Instill Confidence
One of the most important healthy habits you can teach your daughter is to make decisions based on what is best for her and not for someone else.
And this habit comes from one place—confidence.
Teach your daughter that she is smart, perceptive and capable of making difficult decisions in her life. Once she knows this, she will feel empowered to make her own choices and to establish healthy habits that work for her and her lifestyle.
The health-related messages she will receive over the next decade will continually change. There is always something new she should or should not be doing, in all arenas of life.
What's important is that she knows how to stand up for herself and her specific needs and ignore messaging that's harmful to her well-being.
Leave Room for Mistakes
No one is perfect, but the pressure on young girls to be exactly that is overwhelming.
Emphasize to your daughter that perfection is neither expected, nor realistic. She does not need to be everything to everybody. She will have weaknesses and imperfections, perhaps many.
Express to your daughter that this is OK—in fact, it's what makes her human and relatable.
By leaving room for these mistakes, whatever they may be, you are showing her some of the healthiest habits of all—forgiveness and acceptance, both of herself and others.
She will also learn that building healthy habits is not about being perfect all the time, but about making continual, small steps to a healthier life.
Related Articles:
- How to Raise a Confident Daughter
- How to Teach Your Kids Healthy Habits
- 5 Ways for Young Athletes to Build Confidence
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