Raising a “Gutsy Girl”: A Conversation with Adventurer and Author Caroline Paul

Are you cautious and protective with your daughter? Or are you encouraging her to be a gutsy girl? Studies have shown that parents are likely either to warn their daughters away from challenging physical activities or to help them so much that they don’t accomplish the task on their own. With sons, however, parents are more likely to “be brave” and to guide them in how to complete the task on their own.   Caroline Paul believes we too often undermine girls’ competence and self-esteem and deprive them of exhilarating adventures. So she’s written a unique guidebook for girls (and women!) called The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure. This book is packed with stories of her own adventures and those of other daring women, practical tips on changing a tire or climbing a mountain, entertaining illustrations by Wendy McNaughton, and space for the reader to journal about her own escapades. She brings her ideas to life in this enthusiastic conversation with Marti, who describes a few adventures of her own!   ARE YOU RAISING YOUR DAUGHTER TO BE A GUTSY GIRL? What messages did you get as a girl about taking on challenging or somewhat risky activities? To what extent are your messages to your daughter the same or different? Would you like to encourage your daughter to be more adventurous? And would you like to have some lively adventures yourself? How could you begin?   WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RAISING A GUTSY GIRL? ❉ WHY DO WE TEACH GIRLS THAT IT'S CUTE TO BE SCARED? Check out Caroline's New York Times article.   ❉ THE GUTSY GIRL CLUB ON INSTAGRAM. The Gutsy Girl website is now on social media. Check out this instagram link, or find the Gutsy Girl Club on Facebook.   ❉ EMPOWER GIRLS TO BECOME STRONG WOMEN. Longtime educator and founder of aWe, Inc. (Academy for Women’s Empowerment), Kristi Hemmer joins Marti & Erin for an important and provocative discussion of the ways girls and women give away their power through speech, body language and attributions that dismiss their own talent and hard work. Mom Enough® only shares recommendations for products or books we have independently reviewed. As an Amazon Associate, Mom Enough may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your purchase helps Mom Enough continue to offer evidence-based information at no cost to our listeners.