Why I praise my girls’ beauty?even though experts say not to
My firstborn daughter, Adelaide, never paid much attention to her appearance. She didn?t like dressing up or letting me brush her hair, let alone style it in a reasonable way. She hated trying on clothes and had no interest in choosing her own outfits. She had zero patience for those toddler sunglasses no matter how cool they looked on her.
She?s precocious and loves to make people laugh with her funny faces and voices. She?s tiny but her personality is larger than life?she seemed to ooze confidence. So, taking a page out of the feminist playbook, I took pride in the fact that I hardly ever told her she was beautiful to please her or boost her self esteem. And I secretly gave myself credit for this winning strategy at raising a girl who appeared to be so comfortable in her own skin. I gave her tons of love and affection but I deliberately followed the parenting advice to stop complimenting daughters on their beauty. Don?t tell little girls they?re pretty, they say. Child psychologists and parenting experts agree. Commenting on girls? appearance just shows them we value physical characteristics over other qualities and could damage their self esteem and sense of worth. It sets them up for dieting, eating disorders and Botox?even abusive relationships. Why would I want that for her" And for the most part, everyone in her life had gotten the memo too. I practically forbid my own parents from talking about their granddaughter?s looks. Here was this spritely blond-haired, b...
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COMPETITION: Win a 5-star Family Holiday in Limassol, Cyprus
27-04-2024 08:05 - (
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