People who work in STEM fields tend to make a ton of money. There are not as many women in STEM fields as there are men. This can be frustrating for parents who want their daughters to do as well as possible. Here are some tips for encouraging your daughter to show interest and eventually go into a STEM field.
1. Start Young
The first thing that you want to do is start young when it comes to nurturing your daughter's interest in STEM fields. If she wants dolls and other toys that are not necessarily related to science and learning, be sure that you get her those toys. But also mix in a variety of building toys, science experiments, and books about science. Make sure that your daughter has equal opportunity to play with toys that will enhance her learning and interest in science as she does with toys that do not do this. This will help reduce the chances that she will internalize ideas such as "science is for boys" and that "girls aren't as good at math" because it will show that her that her parents do not believe this at all.
2. Get Your Daughter the Tools She Needs
Watch your daughter and see what she's interested in and then nourish that interest. If your daughter is interested in computers, make sure that she has a computer that she can use to build programs or applications. Send your daughter to space camp if she's fascinated with space. Get your child microscopes and other tools that will allow her to explore the world. This will allow your child to go further into her interests and see if she truly enjoys science.
If your daughter does not display a lot of outward interest in science, do not force her. Make sure that you get her the tools for whatever she is interested in.
3. Talk About What Women Are Doing In Stem
Be sure to point out and talk about women in STEM fields. One of the biggest problems is that girls think that they cannot do STEM fields and are going to be bad at it just because they are girls. You want to provide counterexamples to this thought so that it doesn't stick and so that your daughter does not shy away from these fields.
For more information, talk to your child's science teacher. He or she will have ideas as to how to get your daughter more interested and invested in science education and will know where to point you to learn more about this topic.
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