How Do I Raise a Confident and Empowered Girl?

By Julie Diamond, Founder & CEO Diamond Teachers Group

International Women’s Day on March 8 is the perfect time to reflect on how we support the girls in our lives. As a teacher and female entrepreneur, I see every day how confidence affects learning, friendships, and future opportunities. Confidence isn’t something girls are born with; it grows over time through experience, encouragement, and practice.

Here are practical ways to help your daughter grow into a confident, empowered young woman.

1. Encourage a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset helps girls understand that effort, persistence, and learning from mistakes lead to improvement. This mindset builds resilience and confidence.

Tips and Activities:

• Praise effort, not just ability. Say things like, “I can see how hard you worked on that,” or “I like how you tried a new approach,” instead of focusing only on being “smart.”

• Reflect on challenges. Ask at the end of the day, “What was something tricky you worked through today?” or “Did you try a new way of solving a problem?”

• Solve problems together. When she faces difficulty, guide her in brainstorming solutions instead of giving her the answer.

• Share your experiences. Talk about times you struggled and what you did to improve. This helps to model lifelong learning.

• Celebrate mistakes. Discuss what can be learned from the mistakes and brainstorm how she might try differently next time.

• Growth-mindset activities. Solve a puzzle or Wordle together, learn a new skill like juggling, solving a Rubik’s Cubeor drawing (Art for Kids Hub makes drawing feel really approachable), or set a “challenge of the week” and track what she learned.

2. Model Confidence

Girls learn by watching the adults around them. How you handle challenges, mistakes, and setbacks teaches her what confidence truly looks like.

Avoid self-deprecating comments like, “I’m so bad at math,” or “I could never do that.” These statements quietly send the message that some skills are beyond improvement. Instead, talk openly about your own challenges and how you’ve worked through them. Show her that confidence is built through effort, resilience, and problem-solving, not perfection. I prefer the phrase, “Practice makes better” rather than “Practice makes perfect.”

It’s important to recognize the powerful influence you have in her life. As a female figure, the way you speak about yourself, pursue goals, set boundaries, and handle adversity becomes a blueprint she may one day follow. She is watching how you carry yourself and learning what womanhood looks like through you.

As a male figure, your role is equally powerful. The respect, encouragement, and standards you model are written in Sharpie, not a dry-erase board, on her understanding of her own worth. You help shape how she views herself and what she will expect from other men in her life. Your words and actions help define her confidence and her expectations for how she should be treated. This was really insightful advice for Girl Dads from Reese Witherspoon when she was a guest on Dax Sheppard’s podcast recently and it’s worth a listen HERE.

Activity: Share one challenge you faced that day, how you approached it, and what you learned. Then invite your daughter to do the same. This creates an open space to talk about effort, resilience, and self-belief in a very real and practical way.

3. Support Her Interests

Give her space to explore what she loves, whether it’s reading, sports, art, or science and ask her questions about it.

Activity: Create a weekly “curiosity hour” where she chooses a project or skill to explore on her own.

For tips on how you can empower your daughter in STEM check out a previous blog post I wrote.

4. Help Her Use Her Voice

One of the most important skills you can help your daughter develop is the confidence to speak comfortably with adults. This confidence not only helps her express herself but also helps keep her safe by teaching her to advocate for herself.

Here are some practical ways to build this skill at home:

• Invite her to the adults’ table.
  Have her join family conversations at mealtime or during small gatherings. Encourage her to answer questions, share her thoughts, and ask questions of her own.

• Practice eye contact and listening skills.
  Play a simple game where you take turns asking each other questions. Remind her to look at the person speaking, nod when she understands, and respond clearly.

• Role-play real-life situations.
  Practice scenarios like asking a teacher for help, talking to a coach, or introducing herself to a new adult. This helps her feel prepared and less nervous when these situations happen in real life.

• Let her take the lead.
  Give her opportunities to order her own food at a restaurant, ask a question at a store, or explain her ideas to a relative. Step back and let her speak for herself, only jumping in if she needs support.

• Model confident communication.
  Show her how to ask questions, express opinions, and set boundaries in your own interactions. Children learn a lot by watching the adults around them.

These small, everyday activities may seem “silly”, but they help girls understand that their ideas matter, that it’s okay to speak up, and that they can navigate conversations with adults safely and confidently. Over time, she will internalize these lessons and carry the belief that her voice matters into every aspect of her life.

5. Encourage Healthy Risk-Taking

Helping your girl step outside her comfort zone is one of the best ways to build confidence and resilience. When she tries new things, even small challenges, she will learn that it’s okay to make mistakes, that effort matters, and that she can handle uncertainty.

Here are some practical ways to encourage healthy risk-taking at home:

• Start small and celebrate effort.
  Pick a manageable challenge together, such as performing a short speech in front of the family, reading a poem aloud, or sharing an idea during dinner. Focus on the effort, and celebrate that she tried something new.

• Try something unfamiliar together.
  Take on a new hobby or activity as a family, like cooking a new recipe, trying a dance tutorial, or exploring a new sport. Your willingness to try and learn alongside her models bravery and curiosity, which helps her feel safer to try it too.

• Reflect after the challenge.
  After the activity, ask questions like: “What part felt most challenging?” “What surprised you about trying this?” “What would you do differently next time?” This helps her process the experience and see personal growth.

• Gradually increase challenges.
  Once small risks feel comfortable, encourage slightly bigger ones, like giving a short talk to a small group of friends, trying a new class at school, or volunteering to lead a family activity. Incremental steps build confidence without overwhelming her.

• Model risk-taking yourself.
  Share your own experiences with trying something new or stepping into uncertainty. Talk openly about the nerves, the effort, and the lessons learned. This shows her that everyone, even adults, faces challenges and grows from them.

I tried a handstand in yoga last month for the first time, and it was super scary, and I didn’t nail it, but I felt really proud of myself for trying. I shared my experience with some of my female students, and that sparked a conversation about trying new things themselves. :)

By consistently encouraging healthy risk-taking in everyday life, you help your child learn that trying is more important than succeeding perfectly, that setbacks are normal, and that she is capable of handling new situations. These new experiences help build their confidence and resilience.

6. Build Body Confidence Through Strength

Instead of focusing on appearance, show girls that their bodies are powerful tools.

Activities:

• Martial art: learning self-defence builds physical and mental strength.

• Strength training or fitness classes: exercises like push-ups, squats, or a crow pose in yoga show her what her body can do.

• Team or individual sports: soccer, basketball, swimming, or gymnastics develop coordination, stamina, and confidence.

• Outdoor adventures: hiking, rock climbing, or paddleboarding highlight physical ability and courage.

These activities teach girls to value strength, capability, and resilience over how they look. Going back to #2, be mindful of how you speak about your body in front of your daughter as well as refraining from using negative language such as ‘old, ugly, fat’ etc.

7. Foster Independence by Building Trust

Independence grows when girls learn to trust their own decisions and feel that the adults around them trust them too. Let her take responsibility for choices appropriate to her age, like organizing her homework, planning part of a family outing, or managing a personal project.

Instead of immediately stepping in to fix mistakes, allow her to experience the natural consequences of her decisions. This shows that you believe she is capable of figuring things out. Follow up with supportive reflection: talk about what went well, what she might do differently next time, and how it felt to make the decision herself.

Activity: Give her a decision-making challenge, like choosing her weekend schedule or planning a small creative project from start to finish. Ask her to explain why she made certain choices, and show genuine interest and support without taking over.

8. Introduce Positive Role Models

Introducing girls to inspiring women shows them what is possible and encourages them to set bold goals.

Here are some examples:

Canadian Role Models

• Roberta Bondar: Canada’s first female astronaut, neurologist, and environmental photographer.

• Hayley Wickenheiser: Olympic gold medalist and doctor, showing excellence in sports and academics.

• Autumn Peltie: Indigenous clean water activist and speaker at the UN.

• Alaa Murabit: Physician and global advocate for women’s rights and health.

Global Role Models

• Malala Yousafzai : Nobel Peace Prize laureate advocating for girls’ education worldwide.

• Greta Thunberg: Youth climate activist inspiring global action.

Showing examples of other girls their age who demonstrated advocacy can inspire your girl to speak up at any age.

• Serena William: Tennis champion showing strength, resilience, and leadership.

• Jacinda Ardern: Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, known for compassionate, decisive leadership.

• Wangari Maathai: Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, empowering communities through sustainability.

Activity: Each month, pick one role model to learn about together. Read a short biography, watch a video or interview, and discuss what qualities your daughter admires and how she can apply them in her own life.

Confidence is built through everyday experiences, small successes, and supportive guidance. By encouraging effort, independence, self-expression, physical strength, assertiveness, and thoughtful role modeling, you can help your girl grow into a woman who believes in themselves and is ready to shine.

This International Women’s Day, let’s help the next generation of girls step into their power with courage, self-belief, and confidence.