You Are Sooo Pretty: Messages We Send Our Girls

I read a blog this morning and it really resonated with me. Though it addresses very young girls, kindergartners, it is completely applicable to teen girls as well. Here is the gist. How often is the first thing we say when our daughters come down to go to school in the morning, or when we greet a teen (or for that matter adult women) girl, maybe a niece, or our best friends daughter: "Oh honey you look beautiful, or pretty, or thin, or hot etc. Why is the first thing we complement our girls on is how they look? It's no wonder we have an obsessed population of teen girls who over worry about their "hot factor" Reading this blog, I could weep for the years of focusing on girls beauty first, and brains second. I am so guilty of doing this, and I don't really know why. Why is our self-esteem so tied to our looks? Can we change? Can we offer our daughters something different? Food for thought.
http://latinafatale.com/2011/07/21/how-to-talk-to-little-girls/