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25 Rules for Mothers of Daughters

25 RULES FOR MOTHERS OF DAUGHTERS

A friend shared this on Facebook and I attempted reading it at work. Big mistake!  So, there I sat all soggy, and I realized it wasn’t properly credited. Someone had copied it without giving credit to the person who wrote it.  Here is the first 10, but please be sure to read them all at their source!

I love this list. Not only because I have one child who happens to be the most beautiful girl in the world, but because I have a mother who is ALSO the most beautiful girl in the world.  I know this first-hand, and most people don’t have the privilege.  That makes me the luckiest girl in the world.

So, here’s the short lists:

  1. Paint her nails. Then let her scratch it off and dirty them up. Teach her to care about her appearance, and then quickly remind her that living and having fun is most important.
  2. Let her put on your makeup, even if it means bright-red-smudged lips and streaked-blue eyes. Let her experiment in her attempts to be like you…then let her be herself.
  3. Let her be wild. She may want to stay home and read books on the couch, or she may want to hop on the back of a motorcycle-gasp. She may be a homebody or a traveler. She may fall in love with the wrong boy, or meet mr. right at age 5. Try to remember that you were her age once. Everyone makes mistakes, let her make her own.
  4. Be present. Be there for her at her Kindergarten performances, her dance recitals, her soccer games…her everyday-little-moments. When she looks through the crowds of people, she will be looking for your smile and pride. Show it to her as often as possible.
  5. Encourage her to try on your shoes and play dress-up. If she would rather wear her brother’s superman cape with high heals, allow it. If she wants to wear a tutu or dinosaur costume to the grocery store, why stop her? She needs to decide who she is and be confident in her decision.
  6. Teach her to be independent. Show her by example that woman can be strong. Find and follow your own passions. Search for outlets of expression and enjoyment for yourself- not just your husband or children. Define yourself by your own attributes, not by what others expect you to be. Know who you are as a person, and help your daughter find out who she is.
  7. Pick flowers with her. Put them in her hair. There is nothing more beautiful than a girl and a flower.
  8. Let her get messy. Get messy with her, no matter how much it makes you cringe inside. Splash in the puddles, throw snowballs, make mud pies, finger paint the walls: just let it happen. The most wonderful of memories are often the messy ones.
  9. Give her good role models- you being one of them. Introduce her to successful woman- friends, co-workers, doctors, astronauts, or authors. Read to her about influential woman- Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie. Read her the words of inspirational woman- Jane Austen, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson. She should know that anything is possible.
  10. Show her affection. Daughters will mimic the compassion of their mother. “I love yous” and Eskimo kisses go a long way.

Read the entire list — now updated to 32 Rules for Mothers of Daughters — from its original source on Diapers & Daisies