Most of us weren’t very confident as tweens or teens. It’s a tough time. You’re trying to figure out who you are, what you like, what you stand for—amid confusing physical changes, surging hormones, heaps of homework, relationship drama and all kinds of other variables and challenges.
As a parent, it’s also hard to know how to help your daughter navigate these challenges. While I don’t have an adolescent girl myself (not yet), I think back to what I would’ve wanted. And one thing is resources. I would’ve wanted really good resources that inspired me, helped me to express myself, helped me to refocus and helped me to see my inner strength.
Last year I wrote about a powerful resource called Strong Is the New Pretty. (See here for that post.) The author, Kate T. Parker, has created a journal based on that book called Strong Is the New Pretty: A Guided Journal for Girls, which I think is a beautiful resource we can give our girls.
In the journal, Parker features a variety of prompts to help spark confidence and creativity. Below you’ll find a list of my favorites, which you can share with your daughter, or any tween or teen in your life.
- Make something and set up your own business to sell it. Jot down what you’re making, how you’ll sell it and how much it’ll cost.
- Think about the next difficult thing you have to do. How will you rise to the challenge? List three ways.
- Draw yourself in your dream job. What is the job? What are you doing? What can you do today to get there?
- Jot down what you’re good at. “Like, really good at.”
- Make a piece of clothing out of a clean garbage bag. Sketch you design, and use scissors and tape to create it. Put on your own trash bag fashion show.
- Jot down five things that scare you. How can you conquer one of these fears? What are three things you can do about that fear?
- Write down something new you’d like to learn (e.g., a skill, song, language). Then write down the steps you need to take to learn it.
- Talk to the oldest female member of your family. Ask her to tell you a story about when she was your age. Be sure to write it down.
- List three ways that you’re strong.
- Draw what it feels like to be: sad, angry, happy and excited.
- What was the hardest thing you’ve had to go through? How did you get through that? What did you learn?
- If you could invent anything, what would it be? Draw a picture of how it works.
- Interview someone you know who has a job that sounds interesting to you. Start by asking these questions: What’s your favorite thing about your job? What’s a typical day look like? What’s the hardest part about your job? What training or education do you have that led to this job?
It’s hard enough to embrace yourself as an adult. So it’s understandable that kids struggle with it, too. But there are small ways that we can significantly intervene and support our girls—like sharing different resources that inspire and serve as reminders of their immense inner strength.
Photo by Crystal Shaw on Unsplash.