ABC's for Strong Girls - Grandma Ideas

ABC's for Strong Girls is coloring book that is designed to boost self-esteem and build strength in girls.

(NOTE: I was given a copy of this coloring book to review but all opinions are my own.)

The world that my granddaughters are growing up in is SO much different from the one I grew up in. (Sheesh! I grew up in a different century and a different millennium. Boy howdy. That sure makes me sound old . . . )

Nowadays, girls experience much more pressure. They are stressed about getting good grades, looking pretty, being slender, being popular, and juggling the demands of their time (homework, clubs, sports, music lessons).

Now toss social media into the mix and and its resulting depression, low self esteem, body dissatisfaction, and suicide ideation.

It’s no wonder girls feel stressed out and anxious!

So what’s a grandma to do? How can you help them? Nurture them? (And I mean more than baking them chocolate chip cookies and showering them with hugs and kisses.)

While you can read this article and adapt some its ideas for your use, you can also get your young granddaughters a coloring book.

A coloring book?

Yup. You read that right.

A coloring book.

Elena Degnan McAnespie, a marketing and communications specialist, has created ABC’s for Strong Girls: A Coloring Book to Build Confidence, Determination, and Empathy. Each page emphasizes a skill that girls can work on that will help them develop self confidence.

For instance, take failing.

Failing isn’t fun. Not at all. However. Those experiences provide opportunities for learning and growing. Children can learn that failing isn’t bad.

Then there’s this.

Paying attention to emotions is the beginning of being able to recognize stressors. As children get better are understanding their emotions, they can develop coping strategies that will help reduce anxiety and depression.

This coloring book is full of these gems. Twenty-six of them. One for each letter of the alphabet.

So, this is how I recommend using this coloring book. Sit by your granddaughter as she colors. (You could maybe have a coloring book of your own.)

As you color, discuss the skill that she is coloring. Ask questions like has she ever been in a similar situation as the one she is coloring. How she was feeling. Has she felt sad? Angry? Confused? What was happening at the time? What did she do? How did that affect her? Could she have done anything different? What can she learn?

The key to your discussions (in my humble opinion) is to be gentle in your discussions. Help your granddaughter feel safe as you talk, to know that you won’t laugh at her or make fun of her. Help her learn how to recognize and verbalize her feelings.

Let her know that all emotions are fine and that while we can’t control our thoughts and feelings we can control the actions we take because of them. She shouldn’t feel guilty of shameful for her feelings.

Now that I’ve talked briefly about the coloring book, I’ve just gotta show you a picture of my granddaughter using the coloring book. She’s such a sweetie!