How to raise your daughter to be a leader

1. Validate who your daughter is, not who you want her to be.
Read the book Nurture by Nature by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger (Little, Brown, 1997) to learn more about personality styles and how you can instill self-confidence and self-esteem by honoring your child's unique gifts and preferences.

2. Encourage participation in individual and team sports.
Your daughter may never become an Olympic athlete, but learning how to compete, be a team member and deal with wins and losses are valuable lessons that will serve her well throughout her lifetime.

3. Foster independent thinking and decision-making.
Allow your daughter to choose her own clothing, order from a menu and have her own opinions -- all of which may differ from your choices.

4. Consider an all-girl school.
Studies show that girls who attend a single-sex school are more apt to develop skill in leadership and are more likely to excel in math and science, gravitate toward nontraditional careers and have more self-esteem than girls who attend coed schools.

5. Enroll your daughter in a self-defense class.
Not only do these programs teach girls how to physically protect themselves, but they instill a sense of self-confidence that extends to other areas of her life as well.

6. Teach your daughter about money.
From an early age, provide her with a bank account, an allowance and guidelines for how to earn, save and spend money.

7. Identify extracurricular activities suited to your daughter's personality.
Not all girls may want to join Brownies, Girl Scouts or Campfire Girls, but it's important that she participate in programs that allow her to develop her leadership skills or find her unique voice. An acting, writing or art class can also achieve these ends.

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Excerpted from See Jane Lead by Lois P Frankel. Copyright 2007 by Lois P Frankel. Excerpted by permission of Warner Business Book. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.