The Bitch and the Jew – Episode 001 – Smart Cookies for Girls

Episode #1:
As women we often face insecurities even from a young age. As mothers of daughters we want to encourage our young women to be strong and confident in themselves. We often come across situations where our ways of parenting becomes challenged by our own self-doubt and fears, as well as other parents in our community. We have had the pleasure of meeting with Candace Avila this month who took this very situation and created an amazing school for moms and daughters to come together and find solutions to these problems. Candace began her journey through counseling and life coaching but little did she know that her life would be changed when she had to use her knowledge and skills in her own home. Her daughter, who at the time, was in 2nd grade was struggling with not only being the new girl at school but also coping with dyslexia and seizures. Being different, other girls were calling her names and wanted nothing to do with her so you can imagine the hurt Candace must have felt when her daughter came home crying. What would you do in that situation? Of course the simple resolution would be to talk with the other parents’ right?! Sometimes what seems simple can turn out much more difficult than we think. Candace was faced with comments such as “Oh Girls are just like that” and “Oh that’s just a phase” discounting the “mean girl” behavior rather than dealing with it. Since when did our genetic make-up determine that we would be mean? When did meanness become a stage of life? I don’t think we realize how cruel girls really can be to each other. These are traits we learn by seeing others do and if not corrected it continues to be an issue into adult life. This is where Candace took these very issues into her own hands and created Smart Cookies School for Girls. This program is centered on re-molding the minds of not only our young daughters but their mothers as well. These mother daughter classes bring them in on some softer issues to start off with and then gradually bring them out of their shell. She works on educating and empowering mothers and daughters to resolve conflicts and to learn how to open the lines of communication more effectively. The biggest challenge for Candace when creating this program was just stepping out of her comfort zone, facing her fears, and just doing the things that scared her. Candace is setting an example to encourage all women that are making their way in the world to battle their self-fear, self judgement, and self-guilt.