Your daughter may only be young now, but, before you know it, she’ll have grown into a young adult who wants to venture out on her own. For her to be successful in her adult life, you may want to instill some independent traits in her. During her teenage years, these may present themselves as defiance; however, these traits could help her make better decisions later on, and she’ll be better equipped to listen to her own moral code as she gets older.
However, it can be incredibly difficult to guide a child into adulthood when you’re trying to maintain your own writing career. It’s easy to let your freelancing fall by the wayside or allow your child to depend more on others while you’re working. Fortunately, there is a balance to be had. What’s more, there’s no better person to teach your daughter how to be independent than you. After all, writing requires a lot of self-discipline, especially if you’re a freelancer.
Here are some ways you can help your daughter be more independent using your skills as a mother and a writer:
Finances
Financial independence can be important for a young woman, especially when she moves out of the family home. Opening a Junior ISA from Wealthify may allow you to start putting money aside into a dedicated account for your daughter. As she matures, you may then be able to teach her about the benefits of saving money. She may also want to deposit some of her own allowance into this account. This could enable her to have the deposit for renting or buying a property, having her own vehicle, travelling, or even attending further education.
By teaching her to save in her youth, she may be able to attain financial independence at a younger age. This could help her to not need to rely on you, or a partner, for survival. In fact, she may have a deeper respect for the value of money because of it.
Rather than hindering your ability to teach your daughter about financial independence, your writing career can actually help you to explain certain concepts. If you’re a freelancer, you’ll be able to teach your daughter how to do her own taxes and track her income. Make sure she understands that all career paths can lead to financial freedom. For example, lots of young people might be worried that creative career paths won’t allow them to earn a living, but your career as a writer is the perfect example to show her that anything is possible.
Critical Thinking
Teaching your daughter to have her own thoughts and opinions can help when peer pressure comes into play. While this may not be as much of an issue in the early years, by her teens she may feel stressed regarding deciding between what she believes to be right, and what the other kids are doing. This could lead to her drinking, smoking, taking drugs, or even participating in dangerous behaviour. Once she gets to adulthood, this can also help her to make responsible decisions regarding her employment and even a healthy, sustainable daily routine.
As a writer, you will have a lot of experience challenging facts when researching articles. Teach your daughter critical thinking skills and show her how she can collect evidence from a wide range of sources before making up her mind. If you have a background in journalism, you’ll be in an even better position to teach her the value of finding out what the facts are for herself. Most people are biased and put their own spin on events, but it can be very difficult for a young person to grasp this without direction.
Critical thinking isn’t something that will just help your daughter in her personal and social life, but it can make her a better student and later a great employee. Encourage your daughter to read widely and expose herself to lots of different opinions so she can understand the world is multifaceted. It’s not easy to teach critical thinking overnight, rather it should be something your daughter can practice over a number of years. Teaching her these skills may even help you to think about new perspectives and inspire some new angles in your writing. Young people have a lot to offer and you may be surprised at the insight your daughter can bring to your own world.
Self-Love
Learning to love oneself can also be a good part of raising an independent daughter. While she may appreciate the relationships and friendships that she has, it can be important for her to acknowledge that she doesn’t need a man, or anyone else for that matter, for her to be successful. This can remain true regardless of her sexuality, her decision to become a parent or not, and even the career that she opts for. This doesn’t need to mean that she is conceited, but simply that she has confidence in her own abilities. You may be able to teach this through life skills, a good education, supporting her interests, and even reminding her of her own self-worth.
One of the best ways to practice self-love can be through journaling. If you don’t already keep a journal as part of your writing practice, this could be something great to do with your daughter. While it’s important for her to have a place to express her private thoughts, you could try keeping a gratitude or positivity journal together. Not only will you be strengthening your mother-daughter bond, but you’ll also be developing your writing and getting into the flow for your working day.
Combine Motherhood with Writing Today
Raising an independent daughter can lead to another strong, powerful woman present in the world. You may be able to enable her to follow her dreams, and have a strong sense of right and wrong, simply by adjusting some of the things you teach her within those earlier years. This journey might prompt you to start a blog or document your mother and daughter journey. It’s easy to underestimate the skills that being a writer can offer to your parenting style, but these two sides of your life don’t have to be as separate as you think.
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Bio: Emily has been a freelance writer for 5 years. She is a keen skier and hiker in her spare time but combines this with a love of culture and relaxation while traveling. Her writing specialises in covering all aspects of writing as a freelancer and parenting and always carries her own signature voice throughout.
