Make your teenage daughter self-confident

In this day of commercialization and sexualization, there is a great amount of societal pressure on girls to conform to the pre-defined roles created by the society. With the advent of fashion magazines, there is a lot of stress on the girls of today to look good at all times. This is leading to an identity crisis of sorts where teenage girls are not really able to develop and grow as per their full potential. Gender roles are slowly and gradually becoming quite equal but in some areas, they are growing to levels witnessed during medieval times. Smart, successful women are still viewed with disdain and scorn by some people as they pose a threat to the established norms of the society.

There are multiple problems that you will encounter as a parent when you are bringing up a teenage daughter. Teenagers are rediscovering and discovering themselves constantly as they strive for adulthood and being a girl compounds the problem even more so in some ways. There are rising cases of eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia on the rise that is giving the parents of today terror pangs. Such disorders are a direct result of a bad body image that some sensitive girls cultivate. The notions of beauty are not questioned in today’s world and a woman who is pretty seems to have an edge over her counterparts. These further reinforce the idea that one needs to be beautiful to achieve happiness. Most girls do not perform as per their full capabilities in terms of career girls and are reduced to becoming mere objects in the process.

In these times, it becomes very important to instill positive values in teenage girls to ensure that they have a life of satisfaction and explore their potential to the hilt reaching the pinnacles of success. Some of the following simple points can instill a good value system in your daughters:

1. You should teach your daughter that beauty is not the only measure of success for a woman. Rather being well groomed and inculcating a well-rounded personality is of more importance. You should not encourage her to get obsessed with fashion magazines as this can lead to acute image consciousness that may lead to psychological disorders later on in life.
2. You should develop the habit among girls to read up on financial and economics related news and remain well-informed on the everyday happenings that impact human life.
3. You should sign up your teenage daughters for a self-defense class as it will help them develop self-confidence and also enhance their self-image. They will learn to be self-reliant and depend on themselves for their own safety. They will no longer feel helpless in dangerous situations as they will be able to guard their own lives.
4. You should make your daughters aware about the kind of threats that may be posed to them as they go about their daily activities. You should also provide a few helpful tips that enable them to remain safe in case of any such event.

You can ensure that your daughters become contributing members of the society and live fuller lives by instilling good principles and beliefs in them early on.