Mothers Be Good to Your Daughters

I went to a parenting conference last weekend and one of the sessions I took was about parenting daughters.

One of the exercises we did as a group was to compile a list of qualities we wanted our daughters to possess at the age of 18. Something I've been thinking a lot about is how I want my daughters to have something that fills them up, that they get excited about, that completes them: a hobby, a musical ability, a sport.

The teacher of this class urged us to replace "diasaster films" about our girls with "best self" films. I like this idea. We all worry about what might become of our children, but why not replace those worries with terrific imaginings.

As women we are powerful models for our girls, and we must take care of ourselves and model balance in our lives.We must model healthy relationships.

The teacher also spoke about how we as a culture have stopped exposing our kids to community and its' members because we're fearful of trusting others, and as a result our kids' lives aren't as enriched by their connections with other adults. We can change this.

I came away feeling like my girls, with all their spunk and joy, are headed in the right direction and I can do a lot to keep them that way.