"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." ~ Gautama Buddha. I'm fat, I have a smaller nose, I have long legs, I'd be happy if I were tall, I'm too tall, I'm not beautiful, I have curly hair. Do all these statements sound familiar? Do you often put yourself down? Don't worry, it is not a new thing. As a teenage girl you often go through a particular phase in which you have been pulled down. As your body changes, so does your thought process, and you may have difficulty adjusting with new people and new instances that happen in your life. This constant feeling of feeling bad about yourself affects your self-esteem in a big way. Having self-esteem is all about loving and caring yourself. It is about appreciating who you are and the pride you have in yourself. Having this trait is important because feeling good about yourself can affect how you act. Statistics show that depression affects more than one-third of teenagers in the United States. Self-esteem is how one sees him/herself. In fact, you will read thousands of articles on overcoming low self-esteem. The reason for this is, teenage girls adapt one way or another to judge themselves. Whenever she is looking at herself in the mirror, she's constantly thinking about her life or her physical appearance. She then starts making assumptions of how she feels, who she really is, and what she's become. The main question that arises in the minds of every parent is how to improve self-esteem in my girl? Before even thinking of answering such questions, think what's bothering her. Try to find out more about her personal life. Always remember, even you were a teen once, she's probably dealing with the same pressures as you were, may be even more. Here are some points that could help you build inner confidence in your girl.

• Check all the comments that you give your daughter. This is an age where a slightest remark can make her emotional and angry.
• Make sure the girl's father talks to her and speaks to her about everything under the sun. It has been observed that girls with active hardworking and cooperative fathers, attend college more often and are ambitious, and likely to be successful in whichever career they choose.
• Let your daughter speak her mind.
• If your daughter has failed in something, don't make a big deal out of it. Give her motivational examples that encourages her to keep on trying and not get depressed on little failures.
• Let your girl join some sports activity, it reduces the risk of chronic diseases. Sports act as one of the best ways to make them confident and competitive. It has been observed that female athletes do better at education and have a low drop out rate than that non-athletes.
• Watch television, movies and other media where women are portrayed as the prime character and are successful.

Girls suffering from low self-respect are a confusing thing for many people. When we talk about self-esteem, I don't mean getting a new haircut or a new makeover. These are just temporary sessions of happiness which don't last long. I am not against the dressing up and looking beautiful. It is good, but this is not be your only source of confidence.

• Search those things which are simple and give you long-lasting happiness. Start by exercising, I mean exercise for both the mind and body. It means giving your body the resistance it needs and learning new things is a good exercise for the mind.
• Make sure the girl's mother presents herself as a role model. In their teenage years, girls need a positive role model. Who can be a better role model than their own mother.
• Help them to deal with their friend's problems. Be supportive no matter how stupid the problem may seem.
• Make sure she contributes to the house, give her a sense of achievement by giving her chores that are reserved for boys. Make her feel important.

I hope this article has been helpful. It is okay to feel let-down in life on some occasions, it is pretty natural. However, life is also about regaining that lost trust and belief that you had in yourself.