Why I raise strong girls

I believe in the importance of physical strength.  I want my girls to be strong so that when adventure presents itself, they will have the strength and the confidence to seize the moment...to make memories and to learn.  

The other day, I was watching my girls play outside. We have an older playset with a ladder that's missing all of the rungs. And at the very top of it is a small space just begging to be climbed.  

My oldest went over, looked at this space and then started to hoist her body up using her feet to push and her arms to pull.  She shimmied, she climbed, and she made it to the top.  And then something awesome happened.  She looked at her 3 year old little sister and yelled “C’mon Amelia, you can do it too!”  Then, without skipping a beat, Amelia started climbing, just like she had watched her sister.  When she got to the top, her big sister reached down and pulled her up onto the platform. Camaraderie. Sisterhood.

Now I am aware, not all parents would have stood back, silent, observing, waiting. But I did for a lot of reasons.  My girls are strong and brave. They do not need me hovering and questioning their ability when they feel brave enough to try.  This is the type of woman I want them to grow into being.  If they are brave enough to try, and strong enough to start, then they are capable to do it.  

But most importantly, what would happen if they couldn’t get up? What if they fall? These are important lessons that they need to learn.  In life, we will try and sometimes we will not meet our goals.  We will feel like we failed. Sometimes we will get hurt and we will want to give up.  

But my job is to teach them how to dust off the desire to quit.  Teach them about perseverance after they have time to heal their wounds.  Be there to comfort and encourage them.  

I watch my girls play, climbing over and over again. Helping each other, working together and sharing in their accomplishment.  My girls are strong.  They amaze me and I get filled with this pride and think “I made that.”