How to help your teenage daughter succeed
How parents can help daughters build bright futures and achieve their dreams
When a girl thrives, she doesn’t just change her own life — she changes the lives of the people around her too.
Every girl has the potential to achieve amazing things. But when girls enter their adolescent years (from around 10-years-old onwards), many face challenges that hold them back. Social pressures, mental health struggles, and social media can all be overwhelming.
As a parent, knowing how to support your daughter isn’t always easy.
To make it easier, UNICEF experts from East Asia and the Pacific have tips to help you support your daughter to create the future she deserves.
Build your daughter’s self-esteem
Teenagers are still learning who they are. They depend more on other teenagers to work out their identity than before — and this can make them doubt themselves. Social media and school pressure can make this even harder, leaving girls feeling like they’re not good enough.
Here’s things you can do to build your daughter’s self-esteem:
- Celebrate her strengths: Highlight her character, rather than her achievements or appearance. Praise her curiosity, humour, courage, determination and kindness. Tell her how proud you are.
- Avoid comparing her to other people: This includes in real life or online and to strangers, family members, or other teenagers. Instead, cherish what makes her unique and special.
- Support her to shine: Encourage her to do activities where she can make a difference, contribute to the community, and feel capable.
- Talk about social media and comparison culture: Discuss how social media is never an accurate picture of a person’s life, but an edited (and often staged) version of the best bits. Remind her that her worth isn’t defined by likes or followers — and she should never measure her value by what she sees online.
- Help her ask for what she needs: Teach her that standing up for herself isn’t being disrespectful. Practice assertiveness with her in small situations to build her confidence in speaking up. For example:
- Encourage her to ask questions at a store or get directions.
- When she faces a problem, avoid solving it for her. Instead, ask: “What do you think your options are?”
- Teach her how to say no politely but firmly. For example: “Thank you for the invite, but I won’t be able to make it this time.”
Help your daughter explore different interests
The teenage years are a time of exploration. Support your daughter to experiment with the hobbies that excite her:
- Support her to explore things that interest her with patience and enthusiasm — and don’t be surprised if she changes her mind.
- Encourage activities that allow her to expand her comfort zone: For example, volunteering, travelling together, joining a sports team or drama group.
- Help her explore hobbies she might have ruled out as “only for boys”: This might be skateboarding, football, coding, robotics and gaming.
- Show interest in her hobbies but avoid interfering: Daughters are often more closely watched by their parents than sons, which can slow their journey to independence.
“What boys can do; we girls can do too. If you don’t try, you will never know what you are capable of.”
Non Sreynich (15), recently won a video game design contest. She encourages all girls to try something new, like technology.
Give your daughter the same opportunities as boys
In East Asia and the Pacific, boys often get more opportunities than girls. Families may spend more on their sons' education, while daughters spend more time doing housework instead of learning.
This puts girls at a disadvantage in their future careers. Across the region, nearly twice as many girls are not in education, employment, or training as boys.
Make your family fairer by giving boys and girls the same opportunities. For example:
- Support your daughter’s education just as much as your son’s.
- Value her hobbies and interests as much as his.
- Share household chores equally among all family members.
- Give sons and daughters the same time on digital devices to safely learn and use technology.
Support your daughter to finish school
Some families have told us that when money is tight, they have thought about taking their daughter out of school to save on school fees and help look after her siblings. However, we strongly advise against this. Ending a girl’s education too soon can hold her back in life. Without education, she faces fewer opportunities and greater risks, including financial hardship for her and her future children.
Supporting your daughter’s education, even when times are hard, gives her the best chance at a successful future. School gives her skills and confidence to create a better life for herself.
UNICEF/UNI469126/Al Asad
For every year a girl spends in secondary school, her potential earnings can rise by 20%.
Help your daughter prepare for getting a job of the future
Work is changing fast — most jobs now need digital skills. AI is taking over, and the future is all about STEM and social entrepreneurship.
STEM means Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Careers in STEM include doctors, tech entrepreneurs, software developers, engineers and scientists. You’ll find STEM jobs everywhere, from healthcare to energy and telecoms.
“STEM subjects like mathematics and technology make life easier and can help us find a job.”
Ngoun Chanda, Grade 12, Cambodia
STEM careers pay well and can help make the world a better place. But not enough women are in these fields.
In East Asia and the Pacific, less than 25% of researchers are women. Many girls lack confidence in pursuing STEM careers. Here’s how parents can help them build the confidence and skills to succeed:
Make science and technology fun
Every child is a born scientist. They observe, experiment and ask lots of questions. But when girls reach their teenage years, many lose interest in science and technology. Often because they don’t feel these fields are meant for them.
Inspire your daughter to invent and experiment — make it fun, or even a friendly competition! Here are some ideas:
- A balloon-powered car: Use a balloon, straws, and bottle caps to make a moving car.
- Paper aeroplanes: Experiment with different wing designs to see which flies the furthest.
- Floating boats: Build a boat from foil and see how many coins it can hold before sinking.
- Bridge building: Make a bridge out of sticks and test how much weight it can hold.
- Hydraulic arm: Use syringes and cardboard to create a moving robotic arm.
>> You can find more ideas on the Science Sparks website and Instagram. YouTube is also a great place to explore for inspiration!
Support her to explore STEM outside the home
- Take her to science fairs, museums, or technology workshops.
- Help her join science clubs, coding workshops, or math competitions.
Help her develop digital skills
Girls don’t always get the same chances to explore technology as boys, but they can pick it up fast.
Help her explore the best parts of the internet. Introduce her to fun, free digital tools: Scratch or Code.org to learn coding and Canva or Pixlr to create digital designs.
And talk to her about protecting herself online:
>> 5 top tips from UNICEF experts for keeping your child safe online
Help her learn STEM
Support her with the time, space, materials and encouragement to learn STEM.
Ask her how she learns best and what would be most useful to help her. She might need books, or a quiet, dedicated area to study, or more time online to learn from video tutorials on YouTube or podcasts.
Learn about STEM careers yourself
Parents and teachers still have the greatest influence over girls’ career choices, but many STEM jobs are new and unfamiliar. Stay informed by researching STEM opportunities and innovation yourself. Seek out updates online, in documentaries and your own community — and share your excitement!
Challenge gender stereotypes
Ask your daughter what she knows about gender stereotypes and the gender roles she sees at school, in the media, and daily life.
Explain how gender roles often push girls toward caregiving and teaching while steering boys toward science and leadership.
Let her know that talents and interests, not gender, should shape her future — and she has the power to choose any path she’s passionate about.
“Engineering has allowed me to create wealth and value in the real world.”
Talk to your daughter about green jobs
Green jobs help fight climate change and protect the environment. They focus on things like clean energy (solar, wind, water), reducing pollution, recycling, and making buildings, transport, and industries more eco-friendly. For example, solar panel installers, environmental scientists, electric vehicle mechanics and organic farmers.
Green jobs are growing fast. But like STEM jobs, there aren’t many girls in these fields — so they might not see themselves working in these careers.
To help your daughter dream without limits, talk about climate change in your community and how she could help create solutions.
>> Talking to your child about climate change
- Spark her interest in the solutions to climate change: Share books, videos and online resources on the environment, green skills and green jobs.
- Explain that STEM skills can help tackle climate change: Support her to develop them.
- Help her to join a green technology club or movement (ideally a girl-led one): If none exist in your area, consider helping her start one.
- Tell her she has the power to make a difference in the world.
“If the world continues to warm, animals will die, and the food chain will disappear. I am interested in what we can do to help the world and prevent the environment from being destroyed.”
Netnapha, school student, Thailand
Surround your daughter with role models and mentors
Seeing is believing.
When girls see examples of other girls and women succeeding, they start to believe they can too.
To help your daughter dream bigger, surround her with examples of inspiring girls and women who are striving, leading, innovating and making change in the world. Especially in male-dominated areas like science, technology and green sectors.
If possible, help her find a mentor who can share experiences and advice. A mentor doesn’t have to be far away — an older student or young professional can make a big impact and provide relatable inspiration and support.
“Girls shouldn’t have to do things alone. We need support from our family, schools and communities.”
Kania (14), Indonesia.
If you’re struggling to find role models or mentors, online communities, books about inspiring girls and women and girl-led groups can help.
Here’s some inspiration:
- @sangsokserey is a rapper from Cambodia who encourages girls to explore tech.
- @mitzijonelle is a climate justice activist from the Philippines.
>> These young heroes are calling for green skills for girls
>> Khongorzul from Mongolia is helping thousands of young people raise their voices for change
>> Women scientists in China show girls that they can follow their dreams
>> How girls in Indonesia are breaking barriers and dreaming big
>> Panha from Cambodia is following her dream to work in IT or engineering
Talk to your daughter about mental health — and help her look after it
Success isn’t just about achievement. Mental health matters too.
Many teens today face stress and emotional challenges but might struggle to express them. Your support can make all the difference.
Make space to spend quality time together
Create opportunities to bond, listen to her thoughts, and offer unconditional support.
Help her to exercise
Staying active boosts focus, confidence, and mental well-being. Encourage her to exercise — whether through sports, dance, or even a daily walk — to help her stay healthy and balanced.
Teach her work-life balance
Help your daughter balance ambition with self-care by setting healthy boundaries, taking breaks, and making time for hobbies. Help her create a schedule that includes enough rest, so she doesn’t feel overwhelmed.
Show her ways to manage stress
Show her how incorporating small habits, like journaling and deep breathing, into her day can help her stay calm and focused.
Help her manage screen time
Encourage her to take breaks from social media and follow accounts that make her happy. Setting small limits, like turning off screens during mealtimes and at night, can help her feel more in control of her time and feelings.
>> Expert advice on helping your teen manage screen time
>> More expert advice on supporting your child’s mental health
Parenting a teenager isn’t easy — especially in a world so different from the one we grew up in. But one thing remains the same: your support is one of the most powerful gifts you can give your daughter.
By encouraging her to dream big, embrace challenges, and believe in herself, you’ll help her build a future without limits. Because she knows she’s not alone and she’s capable of anything.
