How can I raise my daughter to be brave in all aspects of her life?
Recently my husband sent me a TED talk he thought I should take a listen to. The subject was “Raising Brave Girls,” and the speaker, Caroline Paul, was captivating. She was a firefighter, a paraglider, and an all around bad a$$ woman. Pretty much my polar opposite in every way.
I am not known for my bravery, and I sometimes feel like I have missed out on some of what life has to offer because I was afraid. Afraid I would get hurt, afraid I would make a fool of myself, afraid others would judge my actions. I want better for my daughter. So I watched the TED talk (twice) and vowed to try not to show my anxieties when she wants to go faster, climb higher, jump farther. She might have a few more battle scars, but she will also learn to pick herself up after a fall and try again. Through trial and error, failures and successes, she will become a more confident young woman.
But the talk also got me thinking about other types of bravery.
Because while I think it is important that we raise our daughters to be physically brave and know they are just as capable as our sons, I think it might be even more important that I teach Mia to be brave in ALL aspects of her life.
I want her to grow up to be academically bold. I want her to be unafraid to ask questions, to risk giving wrong answers, to share her ideas freely.
I also want her to be emotionally brave. Hopefully Mia will always be as free with her feelings as she is today. As a strong-willed almost 3-year-old, she wears her every emotion on her sleeve. At some point, however, it becomes harder to share your innermost feelings with others.
She is a long way from making her way out in to the big wide world on her own, but these are the days when I can help shape her personality. I can encourage her to be brave, to be bold, and to jump into life with both feet and her whole heart. And that is the bravest act of all.
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