I call my 13-month-old daughter beautiful every day. I tell her she’s so pretty. I smile when my husband looks down at her smiling face and says it, but are those words going to give her confidence down the road as a teenager? In a TODAY article, teen girls are asking the Internet if they are ugly and I felt a flutter of panic for the future with a teenage daughter.
 As a first-time mom, I tend to analyze – perhaps over analyze – how everything I do or say may affect my daughter’s future. Though that may be extreme, I can’t help but read stories like this and others that leave me scouring parenting articles or consulting with friends on how to give my child the confidence she needs to ensure she never reaches this point.
 Is it confidence they are lacking or attention they are seeking, or are the two related? Though I can’t foresee the future, what advice to do have in building confidence in young children?
