Allyson Spellman, women’s empowerment coach and author, talks about an upcoming workshop that teaches young girls to empower themselves. Below are some questions with answers provided by Spellman. For more information, visit www.allysonspellman.com.
Why is it important to continually foster a young girls’ self esteem?
- Girls in particular often struggle with poor body image, peer and social pressures to look a certain way, or can lose confidence in their academic abilities during adolescence.
- Once formed, this negative view of self becomes part of their perception of themselves and produces ongoing self-defeating behavior throughout their life.
Is this time of year, the holidays, harder for some girls?
- In the past, peer pressure would generally end when children got home from school. Today, however, peer pressure continues long after the school bus drops off children because today’s kids are so connected.
- They’re chatting about wants and likes via text messaging, Facebook and on their mobile phones. Chances are they’re discussing Christmas lists, too.
- This could leave parents facing a constant barrage of pleas from kids for Christmas gifts and other items. Financial experts urge parents to teach children the value of money early on so they’ll be more apt to understand why their parents are passing on pricey jeans or the latest toy.