How girls succeeds in life depends on several factors, but it has its root on self-perception or self-esteem. Self-esteem or self-respect is defined as a realistic yet positive or favorable impression of oneself. Also considered pride in one’s self.
A girl who has a healthy level of self-esteem is one who is characterized by:
- An ability to trust people
- Easy at getting along with others
- Ability to accept and gives compliments freely
- Ability to express her feelings and emotions in positive ways
- Not afraid to take reasonable risks
- Solves and faces problems head on
- Expresses independence
- Not being afraid to make mistakes as they see these as learning experiences instead of failures
- Enjoys meeting new people
- Focus on the positive outcomes and probabilities more than negative outcomes
On the contrary, one who is lacking in self-esteem is someone who
- Has a low self image
- Procrastinates
- Gives up easily and is afraid to try new things
- Not overly friendly
- Lacks belief in herself
- Sees mistakes as failures
Self-esteem is a big issue for many girls. This is partly due to our society’s focus on unrealistic concepts of how a girl should look and behave whereas boys are allowed to be themselves much more often. It is only recently that parents and society in general are learning to adapt to new measures which include teaching all children to be more comfortable moving in their own skins. There has also been a shift towards promoting acceptance self for who we each are and encouraging parents to help each child, males and females alike, to bring out the best in themselves.
There are many ways to help girls develop higher self-esteem. Sometimes, they do it on their own unconsciously. But most often there needs to be a focus on helping girls to feel better about themselves.
Some people think that better clothes or fancy makeup will raise their level of self-esteem. But this is can be a harmful attitude which just tends to reinforce the old attitudes about females. While clothing or make-up can make a girl feel good about herself for a time. This is not permanent change in attitude or belief system.
If one’s self-esteem is dependent on appearance, then what happens if this starts to fade?
They would most likely once again start feeling bad about themselves. Compare this to someone who is happy about herself internally, for exactly the person she is on the inside. Her happiness would not be dependent on movable things. She would be happy regardless of what she wear or how she looked.
Development of a girl’s self-esteem starts in childhood. There are several ways to do this. One way is to help each child feel special. Appreciate them for the little things that they do and never overlook their little achievements.
If a girl has siblings, by all means, avoid comparisons. This will not only create the unnecessary competitive environment, this may also bring out the worse in the child that can’t do the same things as the child that is set as a bench mark.
Remember to treat each child as an individual and focus on their strengths more than their weaknesses. It is particularly important for girls’ self-esteem to be developed as they still face many challenges in spite of the changes that have occurred in recent years.