Every few months or so it seems like there is a series of blog posts and social media shares about how we shouldn’t tell our daughters that they are beautiful because they are so much more. This sentiment seems a bit confusing to me. Why does complimenting someone on one thing make everything else about them invalid? Unless you are telling these tiny humans that they are beautiful and that is it, I don’t see how this is a bad thing.
I tell my daughter that she is beautiful, her shirt is cute, or how I love how she added hair bows/jewelry/shoes to complete an outfit DAILY. I put 9 hard months into creating this tiny person and I am proud of every glisten in her eye or sassy hand gesture. She has developed a great sense of style that could be best described as “glitter was here” or “I love pink.” Her excitement over a new pair of shoes rivals grown women with Jimmy Choo’s.
Why can’t I compliment her beauty?
She’s So Much More
Just because I call my daughter my “beautiful girl” that does not mean that she is nothing else. She is one of the kindest souls I have ever known. In a field of school-age kids, she plays with the littlest ones and makes sure they don’t get trampled. Her love of reading has her reading chapter book after chapter book which is a huge accomplishment for a 7 year old. When she writes and illustrates stories the characters come off of the page. She does her homework quickly and works ahead on her school computer programs. She tells some of the worst “dad jokes” I have ever heard. If “Name the Princess” was a game she would be the winner every time. Science, math, and programming excite her. She is tough as nails and can hold her own playing football with the boys.
My daughter is the whole package and the fact that I tell her that she is beautiful doesn’t deter from that.
