5 Tips for Parents with Young Black Girls Trying to Identify Themselves
Raising a Black girl can certainly be projected as a difficult task. With all the worries and concerns, raising a child has its ups then the downs but are magnified by being a parent of a Black girl. As a parent, teaching your #nhb to embrace herself comes after she identifies some of her core qualities. Which let’s be honest, changes with age. So, how do we help our #naturalhairbeauties with self-identification?
For parents, the objective is to raise a girl who has a good understanding of her immense worth and is equipped with the knowledge to navigate the world to her advantage. It’s about giving them the tools to problem solve and do good for them themselves. In a nutshell, when you give her the tools, empower her, and provide a foundation of success she’ll be confident and secure with herself. Here are some things you can do to help your #nhb self-identify and embrace herself!
1. Compliment her skin and educate her about colorism from an early age, while exposing her to people and places that are different.
2. Encourage her to read to expand her ideas and comprehension. This gives her the ability to gain meaning, develop knowledge, and skills to gain a deeper awareness of her life, and increase her motivation to succeed.
3. Let her make choices for herself, like allowing her to dress herself. Giving her choices helps her feel like she has some power and control over what she does. Good decision-making will lead to good mental health and promote her physical and social well-being.
4. Ask her for her opinion, with open-ended questions. By Giving your #nhb an opinion you’re allowing her to express herself. Giving your child an opinion doesn’t mean that they should have the right to debate with you as a parent. However, they should be encouraged to talk about their feelings. By balancing listening and ensuring that your child listens to your opinion as well, you will raise a fair and respectful child.
5. Put her in situations where she’s given the opportunity to make choices that will impact others besides herself. It’s the power of empowerment. But when kids are given room to make hard decisions that impact others their brains learn how to make hard choices while being empathetic. More importantly, it teaches them to consider how their choices will impact others.
