I’m Proud of You

Did your parents tell you that they were proud of you when you were growing up? Mine didn’t. In hindsight, I think they were proud of me and thought that I knew that so there was no need to say it. You know what? I didn’t know. I did need to hear it. I believe our kids need to hear it as well. Maybe you tell your daughter that you are proud of her regularly. Good for you! Well done! Maybe you feel proud of your daughter but find that you don’t verbalize it or don’t say it enough.

Words have power. A lot of power. I don’t believe that hugs and high-fives are enough. Hearing words of praise come out of your parents’ mouths, the people that you want to approve of you and acknowledge your worth the most can create a mountain of self-worth in our teens.

Think about how critical and unsure you were of yourself when you were an adolescent. As a teen, you are trying to figure out who you are, trying so hard to fit in, to be liked, to be good enough and find your way. Then imagine hearing on a regular basis, “You are good enough as you are”, “I’m so proud of who you are”, “I’m so proud of the person you are and who you are becoming”, “I’m happy that you are my daughter”, “Thank you for being such a great human”. Imagine that! Wouldn’t that fill your heart? Wouldn’t that sustain you when you are doubting yourself and feeling like you don’t fit in and your peers are judging you? We, as parents, have a lot of power with our words. Let’s use them to fill up our girls. Let’s use them to tell them who they really are. Let’s use them to teach them how to talk to themselves!

I’m proud of you for being willing to grow as a parent and say these glowing words of admiration out loud to your sweet girls. You are good enough as you are too.