Raising a Girl

In just the last couple of weeks I've started thinking about my role in raising a girl in today's world, not just on having a baby or being a parent - but being a mother to my daughter. Of course, each person has their own unique personality that they are born with and develop over their lifetime and, I believe, beyond.

BUT, I wonder how I can give my daughter the tools to feel empowered about who she is, about her own role in finding joy and happiness, about her value and individual worth.

It's funny to go online and type into Google - "raising a daughter" or "raising girls." The information runs the gamut! There were some interesting ideas in this article on PBS.

I want to raise a strong daughter, who feels beautiful and empowered and willing to take chances. I want to be a mother who affirms her daughter's worth rather than makes her doubt herself.

But how?!

And, maybe the silliest of all - but I'm almost more nervous in hoping that we like each other. I don't think we have to always be "friends." But, I hope we enjoy each other's company and that she'll feel safe confiding in me. I think I was so blessed in that area - to have a Mom who loves me, but also seems to usually like me. And vice versa. It's a special thing.

What advice would you offer this momma-to-be? 

A now, for just a few words of advice from the patriarchs and matriarchs of our church....

"A mother-daughter relationship is where a daughter learns how to nurture by being nurtured. She is loved. She is taught and experiences firsthand what it feels like to have someone care about her enough to correct her while continuing to encourage and believe in her at the same time." - Elder Russel M. Ballard 

"You are your daughter’s guardian in more than the legal sense. Be present in your daughter’s life. Let her know your standards, your expectations, your hopes and dreams for her success and happiness. Interview her, get to know her friends and, when the time comes, her boyfriends. Help her understand the importance of education. Help her understand that the principle of modesty is a protection. Help her choose music and media that invite the Spirit and are consistent with her divine identity. Be an active part of her life. And if in her teenage years she should not come home from a date on time, go get her. She will resist and tell you that you have ruined her social life, but she will inwardly know that you love her and that you care enough to be her guardian. " Sister Elain S. Dalton