Love Your Girls

I've been in the process of organizing an "I Am Beautiful" program for groups of girls 15-18 at a local youth detention center revolving around bullying and finding true beauty based off of BYU Woman's Resources' "Recapturing Beauty" launch in 2010.  The whole process has been slow and it took me a while to really put my nose to the grind in doing it.  But after talking with one of my 6th grade girls that I student taught a couple months ago about her battle with bullying, nasty, incessant name-calling, vicious notes passed about her, and feeling that all the horrible things said about her must be true..."Why else wouldn't I have any friends Mrs. Barrett?"  My heart broke in two when she told me that, and I knew I needed to step up to the plate.  For whatever reason, I am pretty dang passionate about all things womanhood, inner beauty, empowerment, and confidence...feeling your self worth and seeing your beauty.   Especially these young girls who NEED to not only see their beauty but discover what beauty really is....especially at such a young age.  That's where it starts.  Bullying is real.  Your own children, teenagers, nieces, nephews, grand-kids, etc...it's a reality for them.  Children need to know they are loved.  They need kind words.  They need to learn to know their self-worth, so if they face bullying, they'll have the confidence to brush it off and stand tall despite what's thrown their way.  Even if your child isn't the victim of bullying, they see it.  They know what it looks like.  Teach them what it looks like.  Teach them to stand up for those who are mistreated.  Teach them to be kind.  Show them their worth by using kind, encouraging, and constructive words.  Hold high expectations for them, but don't expect perfection. Expect them to recognize their mistakes, take responsibility for their actions, and strive to do better in the future because they can. Make sure they know that you know, they can succeed.  

Bottom line...love them. Love them for who they are.  Love them unconditionally.

The following video is a poem by Shane Koyczan, a victim of bullying.  Stumbled across this and loved it.  I was taken back at first by some intense parts, but I love the message he is sending about beauty.

"...because they see her heart before her skin."

“  … and if you can’t see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror, look a little closer, stare a little longer, because there’s something inside you that made you keep trying despite everyone who told you to quit.”

Support. Empower. Connect.

XOXO

Relating to this topic is a really wonderful article by fitvillians...Talk about a powerhouse of womanhood.
Please read, worth your time.

"When kids are younger — especially before they’re consuming tons of media and have friends — they get almost all of their behavioral cues from their parents. If their parents think it’s okay to call people names, then they’ll think it’s okay to call people names. If their mom hates her body, they can learn to hate their bodies, too. 

If you want kids to learn that all people are equal and good, it requires vigilance. You can’t change the world around you — and you can’t always protect them — but you can explain to them that everyone’s equal, and you can say it again and again.This goes double for disparaging your own body in front of your children. 

My mom always struggled with what she perceived to be fatness, and therefore was always on a diet. I don’t know how many disparaging comments I’ve heard her say about herself in my life, but if I had a dollar for every one, I could probably pay for my enormous amounts of therapy. 

It’s hard enough to be a woman in our sexist culture, and the greatest gift we can give our girls is confidence in themselves — and that includes their bodies. As a parent, you’re competing with a plethora of outside influences — TV, advertising, friends, bullies, teachers — for your child’s attention. Inevitably, we’re all screwing up the kids around us — don’t worry, we’re teaching them good lessons, too! — but this is one thing that’s so freaking important. 

A girl’s sense of self is everything."