The Importance of Raising Confident Girls

Good Morning Friends! Sharing a special post with my firstborn baby today. Landry always gets really excited to join me on the blog and loves hamming it up in front of the camera. Today we are talking all about our love for Zella Activewear (did you know that they make it for little girls?!), but more importantly we are having an open discussion about body image and how we can raise confident girls who love their bodies.

My Tunic Sweatshirt | My Fav High Waisted Leggings | My Sparkly Sneaks | My Sunnies | Landry’s Hooded Top | Landry’s Leggings | Landry’s Kicks | Landry’s Jacket (similar)

Gosh, I’m actually having a hard time even finding where to start on this topic. I guess I’ll start by saying that raising little girls has always been on my heart. I’ve never imagined my life any other way….since I was very young. The thoughts of frilly bows, cute clothes, endless hours of Barbies and all things pink swirled in my head and it all just sounded so much fun. That all changed when they placed Landry Kate in my arms for the first time. It was like being given the most beautiful, fragile and amazing gift, yet at the same time I felt a sense of overwhelming responsibility, fear and anxiety about having a girl all of the sudden. It was almost as if God whispered in my ear at that very moment “I trust you to do a good job with this precious gift.”

Of course, raising any child- boy or girl, comes with enormous responsibility, but there’s so much that little girls learn from their mamas that it’s always felt like a very very heavy topic on my heart. One of the biggest things that little girls learn from their mothers is about body image and self confidence and it’s something that they start to recognize from a very very early age. Particularly this year, I know that Landry is aware of her body and she’s also hyper aware of how I look at my own body…which has caused me to step back and really fine tune how I speak about things when around her.

January is especially hard because quite a few of us are dieting and working out more, so I wanted to open up the discussion as to how this affects our impressionable young daughters and how I’m personally going about it.

Landry knows that we are changing our eating habits this month as we take on the Whole30. She’s asked lots of questions…why I don’t go to Starbucks anymore, why I’m not eating chocolate chips, why is she eating a dinner different than mine…and on and on and on. I’m very careful to tell her that mommy and daddy ate too much junk food during the Holidays and are eating lots more fruits and veggies to make healthy bodies so that we can stay strong to take care of her and Lawson. I’ve always avoided the word “diet” and have positioned it as a very positive, happy change in our house! We talk about how good the food is, how proud our doctors would be of us, and how each veggie feeds and nourishes our bodies. I want her to associate good, healthy food with feeling good and being strong, that way when does know what the word “diet” means or if there comes a point when she’s feeling run down…she always knows that the root of how we feel has to do with what we put into our body…not what we take out of it.

I’ve also started making it a priority to go to the gym more and most of the time they are coming with me. This also brings up a host of questions from my curious 4 year old. Why do you run on the treadmill? Is that fun? Why do people work out? To which, I happily answer “Yes! Mommy loves to workout! It makes me strong so that I can use my strong arms to push you on the swing set, my fast legs to chase you on the playground, and muscles in my back to pick you up if you ever fall down.” I never want her to associate working out with the intention of losing weight, yet I want her to think of it as something that makes you happy, healthy and STRONG.

To be honest (and part of the reason as to why I’m so hyper-aware of what I say around her), is that I have always struggled with body image. I’ve always wanted to lose 10lbs (regardless of my weight), be a size smaller or wanted my thighs not to touch. It’s something that I have to talk myself out of every single day and something that I never ever want Landry to struggle with. Our moms were raised in a generation where dieting and body types tended to define them and that was unintentionally passed down to us. I want Landry to always see me as confident and comfortable in my own skin, even when it’s SO hard for me to do. I want her to know that a scale, a mirror, or the size on the label of a pair of jeans doesn’t define me OR HER!

The truth of the matter is that Landry is going to start to question her own body much earlier than I’d like for her to because she’s so tall. You can sort of deduce from these photos just how tall she is, because I myself am 5’9 and she’s up to my chest at not even 5 years old. People often ask how old she is and then proceed to gawk at her height and make some careless comment like “Wow, you’re BIG!” It may not seem like a lot as an isolated incident, but day in and day out being told that you’re a “big girl” or “huge” adds up and I can already see how she’s starting to react to it. She’ll bend down to talk to other children or ask me why she’s taller than someone in kindergarten. It breaks my heart for her, because I never want her to feel “different,” but at the same time I try to use it as a moment to empower her and explain why she’s tall and how cool that is.

All of this to say that I personally feel with all of my heart that the most precious gift that I can give my daughters isn’t the gift of an ivy league education or a well endowed trust fund, it’s the gift of self confidence. I firmly believe that confidence is fostered at home and gives these little people the power to go out in to a big world and shine…embracing their bodies, their differences and their unique abilities and using them for good!

From a very young age I’ve always felt confident in a good outfit. Something about outwardly showing how good I feel inside through an outfit felt was empowering! It’s something that I still love to channel today and is a huge reason behind this blog! I don’t think that clothes in any way define us (i.e. I can feel just as confident in something from Walmart as I do in something from Neimans…given the right fit), but I DO think that they help us to express ourselves and give us just the right boost that we need to tackle the day!

 

*Side note: I’m loving my sparkly Tretorns! They feel very throwback, yet with a modern update. Comfy enough to wear with athleisure and cool enough to dress up a little with jeans and a sweater! See all of the different colors HERE.

Also, if Landry’s sparkly tennis shoes appear worn here, it’s because they ARE! Instead of buying brand new shoes just for the sake of this post, I wanted to show you just how well loved they are. We both love them because she can put them on herself and they are both functional and fun, allowing her to wear them with nearly anything. Such a cute shoe for little gals!

I’ve loved watching Landry get into clothes and dressing herself. She’s very particular as to what she wears and her face lights up when she puts together her outfit each morning. One thing that she’s been asking for lately is a shirt with “thumbholes” like my running jacket. She normally opts for a dress and tights, so her asking for an activewear shirt and leggings was definitely something different. I thought that it was such a cute ask and decided to get her an outfit very similar to one of my favorite cozy looks.

I had no idea that Nordstrom made Zella activewear for little girls, so I basically did a happy dance when I came across the adorable mini styles of all of my favorites!! I’m super confident in the quality and fit of Zella, so I ordered her the absolute cutest outfit and couldn’t wait to surprise her with it.

Zella Girl Leggings | Zella Girl Tops | Patagonia Kids

I wish you could have seen her face when she put the shirt on, discovering that there were thumbholes! She also loved the high waisted leggings and and said that they made her run even faster than she already did 🙂 Nothing beats seeing confidence ooze from your 4 year old and I’d buy her every thumbhole shirt under the sun to see it every single day.

Since these photos (taken last Friday), she’s worn this out fit approximately 3 times and has also requested that I twin with her in mine each time…to which I happily obliged because it’s so dang comfy!

I’m wearing my favorite high waisted leggings, this ultra comfy terry tunic sweatshirt (say that 10x fast) and my fun new kicks! An outfit that’s easy to throw on, yet one I still feel cute and confident in!

If you’ve made it to the end of this post, thanks for listening to what’s on my heart this January. I am by no means a perfect mother…I have far less patience than I should, I sometimes (read: every day) accidentally say potty words in front of my kids, and I ask for WAY more grace than I deserve…but a positive body image and raising strong, confident girls is something that I’m so passionate about! I know that I have a community of readers who are kick ass moms and come with a wealth of knowledge., so I’d love to hear from YOU as to how you go about fostering a positive body image and self confidence in your children!

Happy Wednesday, gals! xo

Other favorite Kid’s Brands at Nordstrom: Mini Boden | Peek | Tea Collection | Tucker and Tate

A huge thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post and to you guys who continue to support brands that support and make Style Your Senses possible!