124: Tween And Teen Girl Issues: Solved! With Katie Parker, Becky Fife And Allie Callister

Almost 10 years ago, Katie Parker founded Singers Company, a place where little girls can sing, dance, and act in a wholesome environment while building confidence and performance skills. 

Katie recognized the staggering statistics of declining teen confidence and self-worth that were plaguing our nation, so she decided to start the I Believe in Me project, an online-based program for girls 11 years of age and older. The program offers weekly short videos that provide guidance and encouragement in many areas including friendship, school, goals/dreams, social media, beauty, hair, discovering/pursuing talents, creating healthy habits, fashion and so much more! 

The adventures in I Believe In Me help each girl create and establish her own "garden" of life experiences and accomplishments – what "flowers" does she want to plant? – and what "weeds" does she need to keep out?

This week, I sit down with the 3 amazing women who host I Believe in Me – Katie Parker, Allie Callister and Becky Fife, to talk about some of the most important issues 11-year-old girls face through their teenage years, what their advice is in many different scenarios, and how to tackle some of the trickiest things about being a teen or tween with grace and confidence.

Especially if you have an 11-year-old girl, just remember that every single flower is beautiful in its own unique and special way. And if they can hold on to that and know that they don't need to change who they are for someone else, or to fit into a different group or to be accepted by somebody else – they are perfect just the way they are. 

In this episode, you will hear:

• Allie’s biggest strength in life is I can laugh my way through most situations, and just be light and carefree. 
• I Believe In Me is a positive happy girls club. So each week, she'll log into her private site. Their platform is private and each week, there's a new "planting the seeds" episode.
• Their whole program has a garden theme because they believe every girl is a unique individual with gifts to share in this world. 
• One of their mantras is: you are a girl with gifts to grow and share. And in your garden of life and in the garden of the world, we need all different types of flowers, not just all the same. 
• Planting the seeds: We need different sizes and shapes and different strengths and weaknesses in this garden of the world. That's the beauty of the world.
• There's a new episode each week. Once they've completed that entire episode, a couple of other sections will open up.
• I Believe In Me has three different levels of membership: Root, Grow, and Bloom.
• The 11 to 12-year-old group of girls and middle school are so hard because there are a lot of things going on. Your body is changing, your friends are starting to change, and sometimes it surprises you. And so you start to question “Who am I?”
• Sometimes friends need boundaries, and you need to set your boundaries so that you can also protect your heart if things are said.
• In middle school, these girls are learning who they are and how to navigate among each other. They have a lot of insecurities which can end up hurting other people if you don't know how to handle them. 
• Middle school doesn’t have to be scary. That’s why this program is giving these girls the tools they need so their experience can be fun!
• One of their tools is to turn worry into work. Instead of worrying about something that you don't have control over, look at what you can do.
• You're not improving your social skills by talking to a screen. You will only improve those skills by talking face to face with someone.
• It's okay to be hurt. But know that you have the power to decide how you feel and how it's going to affect you. .

Supporting Resources:

Instagram @sc.ibelieveinme https://www.instagram.com/scibelieveinme/

Links to additional info and to sign up for I believe in me courses https://linktr.ee/SCIBelieveinMe

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