The waves of feminism in the West and East have done more for women in the past 100 years than in the last millennium. However, they still face a lot of extra hurdles in society that cannot be solved in the blink of an eye, from requiring safety from predators to tolerating emotional abuse from near ones. Not every girl will go through them, but all will experience some form of maltreatment or threats during their lives. But gone are the days of women simply staying silent when ill-treated.
Now, women speak, eat, drink, and breathe with the same passion and almost the same amount of independence as their other halves. But such resilience and strength are not magically born. They take time to develop, especially in a nation where girls are now beginning to receive the same opportunities as boys. Therefore, it is important to build resilience in your girl child. But what exactly is resilience? This guide will answer that before offering tips on building it.
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What Is Resilience In Girl Children?
Resilience refers to the capacity to accept and withstand change, conflict, and stressful situations without crumbling under pressure. It is an important trait to inculcate in kids, especially girls, as they are likely to face an extra boatload of hurdles in life. Resilience cannot be defined as strength only, as people often survive incredibly difficult situations, like a car crash or a kidnapping, by adapting to any situation to survive. Resilience mainly involves the internalization of logic and reasoning along with consistency, calmness, and willpower. Since girl-children have to live up to certain extra expectations, responsibilities, and criteria, they better build up their resilience to know when to say yes or no.
Top Tips To Build Resilience In Your Girl Child
1. Establish Goals
It is important to establish long-term and short-term goals in life. Teach the art of goal setting to your girl child early, as it takes more time to develop good habits later. Setting realistic goals makes it easier for children to push themselves and succeed at school or co-curricular activities. As for short-term ones, make them meticulously tick them off after completion to earn weekly rewards.
2. Be A Role Model
Parents must practice the qualities they want their child to imbibe, as kids do not learn from their parents, they mimic them. If you handle something calmly, they will do so when the time comes. And if you protest any wrongs, they will learn to do the same. To make your kids strong, resilient, and responsible, emulate those qualities consistently at home and see your hard work bear fruit in little time.
3. Develop Awareness
Teach your girl children the importance and utility of being aware and observant. Not only can this quality get your girls out of sticky situations, but it can also avoid potential conflict or problems. Train their eyes and other senses from childhood by playing ‘I Spy,’ and ‘Spot the Differences’ with meditation or mindful breathing.
4. Boost Their Confidence
The entire society is ready to make disparaging and callous remarks about your daughter’s physical appearance or attitude, but you cannot be her shield forever. Instead, focus on imbuing them with enough self-confidence to not care or offer an appropriate response. A confident girl child is hard to trick or manipulate as she knows her strengths and weaknesses.
5. Express Love
As your girl children grow up, they may not respond similarly to your displays of physical affection, depending on their comfort zone. And that is perfectly fine, she does not love you any less. However, that does not mean you will stop showing her love and affection altogether. No matter how ‘mature’ and ‘grown up’ your little girl appears to be, she will always be your princess. And she must be reminded about it often, be it through hugs, words, gestures, or shared fun activities.
6. Maintain Open Communication And Trust
Girl children need a safe space where they can openly share their feelings and hesitations. Parents are responsible for being approachable and honest with their daughters. Only when they trust you enough will you address their problems. Having supportive and accepting parents is a huge relief for girls, as they readily develop resilience and resoluteness.
7. Make Them Self-Reliant
It is important to make your daughters self-reliant as life will not offer extra chances. Teach them how to be handy with tools, automobiles, electronics, financial transactions, and investments. And along with all that, she should at least be able to nourish and take care of herself. If your girl child is independent, she will develop resilience towards various hurdles in school, life, and work.
Conclusion
Determination, resilience, and strength are inherent traits in girl children that simply need to be coaxed out of them and nurtured till they bloom. Follow these easy top tips to build resilience in your girl children and be surprised by their natural grit in a short time span.
The views expressed are that of the expert alone.
The information provided in this content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider before making any significant changes to your diet, exercise, or medication routines.