This post was sponsored by Mirum Shopper. The post and opinions are 100% mine. No editing was done by anyone. I’m sure you could find some grammatical errors if you read it again. Read more on my disclosure policy.
Raising girls is not for the faint of heart. Daily, I worry that I’ll do something to set these two warrior princesses off course.
While we do our best to have frank conversations and we don’t tip toe around our daughters, I know they’re both at an age (8 and 14) when they’ll form a lens on the world around them and even their own bodies. Daily, they encounter media that floods their hearts and brains with messages.
Do I measure up?
Am I enough?
What else do I need to make me more . . .
beautiful,
popular,
loved?
The world they move through every day is so different from the one I navigated as a girl and teenager. While we limit the limit the amount of social media exposure they both have (Zoe doesn’t interact at all and Anna is only on one channel), I’ve heard them use the language that so many girls their age feed their souls upon.
How many likes did it get?
How many views?
I recently read that 52% of girls feel that the negative posts, comments, snaps, videos or photos they see on social media damage their confidence.* Friends, that is CRAZY. I long to raise girls with strong confidence who realize that their value doesn’t come from how much interaction they have on their posts or the crazy things other people say on the Internet.
For this reason, I’m so thankful for brands like Dove. Determined to help girls grow into strong, confident women, Dove is pioneering the #SpeakBeautiful movement. With resources, products, and messages that promote cultivating inner beauty, I can confidently know that both buying and using Dove contributes to more than our bottom dollar. More and more girls like Anna and Zoe will begin to know that beauty comes in all sizes and shapes and even when they feel at their worst, their value is not derived from appearances. And since Dove’s products are carried at Sam’s Club, I can find top notch products at a much more affordable price, including Dove Cool Moisture Bars (16 count), Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash (3 24 oz. bottles), and Dove Daily Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner.
Cultivating conversations that deconstruct the negative messages that have accumulated can be discouraging. After all, in order to help my girls avoid the pitfalls I’ve struggled with myself, I have to drag up my own junk. But it’s so important, no matter how awkward or uncomfortable it feels. Here are a few of the regular practice I use to help guide Anna and Zoe toward the truth about the confident women I know they can be and long for them to grow up into.
- Nearly every day, I send a note of encouragement in their lunch box. Sometimes, it’s a quote. Others, it’s a piece of Scripture. Occasionally, it’s a roll your eyes annoying mom joke. Each day, I want to use words in the middle of the day to remind them of their potential and that even when I’m not with them, I’m for them.
- One on one attention can be difficult to handle in the midst of busy family life and we don’t have the budget to have regular extravagant dates. But the girls’ varying school schedules allow me to connect with them every day, just the two of us. Zoe and I love to walk the mile to her school when the weather allows. I drive Anna to high school and pick her up every day. We use the car time to decompress and talk about what’s going on in her world.
- When someone or something gets under my skin, it’s so difficult for me to share that with my kids. I don’t want to disparage others and I hate to show weaknesses to my girls (major character flaw). After I’ve had some time to process, I often share my own struggles so they know that grown ups are big mess ups sometimes, too.
- Music, art, running, friendships – life is filled with beauty. Both of my girls have unique passions that cause them to become fully alive. As much as I can, I try to tap into those passions and help come along side my girls to encourage their joy and confidence. Zoe and I started running 5ks together this year. Anna and I are bonding over Broadway musicals (hello, Hamilton). The more I can point my girls toward experiences and joys of life, the more I see them become who they’ve been made to be.
Dove is hoping to reach 20 MILLION girls by 2020 with a message of confidence and beauty. I love saving money but I love buying products that make a difference even more. When I can do both at the same time somewhere I already shop – that’s the sweet spot. I’d encourage you to check out the #SpeakBeautiful movement if you haven’t already and use some of the above practices to encourage the girls in your life.
*Dove: #SpeakBeautiful Girls Research” March 2016
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