skinny (shoot, I still have people make those comments to me) or my hair was too brown or whatever. There is always something that someone will say to try to bring you down. How that effects you is how you feel about yourself. Building self-confidence at an early age can help our girls as they go through their adolescence. I am so happy to see Dove standing up for these girls and helping to inspire girls to reach their full potential.
Anxiety begins at an early age and can hold girls back!
Six out of 10 girls will refrain from doing something they love because they are afraid of what others will think or say. I saw this quite a bit while I was coaching elementary cheer/dance. There was a girl that was a little heavier than most of the other girls on the squad. She quit early on because some of the girls were making fun of her weight and said she didn’t look good in her uniform. It broke my heart. Even after talking with the team and talking directly to this girl, she refused to come back. She loved cheer and dance, but it hurt her too bad after the girls said those things to her.
With 72% of girls between the ages of 11-17 feeling pressure to be “beautiful”. While I think that there are many contributors to what girls feel is “beautiful”, it is more important for our girls to be confident. If you are comfortable in your own skin, you will be confident and feel beautiful.
Everyone has the opportunity to make a difference in a girl’s life.
While girls are growing up, their mother is their number one role model. Starting discussions about beauty at an early age can make a world of difference in your daughter’s self-confidence. We need to set a good example and speak to our girls about beauty often.
Dove Self-Esteem Weekend October 5-7, 2012
Dove is going to kick off their Third Annual Self-Esteem weekend in New York’s Time Square! They have partnered with the Boys & Girls Club, Girl Scouts of the USA and Girls, Inc for a silent march. Times Square was picked to represent the noise and distractions that women need to break through to reach our girls.
Visit Vivemejor.com to access free tools to motivate and inspire a girl in your life!
For my Spanish-speaking readers….please check out the Vive Mejor’s Hablemos (Let’s Talk) Information!
Disclosure: This post was compensated and in collaboration with Dove and Latina Bloggers Connect. All opinions and ideas expressed are 100% my own
About Amber
