As rewarding and joyful as the holiday season can get, preparing for the holidays can become quite stressful. Between hosting family dinners, shopping for gifts, attending events, and completing your other responsibilities, you don't have much time left for yourself. All while your teen spends their Christmas break on the couch shifting from screen to screen throughout the day. Dedicating time to take care of yourself during the holidays is just as important as preparing and celebrating the festive season. Get into the holiday spirit by participating in 12 days of self-care both you and your teen will enjoy this holiday season!
Teens tend to fall out of their routines during the holiday break, they go to bed late and wake up at noon. Setting a holiday routine will make the transition from the holidays easier when it’s time for your teen to return to school. Planning out your holiday schedule will also ensure you can manage your time and prioritize self-care among all your holiday events. When you create your schedule, plan your self-care activities when you don't have any other distractions.
Incorporating creativity into your self-care days has many benefits to both your physical and mental health. There are several ways you can get your creative juices flowing during the holidays. Gather your family together for a night of decorating ornaments, making Christmas cards, dressing up your stocking with accessories, or creating your own Christmas wreath. You can even take it a step further and create some thoughtful DIY gifts.
The holidays are the perfect time to finally read the new book that has been sitting on your bookshelf for months. Reading has various benefits to your health but most importantly, it is a great way to reduce stress. Grab a cup of hot cocoa, throw on your favourite pajamas, and get cozy with a book to unwind after a long day of holiday activities. The holidays are also a valuable opportunity to get your teen to take a break from their screens and relax with a good book. Re-reading one of the books from her Girl Gang Strong subscription box is always a great option.
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
Giving back and committing random acts of kindness not only raises the spirits of others, it also makes you happy and boosts your self-esteem. While giving back to the community is common during the holidays, doing something nice for others is a beneficial self-care activity for the whole family. There are several ways you can spread kindness and give back this holiday. Some of the most common include:
If the weather permits, engaging in some winter activities is a fun way to get the whole family moving. You can build a snowman, go skating, or start a snowball fight during the day. At night you can get into some holiday pajamas and go for a drive to see all the Christmas lights in the neighbourhood or visit one of the Christmas lights drive-thrus in your city. This is not only a great opportunity to spend time together, but also get your teen out of the house during the winter break.
Who doesn’t like snuggling up in their Christmas pajamas with some egg nog or hot chocolate for a Christmas movie marathon?! Getting the family together to watch your favourite Christmas films or enjoy some new ones is a holiday self-care activity that both you and your teen will appreciate.
Yoga is another form of self-care that benefits both your physical and mental well-being. Since the holidays can become stressful for both you and your teen, yoga can help you slow down and relax both your mind and body. Dedicate time for yoga in your holiday routine to reset and avoid burnout or fatigue.
Another great self-care idea is hosting a DIY spa night to pamper yourself and spend some quality time with your teen! Grab your favourite masks, bath bombs, lotions, candles, and your favourite self-care products from your Girl Gang Strong box. Put on a soothing Christmas playlist, podcast, or read a new book while you unwind.
Baking is an excellent form of self-care because it lets you be creative, accomplish something new, and helps ease your mind from the growing number of tasks on your to-do list. Get your teen involved and try some healthy recipes. You can also put on your favourite holiday songs and sing along while you make your treats. If you want to get the whole family involved, make it a fun competition where everyone decorates a gingerbread cookie or gingerbread house.
The holidays are the best time to revisit the special moments in your life and share a laugh with your loved ones. Pull out those old family photo albums and home videos you’ve made with your family and teen. Show your teen her Christmas mornings when she was younger and how she used to celebrate for some funny memories. If you have them in your collection, pull out your photos and videos of when you were a child to share with your teen. You can also share some of your stories and holiday traditions you did when you were their age.
Since the holidays are at the end of the year, this is the perfect time to reflect on the past year, your goals, your accomplishments, and your failures. As a self-care activity, this is also a great time to express gratitude and be kind to yourself. Write about the things you are proud of, the things you love about yourself, and the things you’d love to work on in the upcoming year.
Now that you’ve reflected on the past year, it is time to plan your goals and habits for the following year. This is not only a great way to set the tone for the upcoming year but setting and reaching your goals are also great confidence boosters. Get your teen to join you by creating a vision board for the year. You can make a digital one on Canva and save it to your phone or create a physical vision board by gathering images and displaying them in your room as a reminder and motivation she can look at everyday.
Happy Holidays Girl Gang!
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Be confident. Love yourself. Believe in yourself. We constantly hear these phrases as if our confidence is something that will develop with a click of a button. What many people forget to mention when they tell you to “be confident” and “love yourself” is that self-love is a journey. Building your confidence is a process that develops over time. You’ll have days where you look and feel great. You’ll have days where you don’t feel the best and that is normal. You won’t wake up tomorrow morning after reading this blog post and immediately become confident. But there are daily habits you can practice that will help you build confidence.
If you're between the ages of 9 - 14, you might notice you don't feel as confident as when you were younger. You probably used to believe you can do anything and be anyone you wanted to be. So when did that change? The authors of The Confidence Code, Claire Shipman, and Katty Kay partnered with Ypulse to conduct a survey that found that girls' confidence dropped 30% between the ages of 9 - 14. This is called the confidence gap.
You also might be wondering, what causes this drop in confidence? One of the biggest causes of the confidence gap is a result of the changes girls experience during puberty. While there are all these changes to our bodies, there are also changes to our brains. For example, for girls, our emotional intelligence increases, which makes us more observant and cautious.
As a young girl, it might feel as if you have to compete with a lot of people. Between school, friends, social media, and celebrities, we feel pressured to look our best, achieve the highest grades, and get the most likes on our photos. As we scroll down our social media feeds, we see the accomplishments, talents, and beauty of others which fuels our insecurities.
Shipman and Kay also revealed in female brains we have something called the anterior cingulate gyrus, aka the worrywart center. This area is more developed in the female brains, which means we focus more on the outcomes and consequences of our choices. Since we worry about the results of our actions, we are motivated to make safer choices rather than risky ones.
So how can we work on building back our confidence? How can we learn to become confident in ourselves and our decisions? We’ve gathered 5 important habits and practices that you can incorporate into your daily lives to start your confidence and self-love journey.
Social media can cause you to fall into the trap of comparing your life and physical appearance to your peers and other girls your age. But life isn't a competition. You shouldn't be comparing your achievements, your appearance, or your life to anyone. Everyone is on different journeys, with their own goals, tools, and obstacles. When you start to compare yourself, you forget that you are on a different chapter in your life story than someone else. I know it can be difficult seeing other people who are living your dream or look the way you'd love to look. Use them as a source of motivation and inspiration rather than a tool for comparison. Follow accounts and people who inspire you, motivate you to be yourself, and encourage you to achieve your goals. Now when you scroll through social media, you spend more time consuming content that reminds you why you're great instead of making you feel insecure about yourself.
During our pre-teen years, we may start using phrases such as "I can't", "I'm a failure", or "I'm not good enough." When building your confidence, try replacing these thoughts with positive affirmations. How you speak to yourself can have a huge impact on your confidence and self-esteem. Think about how you would talk to someone in your life that you admire. You wouldn't tell them they're a failure or they can't do something. You would support them, remind them why they’re great, and encourage them to follow their dreams. If you make a mistake, don't blame yourself, tell yourself "you're a failure" or give up. Forgive yourself and tell yourself, "I will try again tomorrow." Challenging your negative thoughts by practicing positive self talk is a significant step in building your confidence. When you have a negative thought, ask yourself: is this situation as bad as I think it is? Is there another way I could look at this? Will thinking this way help me feel good or achieve my goals?
Shipman and Kay have also concluded that action, struggle, failure, and trying new things are all important when building your confidence. Think about someone who you believe is confident. How would they speak to themselves? If they didn't believe in themselves or try new things, how would they build their confidence to reach their goals? When we start to do things that are outside of our comfort zones and take more risks, we build confidence from our accomplishments. For example, if our girl Zendaya never auditioned for Disney’s Shake It Up, she might not have built the confidence to audition for her role in Spiderman! Participating in Dancing With The Stars gave her the confidence to do her own stunts in The Greatest Showman. When you keep trying new things, you continue to improve your skills and develop your confidence to achieve more. When we fail it doesn’t mean that we can’t do something or that we should give up. If we’ve failed at something, that is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes and apply what we learned to our next challenge. Failure helps us understand our strengths and weaknesses and develops our confidence to achieve the things we are great at.
Setting goals for ourselves is another great habit that can help strengthen our self-confidence. When we track and accomplish our goals, we become confident in our abilities and set more challenging goals for ourselves. If you set a goal to study for an hour every day after school and you track your progress, you’ll recognize your ability to achieve that goal. Once you’ve accomplished this goal, you're motivated to set more study goals and improve your study skills. Sometimes you will have setbacks that will delay your progress or you might lose your progress and that's okay. What's important is understanding that you've done it once and you can do it again.
Have you ever done something kind for someone else and it made you feel happy and warm inside? Doing something nice for others, giving back to your community, and volunteering can all have a positive impact on your self-esteem. Research has shown that when we help others, there are changes that happen in our brains that make us happy. When helping others, not only are you distracted from your problems and insecurities, but you also start to think differently about your problems. When you volunteer to help others, you also start to see the world through a different lens. There are many ways you can do something kind for someone, like helping out a neighbour who can't leave their home, offering to teach something you are skilled at or volunteering in your community.
As you embark on your confidence journey, you are going to encounter several obstacles, challenges, opponents, and setbacks. Your growth will not be determined by how confident you are compared to others but by how you define your own progress. What’s important to remember is that you’re taking a step each day towards becoming the most confident version of yourself. No matter where you are in your confidence journey, be kind to yourself and celebrate how far you’ve come!
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Are you having trouble solving the mystery that is the teenage girl? Have you spent weeks trying to figure out what is on her Christmas wish list? We know how difficult it can be shopping for teen girls, so we’ve gathered the ultimate gift guide for the special girl in your life!
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Are you having trouble solving the mystery that is the teenage girl? Have you spent weeks trying to figure out what is on her Christmas wish list? As a subscription box service for teen girls, some might call us experts on the subject! We know how difficult it can be shopping for tween and teen girls, so we’ve gathered the ultimate gift guide for teen girls. Whether her interests are in beauty, skincare, fashion, or books, we know all the best items that will contribute to her self-love and self-care. Here are 22 gift ideas for teenage girls that will make sure you’ve understood the assignment and leave her impressed!
Scrunchies are essential to every teen girl's outfit. Scrunchies come in different colours and can be worn on her wrist or used to tie her hair up on a bad hair day! If that’s not enough to convince you, many girls prefer scrunchies over hair ties because they prevent breakage and knots! We love these pretty satin ones by Blush scrunchies that can elevate any look!
Thanks to quarantine, many of us have developed our manicure skills by learning to do our nails at home. Some of our favourite nail products we’ve featured for a DIY manicure are NCLA Beauty’s Cuticle Oil and Soy Nail Polish Remover, Inked by Dani’s Nail Art Tattoos, and Suncoat’s water-based non-toxic nail polishes! Add these items to your shopping list so she can take her manicures to the next level!
With puberty, changing hormones, and stress, teens are experiencing all kinds of changes to their skin. Gifting skincare products like a gentle cleanser, a cleansing cloth, some sheet masks, or a facial cleansing brush will help keep her skin hydrated and healthy this winter! One of our favourite cleansers is Blume's Daydreamer face wash, it is gentle, hydrating, and great for sensitive skin!
Who doesn’t love statement jewelry pieces to express their style or dress up an outfit? Last year we featured Khalia Jewelry’s Kaia bracelet in our Christmas holiday box and it was a hit! Adding some jewelry that matches her style will show her you've been paying attention!
A girl can never have too many lip balms, especially when the dry winter weather can leave our lips chapped and dehydrated. This hydrating lip balm by NCLA beauty is great for keeping your lips smooth and moisturized all day. She can store it in her school bag or add it to her beauty routine!
Between completing her school assignments, studying for her tests, and spending hours scrolling through social media, our girls are spending a lot of time looking at screens. These blue light blocking glasses are a great gift idea to help her focus, reduce eye strain, and look cute while working!
This one is a no-brainer! Headbands are the perfect accessory to complete a look, keep your hair out of your face, or rock different hairstyles. We love these handmade ones by Sewbella that come in a variety of colours and styles.
Who hasn’t wondered what it would be like to get a tattoo? Inked by Dani's self-love temporary tattoos are a safe way for girls of any age to express themselves. Each tattoo adds a spark of inspiration and positivity to her body with uplifting messages and reminders. All the self-love tattoos are safe, non-toxic, cruelty-free, waterproof, and vegan! All she needs to apply them is water.
The Vanilla Shea Body Lotion by Pink Posh Fox is the perfect body care gift to keep in her school bag or to add to her self-care routine. This lotion will leave her skin soft and hydrated. It contains natural sunflower seed oil and shea butter for 24-hour moisture.
Bath bombs are the self-care item every teen girl needs to add to her routine! Bath bombs will help her relax and unplug after a long and stressful day. We love the Soak Bath Co Birthday Cake bath bombs, which are natural, vegan, and zero-waste. These eco-friendly bath bombs are wrapped with a biodegradable plantable seed paper label that will grow into wildflowers!
If she loves to read, add some of the books we’ve featured in our Girl Gang Strong subscription boxes to her reading list. Marawa Ibrahim’s The Girl Guide has been a highly requested favourite among our subscribers. It is a great introduction for any girl going through puberty or who is learning to love her body! Some other favourites are Dare to Be You by Marianne Schnall for inspiration, Girls Who Code by Reshma Sajuani to learn something new, A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée, and Pavi Sharma’s Guide to Going Home by Bridget Farr for an adventure.
If you want to introduce your teen to journaling, the Make Your Mark journal by Amy Richards is a great start. Each page features an influential woman that has either made an impact in the world or has achieved great things. Each accomplishment serves as a journal prompt and inspiration for how the reader will make her mark in the world. The right side of the journal is where she will have the opportunity to write or doodle her ideas, hopes, and dreams.
Scented candles are great stress relievers and mood boosters on those stressful days. They also double as the cutest room decor that will brighten her room and leave it smelling good all day! Adding some candles with her favourite scent will show her that you’ve been paying attention!
This colourful cup holder by Danica Studios is a fun decor item that adds a pop of colour to her desk or night stand. She can use it to store her stationery, a cactus plant, makeup brushes and more!
If your teen is an environmentalist, these metal straws are a great way to show your support. Metal straws are not only better for our environment, they also help protect our marine life. We love the ones by MTL STRW which are great for smoothies, iced coffees, or a glass of water. They also have different types and colours to choose from to match her aesthetic!
If your teen owns a bullet journal or is obsessed with all things stationery, she will love these neon dual-ended highlighters by OOLY. Their dual highlighters are the perfect study tool to highlight and underline her notes. She can add them to her cup holder or desk as a colourful decor piece.
How many times were you at work or school and you forgot to bring your essential items? A cosmetic pouch can be a lifesaver when you have an emergency and you’re away from home. A colourful pouch filled with all her important beauty and self-care items is a great gift idea that she will appreciate!
If your teen loves calendars, to-do lists, and staying organized, then a daily planner for the upcoming year is a gift she will appreciate. Planners can help her keep track of all her important dates, assignments, tests, and goals. Add a sheet of stickers so she can personalize it and make it her own!
No self-care night, sleepover, or evening routine is complete without a face mask to refresh and moisturize the skin. We love the Matcha Detoxifying Clay Mask by Maskeraide Beauty which comes with three single-use masks. This mask cleanses and detoxifies your pores which helps prevent acne and hydrates your skin. We also enjoy their cute dessert mini masks, perfect for when you need a quick boost of hydration.
These flare leggings by Aerie that went viral on TikTok are a favourite among teen girls for a reason. They’re comfy, suitable for all body types, fast-drying, and lightweight. This one will leave her speechless!
We all know the challenge of trying to read in the dark with our phone light or having to get out of bed to turn the light off when reading at night. Getting your teen a book light is a great way to encourage her to unplug and read before bed without worrying about falling asleep with the lights on! These clippable book lights are easily adjustable and come with multiple brightness levels.
Why not get creative and put some of these items together to create a thoughtful curated gift! Order our Christmas Holiday Box which comes with 5-8 quality surprise products for your teen girl to invest in her self-love and self-care and have fun while doing it!
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Photo by: Gabby Goodwin
Our Girl Gang Love series was created to highlight the achievements of girls with awesome initiatives and share how they are inspiring girls around the world. During our search, we were captivated by the story of Gabrielle “Gabby” Goodwin and how the release of the first patented and non-slip double-snap barrette led to the launch of her company Confidence. We were inspired by Gabby’s persistence and how she’s using what she learned to help other girls around the world feel confident and start their own businesses. We connected with Gabby to discover how she started her business, what she’s learned about entrepreneurship, and how she’s encouraging other girls to be confident.
We came up with the idea after my mom would spend time doing my hair in the mornings and pick me up after school with my bows gone and hair all over the place. She went on Twitter to rant about her problems and our pastor jumped into the conversation and said, “Sounds like a market you need to break into.” My mom told me. I was about five years old. I didn’t know what entrepreneurship was, but I wanted to inspire people and I thought this was a way to do that. I nagged my mom to create this barrette and two years later, we started when I was seven years old and we have been in business for seven years.
What I enjoy the most about entrepreneurship is speaking and traveling places. I get to fulfill my dream of inspiring people by traveling to different states and speaking to the young and old. That also allows me to see different places while I meet new friends.
The accomplishment I am most proud of is being able to help girls believe, love, and feel confident in themselves because they see a girl who looks just like them doing great things. That's why I started nagging my mom about this idea in the first place. Having the opportunity to do just that is something I cherish.
Being a young entrepreneur has absolutely improved my confidence. When I started at seven, I was really shy and uncomfortable talking to people I didn’t know. But as I started to speak and talk to customers more, I started to get more comfortable with talking, and started to know my voice has power.
I motivate myself by realizing that rejection doesn't mean it's the end of the world. Being in business has not only helped me grow in my confidence, but it has also helped me become a lot more resilient, and that has helped me to realize hearing "no" is ok. In life, you will hear rejection so many times, but you don't have to get worked up about every single no.
Photo by: Gabby Goodwin
The advice I have for other young girls is to always believe in yourself because if you don't, no one else will. I will also say a quote I came up with that “NO is just an abbreviation for Next Opportunity,” so no matter how many no's you get, just know that “no” doesn't mean you have to stop.
A quote I live by is something my youth pastor says, which is, "Attack the day." Everyone says that life is precious and it is, so do as much as you can every day.
I practice self care by giving time to myself. I do a good amount of work all the time, but giving myself breaks in between and just playing or looking at videos makes a difference in my days. Physical activity is also a way I practice self care. Dancing or working out makes me feel good.
To learn more about Gabby, visit gabbybows.com and follow her on social media @gabbybows.
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While most of us know “Tik Tok as the 2009 pop hit by Kesha, it is now recognized as one of the fastest growing social media platforms in the world. The social media app currently has nearly 700 million users around the world and has been estimated to receive between 850 million and 957 million downloads in 2020. Who are these millions of users? Well, they are none other than our teens, their friends, celebrities, small businesses, and now some of the biggest corporations.
Before TikTok became what it is today, it was originally known as an application called Musical.ly. The app promoted short videos featuring creators lip-syncing to their favourite songs. When Musical.ly was acquired by the media and tech company Bytes Dance in 2017, the company merged Musical.ly with their popular application TikTok. If you previously had a Musical.ly account or profile, it automatically became a TikTok account. The new application allows users to watch, create, share, like, and comment on short videos by creators.
It’s actually not as difficult or complex as you might think! Anyone can learn to navigate and create videos on TikTok. Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok gives anyone a chance to go viral, build a following, and grow an audience regardless of age, reputation, or the number of followers you have. There are tons of parents who have mastered the art of TikTok from this mom making lunch for her kids to the Holderness family, who creates hilarious skits and parodies on parenting. If you’re interested in starting your own journey on TikTok, there are a few key elements you need to incorporate when creating videos on TikTok.
Trending sounds, music, and original audios are the foundation of TikTok. As you scroll through TikTok, you’ll notice different songs or audios attached to every video. When you click the audio, you can see the original creator of the sound and all the videos that have used that sound. You can also create your own video with that sound or add it to your library. Check out this TikTok video our founder Kyree and her mom Kennishia created using a popular sound!
TikTok challenges usually start when a particular song, an effect, or dance goes viral. A TikTok user will create a challenge using an effect or dance which will be recreated by tons of other users. A dance challenge that you might recognize is one of the popular TikTok dances to the Weeknd’s Blinding Lights. A recent challenge you might have heard of is the Intuition challenge, where two people or more try to clap at the same time.
If you want to show your teen that she isn’t the only TikTok expert in the house, you’ll have to keep up with the latest trends. While it sounds simple, TikTok trends come and go quickly! But there are three areas of TikTok that you can check to make sure you're always updated on what is trending: The For You page, the Discover tab and the Following page.
The For You Page is curated based on the videos you interact with, accounts or hashtags you follow, the type of content you create, your location, and your language. The more videos you watch and interact with the more you’ll see that type of content. For example, if you watch and engage with lots of cat videos, your For You page will show you a lot of cat videos. But keep in mind your teen’s For You Page may look a little different than yours!
TikTok's Discover page is where you'll find everything that is trending on TikTok. Everything from trending sounds and hashtags including the top videos under these trending sounds and hashtags. Many of the hashtags belong to different niches and communities such as skincare, small business owners, or parents. If you're an Instagram user, you'll notice the similarities with Instagram's Explore page.
When you start to follow creators and brands you love on TikTok, the Following tab will feature a personalized feed of videos created only by those you follow. When you follow popular creators, scrolling through the Following page can also be a quick way to discover what is trending.
Now that you’ve learned the basics, here are some simple TikTok trends to help you join in on the fun!
Who Got You Smiling Like That
This particular trend begins with the audio asking the subject of the video: who's got you smiling like that? The subject responds by revealing something that makes them smile, whether it's a person, a cute animal, or a specific situation. Do one showing a picture or video with your daughter to surprise her even more!
Photo Crop Challenge
Are you up for the challenge? The photo crop challenge is an effect on the TikTok app that crops various areas of the screen. The challenge is to get yourself in the frame before the crop moves to another area on the screen. The results are hilarious and will leave you with some Instagram-worthy shots! Alternatively, people have reversed the challenge by attempting to avoid the crop.
Grinning Filter
The grinning filter is a strange effect that makes it appear as if you’re smiling when you’re not. Users have been showing themselves using the filter near a mirror to reveal that they aren’t grinning or smiling.
Blue and Red Filter
The Blue and Red filter is an effect on TikTok that gives you feminine features when the filter is red and facial hair when it's blue. Many people have used it to sing duets for the song Blackout from the Broadway show In the Heights.
To The Salon
The "to the salon" trend is your opportunity to show a transformation. The transformation can be a makeover, a renovation, a DIY project, or even filming the creation of a dessert! In this example, the student uses this trend to share the transformation of her college dorm room. Don’t be afraid to get creative with this one!
It is the beginning of a new school year and you are probably starting your first year of middle school or high school. Everything is going great, and then your teacher announces the date of your first test. Now you’re in panic mode because you have no clue how to study for a test in middle school or how to study for a test in high school! Can I use the same techniques? Are the tests harder? Well I've got good news for you girl gang! Studying for tests and developing good study habits are something that you’ll learn and continue to develop as you get older. Here are some effective study tips to help you through the school year, whether you've just started middle school or high school.
Since we’ve just started the new school year, this is a great time to take out your planner and record all your due dates and tests. If you don’t have specific dates yet, you can track your assignment and exam dates monthly or weekly. You can do this in your planner, on your phone, or using an app like myHomework planner .Tracking your due dates will make it easier to schedule your study sessions among your other responsibilities. When scheduling your study sessions, plan them across several days instead of one or two days before a test.
Before you start studying, it is important to discover your learning style to understand how you learn and remember information. Once you’re familiar with your learning style, you can include the study methods that work best for your learning style into your study sessions. There are four main types of learning styles: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinaesthetic. Some students learn best using one type of learning style, while other students learn using a combination of different learning styles.
When creating your study notes, it is important to write them in your own words so they are easier to understand and memorize. A great way to organize your study material is by creating a cheat sheet or summary page for each topic or chapter.
There are many study methods that you can use when studying for a test. The study method you choose can depend on the subject you're studying for and your learning style. If you have a math test, you'll complete practice problems and revise your notes. If you are studying for a history test, you'll use flashcards to memorize dates and definitions. What’s important is finding the study method that works for you regardless of the type of test. The following study methods are some other techniques you can try when studying for your tests.
Mind Maps
A mind map is a visual layout of topics that you can create to summarize important concepts. Mind maps are effective for visual learners because it's a visual form of note-taking that helps you understand how concepts are related. You can create mind maps by hand with a piece of paper and writing materials or you can create a digital one on Canva. When creating your mind map, write the topic in the middle and use arrows to show the connections. You can also add details to your mind map by including shapes, symbols, and colours.
Flashcards
Flashcards are a useful technique for kinaesthetic learners that involves memorizing concepts by using repetition. Flashcards are convenient for memorizing formulas, vocabulary words, facts, and definitions. They are also a preferred study method because you can keep them in your bag and study anywhere. You can create study decks using physical flashcards or you can create a digital deck using Quizlet. During your study session, flashcards will be grouped into cards you know and cards you don't know well. Each study session will consist of the cards you don't know well until you've learned all the cards in the deck.
Teaching Method
Teaching your study material to someone else is a great way to test your knowledge and understanding. When you teach the material to someone else, you can determine whether you are explaining the concepts using your own words and examples. This method is effective for auditory learners because you are saying the material out loud. A great way to teach the material is by explaining it to someone who has no knowledge of the topic, such as a younger sibling or parent.
Practice Tests
Practice tests are effective for subjects like math, science, or languages. Completing the practice problems and quizzes from your textbook are a great way to prepare for these tests. Another way you can study for a test is by creating your own practice tests. Kahoot is a fun tool to create your own quizzes on a topic and test yourself or your friends!
Writing Method
For the reading/writing learners, the writing method is the study technique for you. The writing method involves writing down everything you know on a topic. When you review your notes, fill in everything you're missing. Then you repeat another session of writing what you know, until you've learned all the study material. Another way you can use this method is by writing summaries of the material then highlighting or rereading the summaries.
Treating Method
This method will make you excited to study because it involves rewarding yourself with a treat when you meet your study goals. The treating method is completed by placing a small candy (e.g. gummy bear) at the end of each page of your notes or textbook as motivation to continue to the next page. However, for this method to be successful, you should only reward yourself with candy when you're studying. Alternatively, your reward can also be a nap or watching an episode of a Netflix series. Another way you can use this method is by reading a paragraph and trying to repeat the material you need to remember. If you recall the information correctly, you can reward yourself with a treat.
Staying hydrated and consuming healthy snacks are essential to a successful study session.The foods you eat when you study can affect your focus and energy levels. When studying, it is recommended to drink water and eat snacks such as almonds, dark chocolate, fruits, yogurt, and popcorn. To stay focused, you’ll want to avoid caffeine and foods high in sugar.
During your study sessions, it is important to include timed breaks to avoid burnout and remain focused. A great technique is the Pomodoro method which involves studying in shorter intervals of 25 minutes and taking a 5 - 10 minute break. After your fourth session, take a 25-minute break. There are great tools that use the Pomodoro method that you can use on your phone or computer. This method is great especially for those of you who have a short attention span. When you take your breaks, avoid using your phone or surfing the web. Try to move your body, take a walk, go to the bathroom, or practice that new TikTok dance you just learned.
Music can be a great study buddy to motivate us during our study sessions. When choosing a study playlist, you'll want to avoid music that has vocals and choose instrumentals. Youtube has tons of playlists to fuel your study sessions. If you are a Harry Potter fan you can study like a Hogwarts student with these ambient playlists. If you want a break from music, you can use the relaxing sounds from a window anywhere in the world with Window Swap.
Inviting a friend or group of friends to your study session is a great way to test each other and discuss the material. You could divide the material among each other and create your own quizzes in Kahoot. Your study group could also use the teaching method and each take turns to teach a different concept to the group.
Studying for a test can cause a lot of stress and anxiety, especially when we have a busy schedule or have fallen behind in our study schedules. Practicing stress management and breaking your study sessions into manageable chunks are a great way to reduce your stress and catch up with your study schedule. If you’ve become tired and need to take a nap during a study session, a 15 minute nap can help you feel refreshed and energized to continue studying. Avoid cramming for a test the night before because it can increase stress and anxiety which will make it harder for you to focus and remember information.
Now that you've learned some great study tips, you can add them to your study routine. If you already have study techniques and a routine that works for you, you can always stick to your routine. If you like incorporating different study techniques, ask your teacher, parent, or an older sibling to share their best study tips and you'll be ready for that upcoming test. Good luck and happy studying girl gang!
As our digital world becomes increasingly connected, it has also enhanced our chances of becoming a victim of cyber crime. The continuous development of digital technology has granted your teen easier access to the internet. In return, these upgrades have also made it easier for cyber criminals to gain access to you, your teen, and your personal information. Developing good online habits and practicing online safety with your teen is the best way to prevent threats by cyber criminals and protect yourself online.
Do you know those phone calls claiming to be the government demanding you pay overdue fines or you'll be arrested? Then they proceed to ask you to confirm your credit card information? Phishing is a similar process in the form of an email or text message where a cybercriminal attempts to make you click on a link.
The most common way phishing occurs is by pretending to be a person you know or an organization you trust, like government organizations, banks, streaming services, or online stores. Once you click on these links you will be sent to a website that will download a virus to your computer. When downloaded to your device, viruses can steal your personal information, particularly your passwords and bank details.
If a cyber criminal is successful when phishing, they will use your personal information to steal your identity and open accounts in your name. Some of the most common phishing scams are messages offering a free vacation or pretending to be someone you know that is asking you to buy something like a gift card and sharing the numbers in an email.
When identifying phishing emails or messages, the Government of Canada suggests you look for the following:
Virus
Viruses are one of the more common threats, you might’ve had one on your computer before and you probably use anti-virus software to protect your devices. Computer viruses are concerning because they can be copied and spread from one device to another through forms of contact such as an email attachment or link.
Worms
Worms are more threatening than viruses because they don’t need the action from a user to spread by clicking a link or downloading a file. Worms can create copies on your device themselves and email them to other devices.
Trojan Horses
Trojans target a specific device with the intent to destroy data, files, and passwords. They also aim to access confidential information including banking and credit card information. Trojans gain access to your device by appearing as files, programs, or applications from Google Play or the Apple Store. Once the app is downloaded to the device, it can scan and monitor your information and data.
Spyware
Spyware is a type of malware that can be downloaded to your computer with or without your permission. The software can access your personal information without you knowing, can infect your computer with viruses, and are difficult to remove.
Adware
Adware is a software that shows advertisements on your computer and can slow down your computer and internet connection. It can install itself on your computer without your permission, in other applications, hijack your web browser, and gather your data and share it with others.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that takes control of your device, and locks you out of your device or certain files. Ransomware is downloaded onto your device by appearing as a legitimate program. Once downloaded, the cyber criminal will lock you out until you pay a ransom. There are two common types of ransomware: lock screen ransomware which displays an image that prevents you from accessing your computer and encryption ransomware which blocks access to your files on all your drives. To protect yourself from ransomware is to avoid suspicious downloads, regularly back up your files, and maintain software updates.
Hacking is described as any unauthorized access to your device or accounts. Malware makes hacking easier because it gives hackers a back door to enter your computer and access any information that is stored on it. Social media accounts also get hacked often and is something to discuss with your teen to take the necessary steps to protect your accounts.
Using the multi-factor authentication feature is a crucial step to protecting your accounts from cybercriminals. Multi-factor authentication is a feature that requires you to use more than one verification to confirm that you are the owner of the account or device. For example, after inputting your username and password for an account, you must also verify your identity by entering a code sent to your email or phone. Adding this feature provides an extra layer of protection to your accounts or devices. If a cybercriminal does gain access to your password, they will need to provide additional information before they could access your account or device.
While maintaining our computer and mobile software updates can be a tedious task, it is an important one. Regularly updating the software on our devices is the best way to protect them from cybercriminals because cyber threats are constantly changing. Our devices provide easy access to our personal information and by keeping up with these updates, you are preventing your device from the threat of cybercriminals. It is recommended that your anti-virus software completes weekly scans on your computers. If you find yourself constantly postponing the software update on your devices, setting up automatic updates, or scheduling your updates for the evenings is a great solution.
Social media is the golden ticket for cybercriminals. Thanks to your social media accounts, cybercriminals can gather information on you, your family, and your company. For example, cybercriminals will use what is shared on your or your teen's social media accounts to make up a scam that is relevant to you. Social media is also used by hackers to guess passwords and answer security questions. To prevent cybercriminals from accessing your account, talk to your teen about sharing personal information on social media such as geotagged photos, or photos revealing your address, school, or workplace. It is equally important to avoid sharing information about leaving for a family vacation, a big purchase, or an event at your home or a public place. Another way to protect yourself and your teen online is to make your social media accounts private.
When protecting yourself online and practicing cyber safety, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
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The school year is finally over and the summer is in motion! Now that you’ve got some free time, you can pull out your summer reading list and get started on your next favourite book! I know what you might be thinking, girl I’ve just spent the entire school year reading!!! Well, that is why we’ve gathered our favourite books from our Girl Gang Strong subscription boxes, plus some other great summer reads to help make it easy for ya! These books are so good you won’t want to put them down! Whether you’re dreaming of going on an adventure or you're eager to learn something new, here are ten great books that every tween girl should read.
Dare To Be You is a collection of empowering, motivational, and inspirational quotes gathered from interviews conducted by journalist Marianne Schnall. The book features some of the world's most influential women you might have heard of such as Gloria Steinem, Maya Angelou, Amy Poehler, Kerry Washington, Sheryl Sandberg, Luvvie Ajayi, and Arianna Huffington to name a few! Each chapter helps you to discover quotes based on specific themes or areas of your life that you may need some encouragement in, such as believing in yourself, loving yourself, using your voice, leadership, overcoming hard times, and many more. Dare to Be You is the book that every young girl needs to help them find their voice and recognize their value in the world!
Now, this is such a great read! A Good Kind of Trouble is a story about twelve-year-old Shayla, who is learning to navigate the reality of growing up as a young black girl in America. Shayla is all about following all the rules and trying her best to avoid trouble. But when a police officer is acquitted from a case of police brutality, Shayla attends her first Black Lives Matter protest and realizes that sometimes you have to make trouble to stand up for what is right. The book touches on several themes you might be familiar with such as interracial friendships and crushes. But it also tackles important themes such as cultural appropriation, race, social justice, activism, police brutality, and even harassment. This book was hard to put down! Not only was it insightful but also very relatable and super funny!
Marawa Ibrahim’s The Girl Guide is THE favourite and ultimate Girl Guide among our Girl Gang Strong Subscribers! If you don’t want to have that uncomfortable conversation about your changing body with a parent, this book is a great alternative! The Girl Guide is for girls between the ages of 8 - 12 and it covers a range of topics from puberty to the life of a teenage girl. Throughout the book, Ibrahim is like our older sister telling us all the changes that will happen to our bodies, especially the ones we don't want to discuss out loud! Ibrahim shares the stories of her journey through puberty with vibrant illustrations and photographs that many young girls can relate to! The Girl Guide is a friendly introduction to puberty that will answer all the questions any tween girl has about her changing body. Get your copy from our online store here!
Have you ever wondered how the software on your iPhone was created? How emojis are programmed onto our phones? How our favourite social media apps were designed and created? Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code introduces us to the world of coding! She explains what coding is and breaks down the basic concepts needed to write code by comparing it to real-life tasks like making a bracelet. If you didn’t already know, throughout history women have changed the world thanks to their accomplishments and innovations in computer science. Saujani also takes the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the impact these women have made in computer science. Talk about girl power!
Are you passionate about making your mark in the world? If you have a lot of ideas waiting to spill out of you, Make Your Mark is a great journal to reflect on your thoughts and plan how you will make a difference in the world. Every page features a MAKER, who is an influential woman that has either made an impact in the world or has achieved great things. Each MAKER has a story or achievement that serves as journal prompts and inspiration for how the reader will make her mark in the world. The right side of the journal is where you have the opportunity to write or doodle your ideas, hopes, and dreams! Don't be afraid to get creative and dream BIG with this one!
If you haven’t already started the Baby-Sitters Club series, girl what are you waiting for?! The Baby-Sitters Club is written by Ann M. Martin and follows the lives of Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacy, who come together to offer their babysitting services to parents. It all started one evening, Kristy’s mom was dialing number after number and couldn’t find a babysitter for her younger brother. Kristy wanted to make it easier for parents to call one number and access multiple babysitters. The series includes 131 books and each book explores a different journey told from the perspective of one of the girls. Some of the books show how the girls deal with situations you might relate to, such as challenges with friends, being in middle school, parents getting a divorce, the loss of a parent, illness, and moving. You can also enjoy the recent Netflix series that was released and based on these bestselling books!
Are you a dreamer who doesn't feel like you always fit in with the crowd? Well, this book is for you! The Moonlight Dreamers follows four girls Amber, Maali, Sky, and Rose, who all live very different lives and come from diverse backgrounds. The girls are all trying to find their place in a world where everyone would rather be the same. (I know, who wants to be the same when you can be yourself right?!) The girls unite to create their own secret society called the Moonlight Dreamers. In the first meeting, each girl takes an oath to pursue their dreams. The Moonlight Dreamers is a story of friendship, family, and identity. But it also talks about things you might deal with today like your self-image and social media.
If you have a sister or more than one sister, you're going to love this one! Little Women is a popular tale by Louisa May Alcott that tells the story of the March sisters, Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy. Jo is an aspiring writer and is constantly challenging the limits placed on women. Meg is the oldest and takes care of her sisters when her mother isn't there. Beth usually stays out of the spotlight, adores music, and loves playing the piano. Amy is the youngest March sister, she is artistic, creative, and often finds herself in trouble. Little Women is a story of sisterhood and the March Sisters’ journey from childhood to adulthood. Also, if you loved the book, you're going to love the movie. Emma Watson plays the role of Meg!
Roll With It is a story about 12-year-old Ellie who has cerebral palsy and dreams of becoming a professional baker. But when Ellie isn’t baking she writes letters to her favourite celebrity chefs. When Ellie and her mom must move to a new town in Oklahoma to help take care of her grandfather who has dementia, Ellie has to start from scratch at a new middle school. Ellie becomes not only the new kid in town but the new kid in the wheelchair who is also one of the trailer park kids. To her surprise, Ellie makes two new friends, the first real friends she’s ever had. Now, Ellie must convince her mom to stay in this new town. You have to check this one out to see if Ellie and her friends succeed and stay in Oklahoma!
Do you remember how confident you used to feel when you were younger? It felt like you were on top of the world? You could do anything you want and be whoever you wanted to be? Then you got older and you suddenly don’t feel that way anymore? That’s actually something called the confidence gap and girls start to experience this gap from the age of eight. After conducting a survey, the authors concluded that between the ages of 8 - 14 girls’ confidence dropped by 30%. So how can you build that confidence back? The Confidence Code teaches young girls to take chances, tackle challenges that come their way and helps develop confidence-building skills. The book covers topics such as trying out for a new sport, school tests, friendships, social media, perfectionism, and more. The Confidence Code is something that you can use every day to build your confidence and develop tips and strategies to eliminate doubt.
Happy reading Girl Gang!
Once you have started menstruating, every month your body might start to experience different symptoms. When this happens, you may not understand why you are feeling several emotions at once. Then a few days later, you get your period and you suddenly realize why you were crying when you couldn’t find any chocolate chip cookies in the pantry, (who am I kidding girl, we always cry when there are no cookies in the pantry!). When you experience these various physical and emotional symptoms, whether that is cramps, cravings, or mood swings, your body is telling you that your period will begin soon.
Some girls might experience intense symptoms during their period, while others might experience mild symptoms. When these symptoms interfere with your daily life or occur every month, it is called premenstrual syndrome (PMS). PMS is the emotional and physical symptoms you feel before the start of your period. PMS can also occur around 5 - 11 days before your period and ends about 2 - 3 days after your period starts. [5] When you begin to experience PMS also varies by age, some girls might start in their teens, some might start in their 20’s and others might not PMS until they’re in their 30’s. [4] During this time, there are certain physical and emotional symptoms you might start to notice every month before the arrival of your period.
Due to the changes in your hormones when you’re on your period, you’re going to feel many different emotions before your period and at the start of your period. But don’t worry, this is normal! When you realize your sibling is the one who ate all of the chocolate chip cookies, you’re going to have some intense feelings about this “betrayal”. Some of the common emotional symptoms you may or may not have during your period include feeling:
You might also realize that the reason you’re so upset is likely because you were really craving those chocolate chip cookies. This is because one of the symptoms you experience during your period is food cravings. Thanks to PMS, even though you’re experiencing these emotional symptoms, you’ll also notice the physical symptoms that occur before you start your period. Some of the physical symptoms you’ll feel before your period include: tender breasts, headaches, backaches, bloating, fatigue or a lack of energy, and constipation. Food cravings, cramps, and acne are a few of the most common physical symptoms that you might recognize when you’re on your period.
You know that feeling when you just want to eat three large pizzas by yourself?! But you also want to devour chocolate, pasta, cookies, chips, and cake all at the same time? (or is that just me?! haha) That is known as food cravings and it is usually caused by your hormone levels rising and falling during your period. It is totally acceptable to give in to these cravings, but it is recommended that you consume these foods in moderation to manage your symptoms. If you consume too much sugar, salt, or carbs, you might find yourself feeling bloated and tired. [3]
If you’ve ever felt a sharp pain in your lower belly on the first day of your period and no matter what position you curl your body into the pain just won’t go away. You were likely experiencing menstrual cramps. Menstrual cramps are a pain in your lower belly and can last about one to three days. They are caused by prostaglandin, which is a chemical in the body that makes the muscle in your uterus contract. [6] Most girls experience cramps after six months to one year after getting their first period. For some girls, cramps can be so painful that they’re unbearable, while some girls might hardly notice their cramps. If you have a heavy blood flow, started your period at a young age, or experience irregular periods, you’re more likely to experience painful cramps. [1] When you have cramps, exercise, pain medication, and heating pads are effective ways to ease the pain.
Thanks to great Aunt Flo, pimples are one of the symptoms you can encounter before your period. Developing acne before your period is also caused by changes in your hormone levels. During this time, your levels of estrogen and progesterone rise, and testosterone remain the same. [2] The rise in these hormone levels can cause an increase or buildup of sebum (your skin’s natural oil) or cause your pores to become clogged with dirt and dead skin cells. [2] As a result, you can experience both blackheads and whiteheads. Establishing a skincare routine is essential to manage the acne breakouts that are caused by your period. Blume’s Daydreamer Face Wash and Melt Down Acne Oil are our favourite products for achieving healthy and glowing skin.
While some girls might experience backaches, other girls might experience cramps, the symptoms you can feel during your period are different for every girl. You could have a combination of these symptoms or you might only experience one or two of these symptoms. Developing a routine and practicing self-care during your period are effective ways to manage both the physical and emotional symptoms that arrive with your period. So, the next time you find yourself crying because you can't find any cookies, it is most likely a sign you will be starting your period soon.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we do many things in our daily lives, especially how we celebrate our birthdays. Normally we set up all our party decorations, make Tik Toks with our girls, or blow the candles off our cake surrounded by our family and friends. But don’t worry girl, the pandemic can’t stop you from having all the birthday fun. You can still have a fun celebration by hosting your first virtual birthday party! We will show you how to plan your virtual celebration in three easy steps.
The first step to planning your virtual birthday party is choosing the platform you will use to host your virtual celebration. This step is similar to selecting a venue or deciding where you’d like to host your in-person birthday celebrations. When choosing your platform, think about how many people you’d like to invite to your birthday party and how long your party will be because each platform has different features and limitations. You can test each of the platforms to see which one is best for you.
Many of you may already be familiar with Zoom as you might’ve used it for your classes or to keep in touch with your family and friends. Zoom is an ideal platform to host a virtual birthday celebration because it has a variety of great features. To celebrate with Zoom’s Basic Plan, you can hold 40-minute meetings for up to 100 guests and once the 40 minutes is complete, you can extend the meeting by starting a new one.
Houseparty is another great platform you can use to gather your friends for a fun celebration. Houseparty lets you invite up to seven of your BFF’s in a room to play games. Their game selection includes the popular Heads Up, UNO, Finish the Song Lyrics, Chips and Guac, Quick Draw, Word Racers, and Pick Me. Houseparty also has an option that lets you enjoy a karaoke session during your celebration.
Skype is ideal for celebrations with large groups of people. Skype’s free group video calls allow you to chat with up to 50 people for a maximum of four hours at a time. Skype is quick and easy to use because your guests don’t have to create an account and can join the call right from their internet browser!
Once you’ve selected the platform you’ll be using, the next step is to create and send out your virtual invitations. When creating your virtual invite include the date, time, platform, and link to your virtual celebration. If you’re using Zoom you can include the meeting ID on the invite. You could also personalize your invitations by adding your guest’s name and a different animal or flower to each invite. If you want to express your creativity, here are the best free websites to design your virtual invitations:
Canva is a free graphic design website that has a variety of pre-designed templates you can customize to create your invite. They also have the option to design one from scratch. If you’re using Zoom you can also design your own personalized virtual background with Canva’s virtual background templates to be used during your celebration!
Adobe Spark is another free graphic design website that provides pre-designed templates and the option to create your own birthday invitations. You could also use Adobe Spark to design a welcome slide to be shared on your screen when your guests arrive at your virtual celebration.
The final but most important step when hosting a virtual celebration is to plan some fun virtual activities! There are a lot of activities you can include in your birthday celebration. Don’t be afraid to get creative and impress your friends with some memorable activities. Here are some creative birthday party activities you can include in your virtual celebration:
Get the party started with a cute birthday slideshow that features pictures of you and your girl gang with your favourite tunes playing in the background. Feel free to include all those funny selfies you’ve sent to your group chat.
There’s nothing like some healthy competition between your girl gang. Here are a few virtual party games that will bring out the competitive spirit in all your party guests.
Watch your girl gang’s favourite movie with Google Chrome’s Netflix Party extension. Just select the movie you’d like to watch and share the link to your party. If you have trouble deciding which movie to watch, let your girls vote by sharing a poll in the group chat.
Put on a comfy outfit and prepare for a night of relaxation and pampering yourself! Send a care package with some sheet masks, nail polish, bath bombs, and lotion so you and your girls can enjoy a night of self-care and girl chat.
If you need a quick and simple way to bring the celebration to your friends, Girl Gang Strong’s Celebration Box has all the birthday essentials you need to celebrate with your girl gang! Beauty products for a slumber party, treats for your movie night, and fun challenges for your girl gang! The Celebration Box features a great selection of items including some fun tips for your virtual celebration. Just send a box to each of your guests to celebrate with you and to thank them for attending your virtual birthday party.
]]>Welcome to the GGS Parents’ Corner! We didn’t forget about you (we promise!). Summer has officially begun and there is plenty to catch up on and explore. The GGS Parents’ corner is a space for parents to stay updated with the latest trends, keep track of upcoming events or workshops your teen might be interested in, and discover some important resources.
If you’re wondering what that new dance you’ve seen your teen practicing in your kitchen is all about or you’re simply looking for some new TikTok trends to recreate with your kids, we’ve got you covered! Here are some of the most popular trends in the last few months:
This trend involves parents placing their kids in the middle of the camera and running in opposite directions to see which parent their kids will follow. This is a fun trend to try with your kids to see which parent they will follow.
Music from The Backyardigans has been growing increasingly popular on TikTok lately. The Backyardigans is an animated TV series created by Nickelodeon in 2004. One of the most popular trends with this song Castaways is recreating the dance in the original episode of Backyardigans.
Who hasn't been loving Olivia Rodrigo's latest single?! For those of you who remember Paramore's release of Misery Business in 2007, you probably enjoyed Rodrigo's latest track. Noticing the similarity between the two songs, Tik Tok user Adam Wright released a mashup of the two songs. The mashup went viral as it brought a sense of nostalgia to Paramore lovers. As a result, users have been recording themselves singing to Olivia's song as their present self. Then transitioning to them singing Paramore's track as what would be their younger self back in 2007.
The VHS filter is an effect on TikTok that gives your video the appearance of a recording from a vintage camcorder. The video starts with moms sharing a video of themselves currently and then sharing a throwback video of them when they were younger. But there's a twist: the throwback video isn't of them, it is actually their daughters using the VHS filter. Some of the daughters look like the younger versions of their mom's and it is adorable!
This trend combines with the song Nobody by Mitski and it involves someone explaining a scenario or problem in the text and looking at the camera. Then they start running away and run further away as the song speeds up as the person filming runs after them.
The Adult Swim trend is a reference to Cartoon Network’s late-night programming block that featured programming for its’ adult audience. During this block, there were interstitials or commercial bumps that aired between television shows. The trend involves teens using their creativity to recreate these bumps by displaying the Adult Swim logo in a subtle way.
If you’re looking for upcoming events, classes, or workshops to keep your teen entertained and learning this summer, we’ve gathered some fun virtual programs to keep them busy all summer.
Chess Institute's Online Chess Clubs
Are you raising the next chess prodigy in your house? If so check out the Chess Institute of Canada’s virtual weekly clubs and five day camps that run for 60 - 90 minutes during the day. The Chess Institute offers chess lessons, activities, and games. They also give kids the opportunity to develop their chess skills as well as their skills in decision making, goal setting, emotional intelligence, and respect for others. The camps are divided into different levels and you can sign up for a free evaluation here.
Virtual Summer Art Camp for Tweens
If you have a tween (9 - 11) who is interested in visual arts, Winged Canvas is hosting live online art lessons in drawing, painting, and digital art that are specifically designed for tweens. There are four camps available: watercolour painting, anime drawing, acrylic painting, and digital art. If you have a teen (12+) who is also interested in attending the virtual art camp, there are advanced camps available for them in: art intensives, anime drawing, and digital art. Register here.
YWCA & Digital Smarts Discover Online Safety Workshop
YWCA and Media Smarts have teamed up to offer four workshops in their online security series to learn how to practice online safety. The first workshop takes place on July 8 at 12:00 pm via Zoom where you will learn how to create a safe password, identify online scams, and download new apps safely. Register here.
The Toronto Public Library has a variety of online workshops and programs for teens throughout the summer. The programs include self care, stress management, camping and camping safety lessons, creating digital collages, playing dungeons and dragons, and creative writing.
It is officially summer and your teen will be spending time both indoors and outdoors. We'd like to share the best resources to keep your teen happy, healthy, and safe!
Girls Who Fight Street Safety Manual
Practicing street safety and self defense is crucial for young girls at any time of the year but summer is also an important time to review this safety manual with your teen. Girls Who Fight’s Street Safety Manual includes some key safety principles including practicing situational awareness, street safety, internet safety, staying safe at home, body posture, travel safety, and emergency escapes.
YWCA and Media Smarts Cyber Safety Guide
This guide offers the best ways to support young women online, whether they are being harassed online, cyberbullied, or are a victim of trolling. There are many events that take place online and situations can escalate. This guide also provides guidelines on how to have a conversation about your teen’s social media use, how to prevent these situations from happening, how to handle online issues step by step, and when to involve law enforcement.
Pretty Foundation's Body Image Guide
Body image is something many young girls are conscious of especially in the summer! This guide is an excellent resource to encourage a positive attitude towards your teen’s body and self-esteem. The guide also demonstrates how your own behaviours and thoughts towards your body and eating habits can impact your teen.
Girls on The Run Physical Activity Guide
Since your teen is home for the summer you might be looking for ways to keep them active in the following months. Girls on The Run has a free physical activity guide and tracker with a weekly schedule of exercises that last for 8 weeks. They’ve also partnered with Adidas to inspire girls to stay active with a summer series for the next three months. Each month will be based on a theme accompanied by a workout video, activity, and Spotify playlist.
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The arrival of Aunt Flo can be a stressful time for girls. You have to go to school, complete your homework, study, and attend to your other responsibilities when you would most likely prefer to remain in bed all week. While you can’t control when your period arrives, there are things you can do to prepare, manage your symptoms, and make yourself more comfortable for the duration of your period. Gathering the following period essentials will help you prepare the next time your period comes and makes the entire experience more manageable.
The first few days of your period can consist of pains, aches, or cramps. But you can ease the pain and discomfort using the following methods:
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) such as ibuprofen, prevent inflammation and the production of prostaglandins (a chemical in your body that makes your muscles tighten) which is what causes our cramps. [1] Some examples of ibuprofen you may be familiar with are Advil or Motrin. Medications such as Midol and Aspirin are other treatments that you can use to relieve period cramps. When you take any medication, check the labels for the correct dosage and the side effects you can experience when taking these pills. Before taking any medications, consult your doctor and get approval from a parent to determine which medication will be the most effective for you.
Heat has proven to be a successful method for easing period cramps that doesn’t cause any side effects. Heating pads and hot water bags are great relief when you have cramps and backaches. Studies have shown that heat can be as effective as NSAIDs and Aspirin. [1] If you don’t have a heating pad or a hot water bag, you could DIY one with a sock, rice, and string. Just fill a sock (preferably clean) with some uncooked rice but make sure you don't fill it to the top. Then heat it in a microwave for about 2 minutes and tie it off with a string - just make sure to check in with your parents first before trying anything new!
Working out is probably the last thing you’d want to do when you’re on your period. However, exercise increases the blood flow to the abdomen and releases endorphins (chemicals in the body that make you feel good) which can help ease period cramps. [1] Studies by Clue have demonstrated that aerobic exercise, stretching, and yoga can reduce the strength and duration of menstrual cramps. Exercising regularly every month is also effective in managing the emotional symptoms you may experience due to PMS such as depression, anxiety, and fatigue. [8]
Pads are made of absorbent material to soak up the blood that is discharged from your body during your period. Pads look like diapers and are sticky on the back so they can stick to your underwear. Some also have little flaps on the side that are called wings. These wings are attached to your underwear to keep the pad in place and prevent leaking. Pads come in different sizes and thicknesses depending on your body and your blood flow. If you have a heavier flow, longer pads might be more comfortable for you because they absorb more fluids than smaller pads. Always, Tampax, and U by Kotex, all have different types of pads. Our favourite is Blume’s organic cotton pads that we featured in our subscription boxes. When you choose organic pads or tampons you are using bleach-free products which are better for your overall health.
Pantyliners are similar to pads, but they are smaller, thinner, and commonly used for your vaginal discharge. On the days you have a light flow, pantyliners are a great option to prepare yourself and prevent stains on your underwear when you start bleeding. U by Kotex, Always, and Tampax, also have several types of liners you can use depending on your personal preferences.
When you’re craving all these salty and sweet treats, it can be difficult to make healthy choices. But choosing healthy snacks during your period is recommended because it reduces the symptoms that are caused by PMS. Following a healthy diet before you have your period also helps ease symptoms of cramps, bloating, and fatigue. The good news is there are healthier alternatives to sweet and salty foods that you’ll enjoy! Here are some alternatives to help you make healthier food choices.
Remembering when you've had your period the previous month can be difficult. Using a period tracker app is an effective way to track your period, symptoms, and prepare yourself for your next cycle. Some of the best period tracking apps include:
If you’re wondering how to take care of yourself when you’re on your period, developing a self-care routine for your period can help make your monthly period more comfortable and manageable. When developing your routine you’ll want to include the following:
The first thing you want to have when you’re on your period is a pouch for school or a basket in your room with the period essentials mentioned above. Some other items you can add to this kit on the days you are in class include:
Taking a warm bath as part of your period self care routine can help you feel more relaxed and clean. It is also known to relieve cramps, soothe aches, and improve your mood. If you do choose to take a bath, you must clean yourself in the shower first and once again when you've finished your bath [6] Taking a bath isn't the most hygienic way to cleanse when you're on your period so you'll want to rinse off any soap or dirty water once you've finished. [6] If you don't want to take a warm bath while on your period, a warm shower will also help with cramps and backaches.
As mentioned above, exercise provides many benefits for the symptoms you will experience during your period. It can be difficult to encourage yourself to get up and exercise. Who voluntarily wants to move their body more when they’re on their period right? But following some dance workouts on YouTube or dancing to your favourite songs can make the idea of exercising more enjoyable. If you can’t blast your music at maximum volume, yoga is another great option to stretch your muscles and feel more relaxed and comfortable.
Meditation is a great technique to add to your self care routine because it reduces stress and other symptoms caused by PMS. Guided meditations, mindfulness meditation, and breathing exercises are all types of meditation you can practice during your period. Headspace and Calm are popular meditation apps you can download to your phone. They provide a variety of guided meditation and breathing exercises. YouTube also has a ton of free guided meditations and breathing exercises you can practice.
Grabbing a healthy snack and binge-watching a new Netflix series or your favourite film is also a great way to de-stress and unwind. If you’re more of a book lover, you can also light some candles, make some warm tea, and read a book from one of your GGS boxes. Dare to Be You by Marianne Schnall is a great read on the days you’re feeling down and need a source of inspiration and motivation. Listening to music while you draw or colour can also help relax your brain and refocus your attention to colouring.
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Are you planning an unforgettable birthday celebration with your family and friends and need some unique and creative ideas for your loot bag? Girl, we’ve got the tea on all the items that will leave your BFF’s shook! Whether you’re celebrating virtually or in person, here’s a list of goodies to get the party started or thank your guests for celebrating with you.
Who doesn’t love expressing themselves with a fun temporary tattoo? You and your girls can apply the tattoos and take a cute photo for Instagram! Temporary tattoos like the ones created by Ink’d by Dani have a selection of fun designs for each of your friends to match!
Lip balm is a girl gang essential that every girl will love to receive in her party bag. We love the Balm Babe lip balm by NCLA Beauty that we featured in our February Girl Gang Strong subscription boxes. They keep our lips hydrated and smell so good, you’ll be tempted to eat it!
Add a customized water bottle to give your loot bags a personal touch. You could personalize the water bottle with each party guest’s names to keep in their backpacks!
Nail polish is a great addition to your birthday loot bags, you and your girls can apply the nail polish together or they can take them home for a fun girl’s night! Polish Me Silly has tons of pretty polishes to choose from including our favourite, the Butterfly Kisses Polka Dot polish we featured in our April #GGSbox!
Scrunchies are the perfect girl gang accessory to add to your loot bag. Every girl is rocking their favourite scrunchie on their wrist, just ask Lara Jean! We love the pink ones by Blush Scrunchies that go with every outfit!
Bath bombs are great party favours because your girls can take them home to relax on their next self-care night!
Who doesn’t love a good face mask?! Face masks are perfect for those birthday slumber parties! It’s perfect to refresh, unwind and pamper themselves after a fun celebration. We love the Matcha ones by Maskeraide for the ultimate relaxation and hydration.
What would a birthday celebration be without some sweet treats? Instead of the usual bags of candy, you could add a fun treat that is just as tasty! The Cinnamon Hearts flavoured Cotton Candy by Fancypufs that we feature in our subscription boxes, add a touch of flavour and uniqueness to the party!
Hand lotion is an essential for your BFF’s loot bags. Your girls can keep it in their fanny packs or school bags for soft and moisturized hands. The Vanilla Shea Body Lotion by Pink Posh Fox will have your girls glowing and smelling good all day!
If you’re unsure which items are best for your party guests or need a quick and simple way to create your loot bag, our Celebration Boxes are specially curated with all the fun birthday goodies to get the party started! Not only are these items great party favours, they are also perfect for celebrating with your besties for a virtual birthday party. You can open the boxes together and enjoy the celebration with your girl gang or simply share them as thank you gifts for celebrating with you.
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A Kidpreneur is a combination of two words, kid and entrepreneur. Kidpreneur is defined as a kid or teen who has started their own business. There are an increasing number of kidpreneurs starting their own businesses these days, whether it is creating a sustainable fashion line or starting a lemonade business. Our founder of Girl Gang Strong, Kyree started her business at the age of 11, by taking a negative experience and turning it into a positive one. A year later, Kyree has learned a lot about being a business owner and the behind the scenes of running a business. Here’s what she had to share about her daily life as a kidpreneur.
My day usually starts around 7:00 AM and ends around 11:00 PM. It depends on the day, as some days are busier than others where I don’t have much work to do and other days I’ll have a photoshoot or I'll have to pack our boxes for the next month’s subscription box. Most of my tasks for the day are creating content for our social media platforms, finding new products, and engaging with the girl gang. The part of my day I enjoy the most is creating content for Tik Tok, Instagram Reels, and IGTV videos.
I schedule my day to make sure I know what I have to do that day and also give myself free time to relax, take care of myself, and also facetime my friends. For school, I plan and make sure I get my school work done and then work on my tasks for my business.
One of the challenges I've faced as a kidpreneur is coming up with new content. I’ve learned that it’s all about loving yourself and knowing who you are because if you love yourself, what people say won’t matter.
Some milestones I’ve achieved since I’ve launched Girl Gang Strong is I’ve been featured on TV, both on CityNews and YTV’s The Zone. Another important milestone I've achieved is I have a big community that looks up to me, and I’m able to help make a difference. An accomplishment we just celebrated is that we were featured on 6ixBuzz. We usually celebrate by being grateful for everything we achieve and reposting them on our feeds to share with our Girl Gang Strong community.
I’ve learned that you have to know and believe in your mission and work hard to get where you want to be. You have to make sure that your business is something you really want to do, it’s your purpose. I think something I've learned that I didn’t learn in school is how to be smart with your money.
I’ve learned that I’m good at coming up with new ideas, I’m smarter than I thought I was and I’m hard working. I’ve also noticed I’m good in front of the camera whether I’m talking or making content.
I didn’t know you had to pay taxes when you own a business (hahaha surprising right?!) and I also didn’t know you had to have your business trademarked.
As a kidpreneur, I like that I get to make an impact in the lives of other girls. I bring them something to look forward to and I help them boost their confidence. I think the best part of being a kidpreneur is hearing how happy the girls are when they get their boxes in the mail and to hear how much it helps them.
I would encourage kids to start their own business because of the purpose they might have for it and the reason behind them starting their own business. If I can do it they can too. The advice I would give to a friend is if it’s something you want to do then go for it and make sure you know why you’re doing it.
My mom! I admire her work ethic, she works hard running her own business. It amazes me to see how she runs a business and to learn how much she knows about having a business.
Remember that time your heart was beating very fast? You've started to breathe very quickly and it just felt like you were going to explode? What you were experiencing is a physical reaction that we call stress. Stress triggers our fight-or-flight response, which historically prepared our body to escape threats such as coming in contact with a wild animal. Now we face different challenges that cause stress in our lives. While some of these situations are unavoidable, we can learn to practice healthy ways to cope with our stress.
Stress is a physical, mental, or emotional reaction to a situation or event. It is essentially how your body reacts to something you might consider difficult, dangerous, challenging, or painful. And yes, when your favourite character is no longer in that Netflix series you've been binge-watching, that is a valid reason to be stressed!
But not all stress is negative, there are two types of stress you can experience: positive stress which is known as eustress, and negative stress which is known as distress. You might've felt positive stress before a big competition, before your graduation, or when you have a big presentation. Negative stress is how you feel when you've failed a test or had to move to a new school. Stress can be short-term and could last until a situation like a final exam is over and it can be long-term due to an ongoing issue or event.
As teens, you may face many situations that can cause stress whether it is an upcoming test or a personal conflict, there are multiple events that contribute to your distress. Some of the common causes of distress in teens are:
Stress can cause several effects on your physical and mental health. Short-term stress leads to mild symptoms such as headaches, whereas long-term stress can lead to more severe symptoms like weight loss. Some of the symptoms that can be caused by stress include:
When you are stressed, you probably find yourself engaging in different activities or behaviours to manage your feelings. But, the ways we tend to cope with stress are often unhealthy and can lead to more problems and increase our stress. These are some common but unhealthy ways teenagers cope with stress:
Listen to your favourite artist or album
Play with your pet
Do something creative: painting, drawing, or writing
Play some board games
Try a new workout exercise
Watch a funny movie
Take a walk
Learn a new skill
Try a Youtube tutorial
Hang out with a friend
Reorganize your room
Read a new book
Watch a funny YouTube video
Eat a healthy meal
Try a new recipe
Learn to play a new instrument
Deep breathing
Meditation
Yoga
Guided imagery
Aromatherapy
Take a warm bubble bath
Apply a face mask
Paint your nails
Do your skincare routine
Write down a schedule for homework, studying, chores, other responsibilities, and free time
Prioritize your tasks by importance
Develop an after school routine and add it to your plan
Download time-management apps to your phone or tablet
If you’re searching for the best apps for school, organization, or productivity, look no further! We’ve gathered the best apps for students to help our girl gang through the school year! Whether you need to organize your assignments, schedule your tasks for the week, study for finals, or learn something new, here are some free organizational apps for students to boost your productivity during the school year.
MyHomework Student Planner is a digital planner that allows you to track your homework, tests, and assignments by class. To get started, input your class schedule and list your assignments and exams for each class. The app lists assignments chronologically by the due date or by class. The calendar feature provides a handy overview of your upcoming assignments and reminds you which ones are overdue. Once you’ve completed an assignment, don't forget to click complete to save yourself from a slight panic attack from all the overdue assignment notifications! The app also has an option to set reminders for each upcoming assignment or exam.
Remember the Milk is a free to-do app that is simple and easy to use. The application allows you to create a task and set a due date and reminder for each of your tasks. Once you've completed a task, click the checkmark and the task will be removed from your list. If you need to postpone the task, swipe right and you will have the option to postpone by hours, days, weeks, or months. A great feature of this app is that you can input how long a task will take to complete and set up recurring tasks. If other family members also use the app, you can also assign tasks or check your assigned tasks from your parents or siblings!
Quizlet is an application and website that lets you create digital flashcard decks. You can organize your sets by folder or by your classes. Alternatively, if you don’t want to make your own study sets, Quizlet has flashcards available from other users on various subjects. The app offers multiple ways to study with four study modes: flashcards, learn mode, spell mode, and test mode. The website also offers two game modes Match and Gravity. Match asks you to match a term with the correct definition as fast as you can. Gravity shows a term as a floating asteroid and asks you to input the correct answer before the asteroid reaches the bottom. Who knew studying could be fun?!
Study Bunny is your motivational study partner. The app has a focus timer that lets you set study sessions from anywhere between 5 - 180 minutes. When you pause the timer, your bunny gives you motivational messages to continue studying and reminds you what happens if you pause for more than seven minutes. The app also has a few options to help you study, it features flashcards to input your study terms, a to-do list to keep track of your tasks, and a study tracker to monitor how long you’ve studied for the week. For each study session, you earn a coin based on how long you’ve studied. You can use coins to buy food for your bunny and other fun accessories.
Evernote is one of the best apps for school organization, it is a digital binder for taking notes and keeping them all in one place. Evernote offers multiple ways to take notes: voice, text, image, or sketch. Once you’ve gathered your notes, you can organize them by notebook and add tags to sort them by type. When creating your notes, you can also add reminders and to-do lists within your note or as separate notes. The Evernote app also has the option to upload scans such as handwritten notes to your notebooks by taking a picture with your phone.
Google Drive is a virtual locker to access, store, or share digital files from any device. Google Drive offers up to 15 GB of free storage and is compatible with several file types including videos, PDF’s, and presentations. The app also offers access to tools such as Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, and Google Forms. A quick tip is to write your assignments or essays in Google Docs to avoid losing your work. Fun fact: I’m writing this blog post in Google Docs! :)
Khan Academy is the go-to learning app for students to learn something new or get extra practice on something you’ve learned in class. The platform is mainly focused on content for students in the US but offers universal subjects that can be applied in other countries. The course material is focused on math, science, economics, and humanities, but also offers lessons in grammar, personal finance, college prep, and career prep. The app features multiple ways to learn with interactive exercises, videos, and articles. When you’re ready to test your knowledge, you can take advantage of the practice exercises, quizzes, and tests, which provide instant feedback. The best feature of this app is that it is free and many of the lessons are taught by the app’s creator, Sal Khan.
Duolingo is perfect for those of you that are studying a language and would like to improve your language skills or practice for an upcoming test. Each lesson is broken down into units which starts at the beginner level and becomes more advanced as a user passes each unit. The app features various modes: listening to the pronunciation of words, stories to practice reading comprehension, matching images to words, translation, and recording your voice. Each lesson is presented in a form of a game and you can only make three mistakes before you have to restart the whole lesson. When you complete a lesson you gain XP and move on to the next level.
]]>We all know the challenge of finding quality gift bags with products that are just right. We want to give our guests a gift bag that is unique and filled with items that they will enjoy and not just another bag of “stuff". That’s why creating your own loot bags with items you know they’ll love (and want to keep) is a great way to thank your girls for celebrating with you.
First things first...
If you’ve selected a theme for your birthday party, a great tip is to choose a colour scheme that goes with your birthday theme and include items with the matching colours for a completed look. Every girl’s loot bag must have these quality but essential items:
No gift bag is complete without some tasty treats to enjoy. Here are some quality treats your girl gang will rave about:
Now that you’ve gathered all the items you want to include in your loot bags, select the type of packaging you’d like for your items. You can use paper bags, gift boxes, or mesh favour bags. Keep in mind your theme for the party and be sure to include decorations that will fit with the theme such as flowers, glitter, or bows. You can also include stickers, a personalized name tag, and a thank you card for a finishing touch. If you don’t have the time to create a loot bag, ordering a curated gift bag or loot bag is a great alternative. Our Celebration Box has quality birthday party favours for teen and tween girls that are already packaged and curated for you.
Puberty can be a confusing time in every young girl's life. Your body starts to look different, things are growing in different places, you have feelings you haven't felt before and you're wondering what is happening to me? Did I wake up in an alternate universe? Don't worry girl, there is nothing wrong with you, it's a normal part of life! Everyone has to go through puberty in their teen years and yes, even your parents!
Think about puberty as the process of transformation a butterfly goes through. As a caterpillar, they start to grow and prepare themselves to create a cocoon, where they will spend time forming their adult body parts. Once that process is complete, out comes a beautiful butterfly. Before the caterpillar can become that beautiful butterfly, it has to go through this process of transformation to adulthood. Here’s what you can expect during your own transition to adulthood.
Puberty refers to the physical and emotional changes you go through as you make the transition from a child to a young adult. For girls, this transition usually happens between the ages of eight to 13, but the age you start to experience puberty can be different for everyone. You can experience it earlier or later than some of your friends and that’s completely normal!
During puberty your brain sends signals to certain parts of your body to let them know it’s time to make some changes. The growth that you experience during puberty is caused by the changes in the levels of hormones in your body. Hormones are molecules that send messages to different parts of your body to tell it how to do things such as breathe, grow, drink, and eat. The main reasons you go through many of these changes is to start preparing your body to have children and to mature your body from a teen to an adult.
Some of the most noticeable changes during puberty are the physical changes that happen to your body. As you go through the different phases of puberty, you’ll start to notice different symptoms that’ll tell you that your body is beginning the transition from teen to adult. Here are some changes you will start to see during puberty.
During the first phases of puberty, you’re going to notice hair growing on parts of your body that you didn’t even know you could grow hair. You’ll find hair growth under your arms, on your legs, and in your pubic area. Some girls might even find hair on their arms, face, and stomach, because of their family genetics. Some girls like to remove their body hair by waxing or shaving and some girls don’t make any changes to their body hair. Whether you want to shave, wax, or neither, the decision is yours to make.
The amount of sweat you produce during puberty increases thanks to your sweat glands becoming larger and more active. As a result, the sweat combines with bacteria that will leave you with a funky smell also known as body odour. You’ll probably find your body odour very noticeable after gym class, but don’t panic girl! Body odour is managed by practicing good hygiene and wearing deodorant.
If you start to notice your clothes no longer fit like they used to or you can now suddenly reach things that you couldn’t reach before, this is due to the growth spurt that occurs during puberty. During a growth spurt, you’ll get taller and you’ll notice changes in your body shape. Some of these changes include wider hips, rounder thighs, and a smaller waist as your pelvis (the bone across your hips) starts to grow. Once your body stops growing, you will notice stretch marks which are indented lines in the areas that you’ve experienced growth, such as your breasts, hips, or thighs. Stretch marks are normal and will eventually fade as you get older.
One of the biggest changes you might notice during puberty is the growth of your breasts. Breast development can last from three to five years. During this time, your breasts will look a lot bigger and fuller than before. Breasts are developed in different shapes and sizes and some girls might even have a breast that is larger than the other and yes girl, that is normal! During this growth period, you will experience soreness and discomfort specifically when participating in physical activities such as sports or exercise. But that doesn’t mean you have to hang up your jersey just yet. You can manage this by wearing a sports bra or even a regular bra.
One night you might go to bed with your usual clear skin and then you wake up the next morning, look in the mirror and meet your very first pimple. Thanks to puberty, your hormones cause the glands under your skin that produce oil to grow bigger, which also leads them to produce more sebum. Sebum is your skin's natural oil, it's what keeps your hair and skin moisturized. The increase in sebum causes your pores to become clogged and that is how pimples are formed. A great way to prepare yourself for the occasional breakout or manage your acne is to build a skincare routine.
Your period is one of the changes that can sneak up on you without announcing its arrival. One day you’ll look down at your underwear and notice blood without a clue of where it came from or how it got there. The reason you get your period is because your uterus is preparing your body for pregnancy, plus it’s a natural part of being a girl. When your body realizes that you aren’t pregnant because you don’t have a fertilized egg, the lining of your uterus passes through your vagina and causes bleeding which is called menstruation.
Girls generally get their first period between the ages of 9 - 15. Your period can last for about five days but it is different for everyone, some girls might bleed for two days and some might bleed for eight days. The first few years of your period will be irregular, this means it will last a different amount of days and can come at different times in your cycle. Periods usually occur every 28 days but you can get your period twice within those 28 days or you can go months before you get your next period. You might also notice different blood flows throughout your period. You can have a heavy, moderate, or light blood flow depending on where you are in your cycle.
If you find white or yellow stains on your underwear, no need to worry, this is a sign that you are about to start your period. These stains are a result of a clear fluid known as vaginal discharge. This discharge is produced by the body to keep your vagina moist and clean. If you want to avoid these stains in your underwear, you could wear a panty liner on the days leading up to your period.
While the changes in your hormone levels cause you to experience all these physical changes, they also affect your emotions and the way you feel during puberty. How you feel about yourself, how you feel about the world, and how you interact with and respond to those around you also start to change as you go through puberty.
Throughout your puberty journey, you’re going to experience a rollercoaster of emotions. One moment you’re happy and ready to explore the world and suddenly you want to crawl into bed and sleep for a few hours. As a girl, you might feel more emotional about a week before your period arrives, this is commonly known as premenstrual syndrome or PMS. You might find yourself crying often or becoming easily irritated, but don’t worry nothing is wrong with you, it just means your hormone levels are going up and down. It’s OK to let these feelings flow, what’s important is finding healthy ways to communicate with your loved ones and express your feelings.
Going through all these physical and emotional changes are going to affect how you see yourself. You’re probably paying attention to how you look, how your friends look at you, or how those around you see you. With all the time we spend scrolling down our social media feeds comparing ourselves to our friends, influencers, models, or celebrities, has a huge impact on our self-esteem. It won’t be easy, but learning to love the new body you’re in is important to manage the self-conscious feelings you’ll start to experience. A great way to boost your confidence on those days you’re feeling down is to put on your favourite girl power playlist to pump you up and remind you that you’re beautiful and still you despite all these changes.
Now that you’ve learned all the changes and emotions you will go through during puberty, there are some things that people forget to mention when talking about puberty.
While you’re constantly becoming familiar with all the new changes to your body and emotions, the people in your life will also start to notice these changes, whether it is a family member, a friend, a sibling, or a classmate. Sometimes it will feel like someone is always commenting or pointing out all these changes you’re going through as if you haven’t already noticed them every time you look in the mirror. When this happens just remember that puberty is a normal part of life and the journey is yours, only you can decide how you feel about these changes.
Another thing they don’t tell you about puberty is sometimes it can feel lonely. It feels like no one understands what you’re going through and you just can’t find the words to express how you feel. While it’s normal to feel embarrassed when talking about the things happening to your body, remember you aren’t alone! Your friends are most likely going through puberty at the same time as you, and they might be feeling the same things you’re feeling. Your mom, an older sibling, or another family member, already went through their own puberty journey and probably have some stories to share. Talking to someone about what you’re going through is a great way to put things into perspective and can help reduce any worries you have and remind you that you’re not alone.
Investing in your self-love and self-care is key to dealing with all the new changes to your body. Giving yourself some extra love and care on the days you don’t feel your best, is a great first step towards becoming more comfortable with this newer and older version of yourself. A self-love activity you could practice is getting a journal or using the notes app on your phone and writing three things you love about yourself, three things you’re good at, and three things you’re proud of. You could also practice taking care of yourself, whether that is taking a warm bath, applying a face mask, or putting on some cozy pajamas and watching your favourite movie. The Girl Guide: 50 Ways to Learn to Love Your Changing Body by Marawa Ibrahim is a Girl Gang Strong favourite and is a great resource to help guide you on this journey.
Now that you’ve learned everything to expect as a teen girl during puberty, just remember it doesn’t last forever! Eventually, you will stop going through all these unexpected changes and start to become more comfortable with this version of yourself. All these changes you’re going through are just part of the process of transforming you from young caterpillar to that beautiful butterfly.
References
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/puberty
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As you get older you’ll start to notice a lot of changes happening to your body, most likely because of puberty and other hormonal changes and that’s totally normal! As a teen or tween, you might notice your skin starting to look and feel different. You probably open your favourite social media app and see tons of skincare tips, routines, and hacks. Girl, it can feel overwhelming - no cap! You begin to wonder where do I start? What products do I need? How do I know what routine is best for me? But don’t worry girl! Your girl gang has got you covered! Here is everything you need to know to get started on building a skincare routine that is just right for you!
Before you can start building your skincare routine, you first have to know what type of skin you have to help you find the right products and create a skincare routine that is best for your skin type. There are six different skin types: normal skin, oily skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, combination skin, and acne-prone skin. If you’re wondering how to find your skin type, there is a simple and easy way to do this. Just wash your face with a gentle cleanser and let it dry without applying any other products. After 30-60 minutes, pay attention to how your face looks and feels.
If your skin feels soft and smooth and you don’t see any signs of oiliness or dryness, you have normal skin. Normal skin is great because you can try new products and experiment with different routines without experiencing breakouts or irritation.
If your skin is oily, greasy, or shiny around your forehead, nose, and chin, you have oily skin. You might also notice your pores are large and you experience breakouts quite often. If you wear makeup, you usually have to retouch or apply powder after an hour or two. When building your routine, look for products that are non-comedogenic, which is a fancy word for products that don’t have ingredients that will block your pores and lead to more breakouts.
If your skin feels flaky, irritated, red, or itchy, then you have sensitive skin. You could also have oily skin that is also sensitive or dry skin that is also sensitive. If you have sensitive skin, you must be careful when trying new products because you’re more likely to experience irritation, rashes, breakouts, or reactions to a product. The best way to know if a product works with your skin is to apply a small amount on your arm and neck to see how your skin reacts. When looking for products to add to your routine, avoid products with fragrances because they can cause irritation or rashes.
If your skin feels rough around your cheeks and oily around your forehead, nose, and chin, that means you have combination skin. You might notice that your skin is usually drier in the winter and oilier in the summer. When building your routine, look for products that are made for combination skin to avoid dryness or clogging your pores.
If your skin feels flaky, irritated, red, or itchy, then you have sensitive skin. You could also have oily skin that is also sensitive or dry skin that is also sensitive. If you have sensitive skin, you must be careful when trying new products because you’re more likely to experience irritation, rashes, breakouts, or reactions to a product. The best way to know if a product works with your skin is to apply a small amount on your arm and neck to see how your skin reacts. When looking for products to add to your routine, avoid products with fragrances because they can cause irritation or rashes.
If your skin feels dry, oily, or combination, but you also get acne and breakouts often you have acne-prone skin. For acne-prone skin, it is best to use products that are formulated to treat acne or gentle products that work well with any acne medication you’ve been prescribed (of course be sure to get your parents approval before using any medicated skincare products.)
Understanding what type of skin concerns you have is the second most important step to creating your routine because it also helps you determine what kind of products are best for treating your skin. Some of the most common skin concerns are acne, large pores, and hyperpigmentation.
Acne is a skin condition that appears as small bumps on your face, but you may also find it on your neck, chest, back, and arms. Acne is common among teenagers and those who are going through puberty due to the changes in their hormones. You might have also noticed you get acne right before your period! KidsHealth provides a great explanation on the different kinds of acne you could have:
Blackheads: small bumps that appear when your pores are blocked with dirt and oil and look like black dots often seen on your nose, chin, or cheeks.
Whiteheads: small bumps that appear as white dots on your nose, chin, or cheeks and also develops when your pores are blocked due to the buildup of dirt and oil.
Pimples: small red bumps that can have a white fluid in the middle that is called pus, which is formed from bacteria.
Cysts: large red or white bumps that are filled with fluid and can be painful or itchy.
Pores are small openings that become noticeable on your chin, nose, and cheeks when they are clogged due to the build-up of excess oil, dead skin, or makeup. If you have acne-prone or oily skin you’re probably no stranger to large pores, but with the right routine it can be managed.
Hyperpigmentation on your face are dark brown or red spots that you find on your skin usually from acne or scarring. Hyperpigmentation is often formed when we squeeze our pimples or pick at our scars. Depending on how old these marks are, some might take months or years to fade away while others will fade away within a shorter period of time.
The first step to any skincare routine is to wash your face with a facial cleanser. Cleansing is done once in the morning and once in the evening. Facial cleansers are used to remove dirt, oil, sweat, makeup, and pollution gathered throughout the day. They also come in multiple forms: foam, gel, cream, and oil.
Foam Cleansers
Foam cleansers can be cream or gel but turn into foam when applied to your face. Foam cleansers are ideal for those with oily, combination, and acne-prone skin because they are lightweight and provide a deeper cleanse.
Gel Cleansers
Gel cleansers are a clear liquid and are ideal for combination and oily skin.
Cream Cleansers
Cream cleansers are heavier creams that are gentle and moisturizing, these cleansers are ideal for those with dry and sensitive skin.
Oil Cleansers
Oil cleansers are oils that are used for a double cleanse to remove any extra makeup, excess oil, or dirt. Oil cleansers are great to have because they are compatible with all skin types.
Applying your moisturizer is the next step in your skincare routine during the day and the final step during your evening skincare routine. Once you’ve cleansed your skin, you must apply moisturizer to hydrate because cleansers can strip the skin from its natural oils. If you have oily, combination, or acne-prone skin, using a lightweight moisturizer is best to avoid clogging your pores. If you have sensitive or dry skin, a heavier moisturizer is ideal to keep your skin feeling soft and hydrated.
The final and one of the most important steps in your morning skincare routine is applying your sunscreen. You might already use sunscreen to protect yourself from sun damage during the summer, but it is equally important to apply a daily sunscreen on your face to prevent and treat hyperpigmentation.
Forbes offers a breakdown on the labels you want to pay attention to when looking for sunscreens:
Girl, we’re so proud of you that you made it this far! Now that you know your skin type, any skin concerns you may have and the skincare essentials, you have everything you need to build your skincare routine. While there are many routines and recommendations online, the products that work for someone else might not work for you, that’s why it’s important to build your own routine and learn what is best for your skin. Remember that no matter what your skin type is, you are beautiful and uniquely you! So love and embrace your skin type girl!
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