10 Things To Teach Your 10-Year-Old Daughters

We regret not knowing a lot of important things when we were younger. Our parents didn't teach us what we should have been taught before the age of 10.

If you are now a parent and have girls in your family, there are 10 essential things your kids should learn before it's too late. In the future these simple yet effective facts will help your girls become more aware and informed and prepare them for future life.

1. Self-respect
Self-respect has nothing to do with being selfish. Girls must learn to respect others as well as themselves. It is not easy, but this is one of the most important life lessons to be taught. Your daughters will soon understand that if they respect themselves, they will always know that they deserve to have the best things in life. This includes good knowledge, good education, career and even choosing the right people who will surround them in the future. Encourage your girls to change their attitude towards themselves.

2. How money works
Sooner or later your daughters will learn to manage money. But if you teach them to deal with cash now, they will avoid a lot of common mistakes made by those who didn't have any opportunity to learn this rule. Let them know how important it is to organize your budget, plan your expenses or save money in order to have some in case of difficult times. Money should not be a secret topic. Inform your kids that money is needed while shopping or traveling. Take them to the store and explain them how to count and what kind of stuff is worth buying. Use a calculator.

3. How to share
Children are usually selfish. This is the case usually in one-child families. But your girls should understand that giving things to others is absolutely necessary. This includes toys, clothes, books as well as feelings, warmth and love. Teach your girl to share her space. Even if your child starts taking care of a pet first it will help her learn the basics of what it is to give rather than receive.

4. How to defend themselves
Protecting oneself is another useful rule to learn for a girl. There is no need to attend a school of martial arts or hire a professional instructor. You can teach her a few basic moves that will help her get away from a stranger. Explain what they should do and how they should react if they are approached by someone they do not know very well. Your daughter must know some certain words and phrases that she will use while talking to strangers. Let them learn to stay safe and secure in all situations.

5. Taking responsibility for their actions
Honesty is the best policy. Let your daughters know this simple truth that will help them in the future. There are more things to know and learn, such us responsibility and trust. Take some time and explain why moral values are essential. Read a few books together or at least give her some examples from your own life and experience so that your girls could understand that life and relationships are built on trust and truth. Analyze the situations when there were some certain misunderstandings in your own relationships with people and tell them about the consequences that followed them. Remind your children that they should behave the right way in order to avoid unpleasant accidents. Do not punish them if they make a mistake. Instead, let them identify the situation, think it over and teach them to move on. Finally, always remind them that trust once lost can sometimes never be regained. Teach them to create their own character and good qualities.

6. Communication skills
Teach your daughter to be friendly, sociable and communicative. They should learn how to make phone calls and talk to others about all sorts of things: service, weather, life. Asking for help as well as expressing their appreciation for something others did for them is also necessary. Take part in all these activities together and let your kids watch you act.

7. Independence
You are the only person they can learn from. Be the best example for them to follow and copy. Help is needed at first. However, later on your children should be allowed to complete the task themselves. Motivate them and explain how important it is for them to be independent and rely on themselves when there is no family member, relatives or friends around. Start with housework. First, they can try and cook something for breakfast without your help. Then they will be able to move on and test their gardening skills. Tell them that if they know how to accomplish simple things, they will not need to hire other people to help them in the future.

8. How to play
Please do not underestimate the role of games in your daughter's life. Play teaches great social skills. It develops imagination and creativity. The child learns to solve her own problems, deal with the environment and understand the world. This does not include computer or video games, of course!

9. Respect for others
Once a child is born, he is ready to accept the world the way it is. We start disrespecting others only if we are surrounded by the wrong people who make bad influence on us. No child is born to be a racist. However, sometimes some of us grow up hating others just for their skin color, weight, nationality or religion. Of course this is wrong and must be changed. What you can do is to find a school with mixed nationalities and races. If you can afford a trip, take your kids and travel abroad to show them the world. Study and discuss various beliefs, viewpoints and opinions. Listen to them and express your own ideas regarding these topics.

10. Their thoughts and words are powerful
Reality reflects our inner thought and world. Help your girls to start thinking in a positive and constructive way. Do not let them clutter their mind with negativity. The only thing for kids to understand is that they are capable of transforming their own reality and make it better. Teach your daughters talk the right way. Encourage them and make them believe that there is anything they can do and achieve in their lives. Instead of “I hate this person!” should sound “I think I could understand this person but this might take a bit of time.” Instead of “I've had the worst day in my life today!” let them say “I appreciate today's hard lesson. However, I believe that tomorrow will be a much better day for me!”

SOURCE: www.wmnlife.com