Raising Girls, with Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast

The post was written by the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, an advertising partner of MyActiveChild.com.

Growing up in today’s world isn’t easy, especially for girls. Schoolyards, cafeterias, sports fields, and even classrooms can be difficult to navigate as girls set out to make friends and build relationships. As parents and other adults who care about girls’ well-being, we want to help them find the strength and tools to be resilient, confident, and kind to themselves and others. And like all things in life, we need an action plan to get us there. So, let’s start with setting some priorities. 

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The phrase “quality over quantity” is used pretty often in our lives, usually given as advice about keeping or giving away material belongings but it can also be applied to friendships. For girls, the quantity of people seated at the lunch table, or the “likes” on a social media post, and even the number of birthday party attendees, are viewed as social currency: the higher the better.

At Girl Scouts, we understand this and as volunteer mentors want to encourage the girls in our lives to foster and nurture real, quality friendships, so they surround themselves with peers who support and care for them. And the first thing any adult, mentor, or parent can do is to model this idea in their own lives.

When girls are younger, there’s almost always an adult ready with a bandage or a hug for the little inconveniences like falling while learning how to ride a bike, or tripping while running down the driveway. But as girls get older, they start to experience social challenges and issues that can’t be fixed so easily.

Learn more about Day & Overnight Camps Here!

Adults are still there wanting to solve things, but it is important to find a balance between giving girls the space and independence they need to solve their own problems, while also setting ourselves up as systems of support and guidance should they need it.

Model and practice with girls the art of empathy and understanding. What we do today will give our girls skills to make good decisions. What they do today will shape them into the people they will grow to be.

For the girls in our lives, these years are full of friendships that grow deeper and stronger than any they had experienced before, and for many of them the peers they grow up with are people who will remain in their lives forever. As adults, we can help equip our girls with the confidence, kindness, and strength to build friendships where compassion and communication is valued. Not everything can be fixed with a bandage, but we can still be there for them when they need it.

Girl Scouts and Hasbro’s My Little Pony are teaming up to encourage all girls to explore and express what makes them unique and the importance of friendship. Anyone can participate!

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast is offering a free program (with a free My Little Pony patch included) to help introduce girls to Girl Scouting and to get them on a path of building positive and supportive friendships throughout their lives. Learn more and find an event date and location that works for you at www.gsccc.org/discover.