What are words of affirmation
The words we speak have tremendous power.
How many careless words have you had spoken over you by people who might not even understand the negative impact of what they were saying?
I had it so many times in my childhood. People speaking negative, critical words over me led to many years of low self-esteem and feeling that I didn’t deserve to have good things in life, or to lead a life that I had chosen for myself. I spent too much time second-guessing what I was supposed to be doing only to be told that whatever I chose was wrong.
Let’s not do that to our daughter. Let your family legacy and mine be positive self-empowerment to our family, especially daughters but also our nieces and sisters.
A child’s self-esteem needs nurturing. A child needs to be told they are loved, they are valued. If they are not told, they will not know. Daily words of affirmation should be standard practice in all households! And let’s be clear here, the power of your words is great. So regardless of how you yourself were treated as a child, break that off from your family line and speak lives of healthy wellness and mental balance into your children.
But, to be clear, what do I mean by words of affirmation?
Words of affirmation are a form of communication that involves expressing appreciation, love, and encouragement towards another person through spoken or written words. I think of words of affirmation as being primarily spoken. However I do know parents who put notes in their children’s bookbags when they go to school, or who write lovely letters and send or give their daughters cards which is equally affirming. Of course you can speak words of affirmation over yourself, such as these beauty affirmations. But for today’s blog post we are talking speak powerful words of affirmation for your daughter or other female relative.
Either ways, this love language is characterized by the use of positive affirmations, compliments, and words of appreciation to convey emotional support and affection to your daughter. The words of affirmation can include verbal expressions of love, compliments, praise, encouragement, and appreciation for your daughter’s efforts, achievements, or qualities.
Gary Chapman wrote the book, The 5 love languages and words of affirmation is listed as one of the love languages. So, words of affirmation are important. Important enough to be ranked in the top 5 ways in which we show love to another (the other four are: gifts, quality time, acts of service, physical touch)
Why, specifically, words of affirmation for your daughter
Creating loved, happy and healthy children is our main task as parents. We might get caught up in grades and college and university. But a well-balanced child who becomes a healthy adult, who knows love and how to give love is the main task.
I think our original state as human beings is positivity, but the world around us, our social and work environments soon strip us of a positive bias. So it feels like we have to inject positivity and optimism back into our lives. This is where the world of manifestation has been so healing for many people. Learning to sit in abundance and love and self-acceptance is refreshing and life changing at the same time.
So, giving your daughter words of affirmation that can increase her positive thoughts about herself is a really good practice to start. As I grew up, I thought negative thoughts were just how we dealt with life. I didn’t realise that I could use positive thinking as a powerful tool to create the life of my choice.
Give your daughter the power over her life to live in positive energy, to process her thoughts in a positive way and to develop a positive mindset early on in her life. I’m also including nieces and sisters in this blog post because I think that other family relationships eg aunt to niece, can also be important relationships for girls/women.
Giving your daughter/sister/niece words of affirmation are important for two reasons.
Benefits of positive affirmations and why they are important for the whole family
The reason that giving your daughter words of affirmation is important is because these words work both ways, they bless both the giver and the receiver.
Words of affirmation are a powerful way to express love, appreciation, and encouragement to another person. When someone gives words of affirmation to another, it can have a profound impact on both the giver and receiver in several ways:
- Boosts self-esteem: Words of affirmation can help build self-esteem and confidence in the receiver by acknowledging their strengths and accomplishments. Similarly, the giver can also feel a sense of pride and satisfaction in knowing they’ve contributed to someone’s positive self-image.
- Improves communication: When we express ourselves in positive ways, it can improve communication and deepen our relationships with others. It helps to foster a sense of openness and trust, making it easier to share our thoughts and feelings with each other.
- Builds connection: Words of affirmation can create a strong bond between the giver and receiver by fostering feelings of appreciation and gratitude. It can make both parties feel seen, heard, and understood, strengthening the relationship.
- Improves mood: Hearing kind and uplifting words can have a positive effect on our mood and outlook on life. It can make us feel more optimistic, hopeful, and happy.
So, words of affirmation can bless both the giver and receiver by building self-esteem, improving communication, fostering connection, and improving mood. It’s a simple yet powerful way to show love and appreciation to those around us.
Words of affirmation your daughter will appreciate
You may already be using positive words intentionally over your daughter. However if you want to get started and don’t have that you have already written, we have compiled a list of affirmations that you can start to use today:
Here are some affirmations that a mother can say to her daughter:
- I’m proud of you.
- It’s your right to discover who you are.
- You are a beautiful and intelligent young woman.
- You are capable of achieving anything you set your mind to.
- You have a unique perspective on the world that is valuable and important.
- You are allowed to feel your feelings
- I love you, just as you are.
- You are loved unconditionally, just as you are.
- You have the strength and resilience to overcome any challenge that comes your way.
- You are deserving of respect and kindness from others.
- You have a bright future ahead of you filled with opportunity and happiness.
- Your thoughts and feelings are important, and you have the right to express them.
- You are worthy of love and positive relationships in your life.
- You are a gift to the world and have so much to offer.
Remember to say these affirmations from a place of love and encouragement. Let your daughter know that you believe in her and that you are proud of her for simply being herself.
Here are affirmations for your daughter to say over herself
You could also create affirmation cards for her to put up in her room or put in her journal:
- I am capable of achieving great things.
- I am confident in my abilities.
- I am loved and valued for who I am.
- I have the power to create my own happiness.
- I am smart and capable of learning anything I put my mind to.
- I am beautiful inside and out.
- I am strong and resilient.
- I am surrounded by love and positivity.
- I trust in my own abilities and decisions.
- I have the power to overcome any challenges that come my way.
- I am worthy of love, respect, and happiness.
- I am deserving of all the good things life has to offer.
- I am a unique and special individual, and I embrace my differences.
- I have a bright future ahead of me.
- I am grateful for all the blessings in my life.
Encourage your daughter to say these affirmations to herself daily, or write them down and place them where she can see them often. This will help her develop a positive mindset and boost her confidence. You could always encourage her to develop daily routines around positive thinking and mindset work, coupled with daily affirmations.
Have a fresh start
We all have times in life that are less than ideal. The School of hard knocks, rejection, bullying, meanness and stressful situations. Being able to show your daughter that these hard times will not last and that she is able to get through them and into a better place is a great life lesson to be able to pass on. Encourage her to use affirmations to find that great job, to be or have a lifelong friend who will be with her through thick and thin, is an important part of becoming an adult that some of us take a long time to learn. So help her develop those skills early on in life.
Achieving wonderful things at any age
Age is no barrier to achieving whatever you want. Being able to encourage your daughter, niece or sister to persevere at whatever age and achieve their goal is an amazing privilege. There is no shame in being a hard worker in your daily life. It will give you the inner strength you need to achieve your own choices. And there is very little that is more satisfying than that.
Practical tips for working hard and using powerful statements of affirmation
Growth Mindset by Carole Dwek is one of my favourite books and was really helpful to me when raising my children. Here is a list of ways in which you can help female family members to work hard and use positive words for themselves instead of against themselves to achieve their goal.
- Break tasks into smaller, achievable goals: When faced with a big project or task, it can be overwhelming to think about everything that needs to be done. Break the task into smaller, more manageable goals, and celebrate each small victory along the way.
- Use positive self-talk: Instead of being hard on yourself when things don’t go as planned, use positive self-talk to keep yourself motivated. Tell yourself things like “I can do this,” “I am capable and strong,” and “I will keep working hard until I achieve my goals.”
- Find a support system: Surround yourself with people who believe in you and your goals. Share your progress and successes with them, and allow them to celebrate with you. They can also offer words of affirmation when you need them the most.
- Use visual reminders: Create visual reminders of your goals and affirmations, such as sticky notes or vision boards. Place these reminders in places where you’ll see them often, such as on your desk or in your workspace.
- Take breaks: Working hard can be exhausting, so take breaks when you need them. Use this time to reflect on your progress and offer yourself words of affirmation. This can help you stay motivated and keep pushing forward.
Remember, combining hard work with words of affirmation takes practice and dedication. But with time and effort, you can create a positive mindset that will help you achieve your goals and thrive.
Supporting positive affirmations with a vision board
Many people love creating a vision board. If your daughter, niece or sister has something in particular that they wish to achieve then creating a vision board is a great way to help them visualise the goal. By looking at it each day and using positive affirmations they may surprise themselves with how self-empowered they start to feel.
Other powerful ways to show love
Words of affirmation are not the only way to show or tell love. Spending time together (quality time being another of the love languages) is also very important to many children, particularly daughters. When you spend time together you can also model behaviour. Children of both sexes need to see good behaviour modelled.
We hope you enjoyed this post and enjoy heaping words of affirmation over your daughter, sister or niece, or for that matter over your aunt, mother or grandmother! Be generous with your affirming words!
We have other blogs posts on affirmations, such as:
Discipline affirmations (not as scary as it might sound!)
