Increasing Enthusiasm And Confidence In Girls With Fort Building
Posted October 10, 2017 by Fort Magic
Every parent wants their child to feel as safe and happy as possible. And a large part of that is building their self-esteem — or their own positive view of themselves. Children with high self-esteem will be more confident and happy. They are also less likely to engage in self-destructive behaviors. But the problem for many kids, especially young girls, is that self-esteem is difficult to build. Societal pressures can cause many girls to develop low self-esteem as early as age nine. But the good news is increasing confidence in girls can be as easy as fort building with a Fort Magic kit!
Why Does it Happen?
There are several reasons girls might not feel as confident as they should. Bullying and harassment online to insecurities about weight and appearance are possibilities. Every day, images in the media push girls toward looking a certain way. Those who don’t fit the mold exactly might feel unsure of and unhappy with themselves. Research shows that girls overwhelmingly worry about the way they look, much more than boys do. And using technology like smartphones, which nearly everyone has these days, can make the problem worse through social media and cyberbullying.
How Parents Can Help
Thankfully, there are steps parents can take to help improve their daughters’ enthusiasm and confidence throughout their childhood. By the time they reach adolescence, they are equipped with the skills they need to stay happy and healthy, both mentally and physically. One of these steps is engaging girls in stimulating activities like fort-building. And this can easily done with Fort Magic kits that help you assemble a fort frame (which you then cover with fabric) step-by-step.
Ways Fort Building Benefits Girls
There are several reasons that fort-building can benefit young girls. First, it places trust, responsibility and decision-making capabilities into their hands. Allowing your kids to take charge of the fort-building process means they’ll have to think of a strategy beforehand. Then carry it out by working together and thinking critically about what they’re doing. They’ll have to make some decisions about what part to place where. Girls have to decide what overall shape they want the fort to take and what step to start working on next.
Power to Make Decisions
And through it all, girls will be gaining real experience with being the authority in a situation. A major issue in the professional world is that women who have experience in a topic might feel discouraged about speaking out. They might feel people don’t notice them or don’t think they have anything important to say. With fort-building, girls have the power to make decisions and act on them. These practical behaviors helps them learn to not be afraid to speak out or voice their opinions.
Essential Skills
Another benefit is that fort-building just builds the kinds of skills that girls will need to have confidence later in life. It tests their ability to create a plan, follow instructions, think creatively and work with others. All of these skills are essential at any point in a girl’s life. She can have fort-building to thank when she doesn’t shy away from group projects or work opportunities. The process of building can help her feel confident that she’ll be able to handle them.
Passion for Math and Science
Finally, fort-building can help spark a love for engineering and other types of technical jobs in girls who otherwise might not have the chance to explore their passions. Sadly, there still aren’t nearly as many women in jobs like engineering, architecture or urban planning as men. Part of that is because many girls aren’t sure if these kinds of jobs are for them. And the media often shows women in certain jobs, which adds to the confusion. But girls can get an appreciation for the process of planning, building, and critical thinking early on. And they’ll have a better chance of following their passions for math and science later in life.
Inspired Designs
With all of these benefits to building forts, you’ll be happy to know that your girls can really get creative when building! There are countless designs they can assemble. They can also use their imagination when making the covers for the forts. These can be anything from a bedsheet to a specialized fabric cover meant for the fort. They can add decorations like paper cutouts and holiday lights. And they can build forts outside for camping or make them out of paper for easy painting.
No matter what girls choose to do, you can be sure that they’ll be gaining confidence and enthusiasm while they’re building forts. These special places can be used for reading, playing, yoga or art. And ultimately, you’ll know that you’ve made an investment in your child’s future at a time when girls need self-confidence boosts more than ever.
How do you use fort building to build confidence and enthusiasm in your girls? Share your ideas with us below!
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Photo Credits:
The Artful Parent Blog: One of our absolute favorite creative blogs for children and families. The Artful Parent blog is filled with simple ideas to fill your family’s life with art and creativity. A must see blog for sure.
Learn With Play At Home Blog: An inspiring educational blog created by a primary teacher that strongly believes in making learning FUN & seamless through childhood playtime ideas and activities.
1+1+1=1: The 1plus1plus1equals1 Blog is a fantastic resource on Homeschooling and educational learning ideas from tots to big kids.
Fort Magic Customer Photos via Facebook: Visit our Fort Magic Facebook page to see our customer creativity shine with fun pics and videos of families enjoying their Fort Magic kit during playtime.
Fort Magic Customer Photos via Instagram: Visit our Fort Magic Instagram page to see our customer creativity shine with fun pics and videos of families enjoying their Fort Magic kit during playtime.
