Click for full show notes, exercises, and parenting scripts from this episodeBe assertive…but be nice to everyone. Love your body…but lose ten pounds. Be proud of your achievements…but work harder. Wear these clothes…but be unique. These are the conflicting messages that girls are constantly faced with on social media, at school, on TV, even sometimes at home. It’s confusing enough for full-grown women to know how to act in the face of such pressure, but even more so for a thirteen-year-old!Teenage and preteen girls are in an incredibly vulnerable stage in their lives. Society and the culture bombard them with messages telling them to act, look, and even feel certain ways! Without the proper guidance, it’s easy for daughters to feel overwhelmed in this sea of content. They may be afraid to ask questions and torn about who to listen too. This is why it’s absolutely vital for parents to teach their daughters from a young age to be proud of their own voice, understand & value their needs, and pursue their interests. If not, daughters may get answers from the wrong places!Lindsay Sealey, author of Growing Strong Girls: Practical Tools to Cultivate Connection in the Preteen Years and “girl advocate”,  sat down with me to talk about this and a lot more! For fifteen years, Sealey has been running group workshops and working with young girls one-on-one to help them develop their own sense of pride, confidence, and selfhood--making her an authority when it comes to helping parents connect to and support their daughters!According to Sealey, a major part of empowering young girls is to provide them with a safe space to focus on their own wants and needs. In an age defined by comparing ourselves to others, it’s crucial for girls to understand—first and foremost—they need to make themselves happy. Sealey points out parents have an incredible opportunity to foster this revelation through quality time and attention to their daughters, not to mention, taking care of themselves!Parents also need to listen first to their daughters, before jumping in with their own stories and advice. Often times, Sealey maintains, the drama that comes with girlhood is actually an opportunity to develop important skills. Still, parents must be willing to validate their daughter’s feelings and help them process emotions in a healthy way. Otherwise, girls feel belittled and like their opinions and experiences don’t really matter.In the interview, we discuss not only these topics, but concrete exercises parents can use to help their daughters develop into strong young women! We also talk about:
The pros and cons of having a “BFF”
How to be a positive role model
Teaching girls to set appropriate boundaries
The importance of not being available 24/7
And how to discuss emotions
In such a fast-paced and content-heavy society, it’s vital for us to teach our daughters to value their own distinct voices--and in my conversation with Lindsay we discuss just that! So grateful to have Lindsay as a guest!