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Girls and women are often told what to do, how to sit, how they should walk, or even eat.
And although teaching your children what the appropriate way to act is or what they should be doing is the norm, one mom decided it was more important to let her child know what she shouldn’t be doing.
Writer and mother of two, Toni Hammer wrote an open letter, on Facebook, to her daughter who’s currently in kindergarten, with 13 things she should never apologise for – and the internet cannot get enough of it.
“To my daughter,” she starts off the list.
1.Don't apologize when someone else bumps into you.
2. Don't say “sorry to be such a pain”. You're not a pain. You're a person with thoughts and feelings who deserves respect.
3. Don't make up reasons as to why you can't go out with a guy you don't [want to] go out with. “You don't owe anyone an explanation,” she wrote on the post. “A simple no will suffice.”
4. Don't overthink what you eat in front of people. If you're hungry, eat, and eat what you want. If you want pizza, don't get a salad just because other people are around. Order the damn pizza.
5. Don't keep your hair long to make someone else happy.
6. Don't wear a dress if you don't want to.
7. Don't stay home because you don't have anyone to go out with. Take yourself out. Have experiences by yourself and for yourself.
8. Don't hold back your tears. Crying means you're feeling something that needs to get out. It's not a weakness. It's being human.
9. Don't smile because someone told you to.
10. Don't be afraid to laugh at your own jokes.
11. Don't say “yes” to be polite. Say “no” because it's your life.
12. Don't hide your opinions. Speak up and speak loudly. You should be heard.
13. Don't apologize for being who you are. Be brave and bold and beautiful. Be unapologetically you.
The post went on to be shared more than 4,000 times and was picked up by Love What Matters, where it was flooded with positive responses, praising Toni for teaching her daughter to be confident.
This is the kind of ‘to-do list’ we can get behind!
