Did you know that as a mom, you play an essential role in your daughter's understanding of what confidence is?

Today, we’re joined by Jill and Mary from Girls Mentorship, and we’re talking about the important role that moms play in building up their daughters' confidence. Girls Mentorship is a personal growth and development company for teen and tween girls, and they are on a mission to help girls understand who they are.

Jill and Mary share their perspective on how important the role of a mom is in a daughter’s confidence building. Through Girls Mentorship, Jill and Mary see firsthand how beneficial it is when a mom gets involved in the journey.

The Current Level Of Confidence In Our Girls
Our girls are growing up in a time where we falsely believe that we’re more connected than ever because of the way life is shared online. However, we’re actually more disconnected and isolated than ever, and this has a big effect. They’re increasingly less confident and they lack the skills and tools they need to deal with feelings. They desire confidence, but they struggle to know how to get there.

Through the workshops that Girls Mentorship puts on, girls are encouraged to open up and share their experiences with one another. Little by little, they start to realize they aren’t alone. Over time, the walls start to break down and they feel less isolated and more connected. They learn how to verbalize their feelings instead of shoving them down internally or numbing them out. They leave with tools to relate to others, open up, and process feelings.

The Important Role That Moms Play
Jill and Mary share that the most important part of the equation of confidence growth is life at home. We can teach girls the tools they need to grow in confidence all day, but if these messages aren’t being reiterated and practiced at home then what they learn can get lost or forgotten.

It’s important for moms to ask themselves the hard questions, too. It’s imperative for moms to take inventory of their own level of confidence. The key is for parents to be self-aware of their own confidence, and aware of the level of confidence or lack of confidence that they’re fostering at home. If parents aren’t willing to do their own work and change themselves, they can’t expect their daughters to change either.

When parents are curious and want to know more about what their daughter is learning through their workshops, and they ask questions and want to know how they can continue encouraging these tools and behaviors at home, this is when they see the most growth.

Healthy and Reasonable Expectations
Often, moms have expectations for their daughters that are through the roof. When their daughter is constantly trying to live up to unreachable expectations, they feel defeated and start to self-sabotage their confidence. As her mom, it’s important to remember that although she’s an extension of you, she's still her own person.

Jill and Mary want you to know that you’re doing a great job as a mom, and none of this is meant to make you feel wrong or bad about the job you’re doing! Their hope is to encourage you on your motherhood journey, to tell you that it’s not too late to turn things around and that you are capable of making a difference in the life of your daughter when you do the work, too.

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Helpful Links:

• Come hang out with Jill and Mary at Girls Mentorship on social @girlsmentorship or online at girlsmentorship.com.
• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode.

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