“A little girl is sugar and spice and everything nice – especially when she’s taking a nap.”
(Unknown)

This quote gives a wink to a fact we all know to be true. Girls are sugar and spice, but they are not everything nice. And the funny thing is, the more we expect them to be, the more we hold them back. Giving your girl the chance to make mistakes, to even be brash, or hurt someone’s feelings, may just be the most loving thing you can do for her.

Why? Because this allows her to know her own boldness, and it also allows her to experience consequences of her actions, something we all should want for our children. If we want to raise a generation of strong capable women, we have to give these little girls the freedom to make mistakes. Some girls can be just as adventurous as some boys. Some can be even more curious and bold.

Each girl is unique and will approach life in her own way, so let’s not keep trying to mold them all into something sweet and nice. Let’s instead champion the unique, strong self inside each one of them, and then appreciate their varieties and differences.

After raising both a young woman and a young man, I’ve learned there’s one thing that all girls do have in common, though. One thing they all share. They all smell much, much better than their male counterparts.

And that is nice.

Peace begins with pause,