12 things only mums of daughters understand.

How you know your house is full of girls, girls, girls.

I probably wouldn’t know what to do with a boy. I grew up the oldest of three sisters and now I parent three little girls. While not every girl likes pink and purple, these are based on my experience as a girl, raised among girls, raised by girls (my mum, grandmum, and aunt), and now raising girls.

1. You know you can never have too many dresses.

2. And shoes, you can never have too many shoes…or thongs (because thongs come in different colours, and different shades of the same colour, and they can have stripes, or polka-dots, or ribbons, or jewels!)

3. Or bags, you can never have too many bags. There is so much to put in them! Toys, Lego, ribbons, books, rocks, your sister’s toys, crayons, whatever was on your bed and your mother said, “Clean your room!” so you throw it all in a cute bag and slide it under your bed.

4. You know there are more than 1, 357 shades of pink and purple.

5. If you cannot decide on an outfit, you start the day with one outfit, then finish the day with a different one.

6. Everyone wants the same sparkly headband.

7. Making lists is fun! (Who said anything about tackling the lists?).

8. If one girl gets her fingernails painted, every girl gets her fingernails painted.

9. Talking is an ongoing activity that does not stop… ever!

10. Skinned knees and adventures happen all day long (see point above: the – talking – hardly- ever -stops!).

11. Girls can burp and fart as effectively as the boys.

12. Common adjectives are: cute, sweet, precious, adorable, beautiful. But what you really stress is that they’re smart, creative, kind, compassionate, courageous, strong, resourceful, and loving, because those are so much more important, and we have to fight a culture and media that teach girls (and women) that what matters is on the outside.

Raising girls has made me acutely aware of the message out there that says, “What matters most about you is the way you look!” I want to teach my girls that what matters most is how they live their lives, the difference they make, the compassion they show, the love they extend.

I want them to be loving, compassionate, and kind, because this world needs more people that care about others. I want them to know that they can make a difference, because they have gifts and talents that will make this world a little bit better. I want them to shine their light, because I know it is bright.

This post originally appeared on BlogHer and has been republished with full permission.

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