WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Empowering her and you as she grows up.
Over the course of the next several months and years, you will be confronted with many changes as your daughter grows up. At Bleuet, we want to equip you with community, content and knowledge to empower your daughter as she grows up.
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Why is it important? Besides helping you keep your sanity, here are some reasons:
1. Girls become 30% less confident from ages 8 - 14.
When authors Claire Shipman, Katty Kay and JillEllyn Riley conducted research for their book, The Confidence Code for Girls, they discovered that girls' confidence levels plummet by 30% between the ages of 8 and 14. At 14, girls reach their lowest while boys are 27% more confident at this age.
Dr. Lisa Hinkelman of the nonprofit Ruling Our Experiences also the Girls' Index (national survey of 12,000 5th - 12th grade girls) that determined that when girls confidence level bottoms out in 9th grade that it strongly correlates with a focus on appearance and a desire to change it.
We want to empower them to be confident in ALL aspects: their bodies, their friends, their ability to speak up for themselves and be leaders, their boundaries, their education and in their relationship with you.
2. Parenting today is HARD and lonely at times, and we become less confident parents as our children reach the middle school years.
Remember when we were all in mommy groups and had seemingly endless resources for help with our babies whether it was breastfeeding or sleeping issues? While there is A LOT of helpful information online for parenting tween and teenage girls, I've noticed that I visit 20 different sites to get the information that I need. Since you are undoubtedly busy, we want to help make life easier for you by giving you access to info tailored for parenting girls from 8 - 13.
Also, did you know that moms of middle school kids are the most lonely, depressed? In 2016, the Wall Street Journal covered a study of moms by Arizona State that showed "mothers feel more anxious, dissatisfied and doubtful about their own parenting skills when their children are in middle school than at any other stage."
Together, how can we help each other feel more confident in our parenting and feel less lonely?
3. Girls are more anxious than ever.
Teenagers today are suffering from higher rates of anxiety and depression. Some experts are saying that it is reaching "unprecedented" numbers or it is becoming an epidemic. Girls especially are under pressure not just to perform academically, but to also maintain an Instagrammable persona for the world to see.
After almost 20 years of observing young women, author Rachel Simmons believes that girls today are plagued with harsh, inner critics coupled with an intense fear of failure. Even though girls can achieve more today than ever in our history, they are feeling overwhelmed with thoughts that they will never be enough - pretty enough, thin enough, smart enough, popular enough, etc.
Ugh. Why is this? How can we work together to reverse this trend?
4. Girls are over-sexualized in our culture.
Not OK at all. Our culture now has 24/7 access to entertainment and media. Girls today are constantly bombarded with images of beautiful, thin and perfect looking women especially on social media. These images can take a toll on a young girl's mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Marketers continue to push girls into sexy clothes at younger ages. With starting Bleuet, we want to provide more age-appropriate options in intimate wear that aren't sexy, aren't lacy or padded. We want girls to feel like themselves and have the confidence and freedom to do what they love.
5. Girls are starting puberty earlier.
Yesterday’s early bloomers are today’s average girl beginning puberty. The American Society of Pediatrics has recently estimated that approximately 15% of girls are starting their periods at an earlier age and beginning the first state of puberty as early as age 7.
Having gone through this experience with our older daughter, we felt ill-equipped to navigate these changes at an earlier age. Bleuet is what we wished that we had to help us those years.
Our hope is that Bleuet can empower your daughter with confidence in her growing body and equip you to parent your daughter as she become an adolescent.
Thank you for taking the time to stop by and please let us know any feedback you may have at info@bleuetgirl.com.
