Girls drive too.

A wonderful thing happened. Our daughter passed her learner's permit test and now she can drive us around. It is super. Any quick trip I need to make to Walmart or Kroger's is gladly driven by the girl. The day she passed we drove to Murfreesboro, Tn. My husband has always been a firm believer in stepping on out there, getting in the real world and learning to make it. It has been not different for our daughter. She has gained confidence because of this. Girls need to have self esteem but to make it in the world they need a sense of competence, knowing they can perform difficult things and be good at it. It is not enough to tell our girls how great they are, how beautiful they look, we need to be preparing them for abilities necessary for life. I have tried to teach our daughter that a good self image is only half of it. She must be able to function independently and become competent in school, social relations, choices, driving, and other challenging areas of growing up. The cinderella movie is not realistic. It is not becoming of a mother to promote the idea that one's life is in shambles until Mr.Right walks in. This is formula for disaster. I want her to have the opportunity to realize who she is and what she is capable of doing, as well as what she isn't good at. It is so important to teach our girls reality. As I sit in the passenger seat I may read my paper or magazine, I offer her instructions and encouragement, as well as corrections. She will smile and feel good about this new experience because we are going to cover some roads and ground to make sure she can do it.