[article]

A mother not only genetically shapes her daughter during pregnancy, but also moulds her health and physical persona later in life. Thoughts, actions and words of a mother impact the lifestyle of her daughter in more ways than usually assumed.

According to a recent study conducted by the University of Georgia^[1], the mother-daughter equation is way more impactful in shaping a girl’s future relationships, self-esteem and career growth than any other familial or peer influence.

Overly critical and restrictive mothers will turn their daughters into socially awkward and physically unhealthy women. On the other hand, supportive and guiding moms will result in confident daughters.

More often than not, a daughter will have her mother’s number on her speed dial and whenever she faces a physical, emotional or lifestyle challenge, she will turn to her mother for guidance.

Let’s take a look at some ways that the mothers can help making their daughters better:

Stress management

If a mother pacifies her agitated daughter by offering food, the daughter will grow up relying on it as *the* stress buster.

However, if the daughter is rocked, massaged and comforted with eye contact or lullaby, she is likely to develop her own natural stress control mechanism and grow into a better person.

Self-health

A mother who keeps her daughter in sync with the importance of personal health right from the outset will encourage her to focus on her own well-being.

This will ensure that the daughter grows up into a healthy and confident woman.

Self-image

Mothers often tend to fret over their daughter’s appearance, figure, complexion and other physical attributes. Such mothers are usually critical of the choices made by their daughters and rigid and controlling in nature.

This would more often than not result in daughters with hazy ambitions, negative perception of their persona, and shackles that the daughter might feel suffocated with later on.

Perception of society

A mother educates daughters on social interaction. If she influences her to honor the gender divide, interact with girls only and make her feel that the society is unsafe for her then knowingly or inadvertently, she is raising her daughter to have a negative perception of the world around her. She must rather encourage inclusivity.

Conclusion

The bond between a mother and her daughter is established as soon as the latter is conceived. It is an underlying influence that is integral to the daughter’s personality DNA.

Supportive mothers, who cultivate a bond of trust, support and inculcate the correct and empowering habits are likely to see their daughters grow into emotionally and physically healthy women.

On the contrary, an abusive, neglectful or gender biased influence can lead to the daughter falling short on the personal development criteria.

 Sources:

https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/mother-daughter#1

 [/article]