It is every parent’s dream to want to raise that confident young lady, and you are right to want to do this for your daughter who is growing up every day.Very often it can be difficult to understand why parents do everything they do, from encouraging you to be yourself and dream big to telling you never to accept what you morally consider improper from anyone, and to always ensure you are polite but assertive when there is a need to say ‘no’.
The onset of puberty sometimes presents itself as a difficult phase for instilling discipline and self-confidence among young girls, especially with the sudden interest in the opposite sex, the desire to be fashionable, constant quarrelling and the feeling that they are now “big girls”.  Attempting to discipline them at this stage is a lot more challenging and requires a lot of patience even though it is imperative.
By adopting these five steps into their ‘daily routine’ you could be one step closer to raising a brilliantly confident young lady.
- Encourage her to be true to herself every time: A confident young lady should not feel like she has to be someone else. Encourage your daughter to ‘wear herself’ and love the girl/lady she is. The one task every girl/lady/woman is faced with is to find herself and be herself.
- Teach her to be assertive: More often than not we are faced with situations which require us to stand our ground without being impolite or aggressive. What better way to raise a confident child than to help her be assertive? Teach her how to communicate her feelings to people whilst still respecting them, even in the most impossible of situations.
- Empathy is key: It is very important that every child understands what empathy is. Teach your daughter to understand how to respect other people’s feelings.
- Competence equals confidence: One major factor of insecurity and lack of confidence is being incompetent. If she is struggling in any way with her school work, this is bound to knock her confidence which will in turn lead to her either becoming an introvert or she could go the other way and become disruptive. This is why it is important that you ensure that your daughter is doing well at school and she is on top of her game because this will help grow her confidence.
- Be her biggest fan: This is perhaps the biggest secret to being confident, having the support and belief of your parents. You could go a long way to build your daughter’s confidence by showing a lot of emotional and mental support.
A more recent example for young ladies today would be the newly wedded Duchess of Sussex, Ms Megan Markle. She is an inspiration to young girls today in the way that she conducted herself throughout her wedding. It is clear that all the values and discipline which were instilled in her as a young girl have come to play in her life today. Even though she is or should I say was, a confident Hollywood actress with all the glitz and glamour, she demonstrates a lot of discipline in the way that she presents herself in society. It is evident from the calibre of attendees at her wedding that she commands a lot of respect in her circles today. She is a real credit to her parents.
Young ladies could benefit from having a role model in society today who can inspire them and who they can aspire to be like.
Image curtesy of Telegraph.co.uk