The Fourth Thursday in April is Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work. The 15 year-old foundation that helped bring about this event has helped educate children about their choices in the future work place.

We all know how important it is to empower our daughters and participation in this yearly event is key for both sons and daughters to bond with their parents meet the people we work with each day, and see a variety of job opportunities. If they don’t like the work you do, maybe they will hook-up and learn from others in your work place.

As our daughters grow they will develop a sense of what it is they want to achieve in life. They will take on the responsibility of setting their own goals. Some of us may revel in telling them they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up. We wonder as much as they do probably what their choices will be.

One thing we take for granted is their lifestyle choices. Many of us assume that they will grow up to be just like us in some ways. If mom is a fashion diva, she may want to shop and dress the daughter. However if mom has a tomboy she may be at a total loss for how to develop a relationship with her daughter on another level.

The same is true after college. Some women, college or not, are expected to marry and raise a family. In previous years there has been a strong indication that this is just the way it is. Some families have overcome expectations like these while others with either cultural or societal implications being as strong as maybe forty or so years ago still expect the woman to meet man, marry man and have children.

Over the years there has been a shift. We know that women marry later, or not, and some have children, or not. However what we don’t know is that they are scrutinized for choices not meeting the normal standards women have had set for them in society.

I think this cries neglect if we don’t tell our daughters’ that their choices extend beyond the realm of what they are going to be when they grow up. So, when we talk to our daughters, do we impress on them the standards that have been set for us over the years? Or are we honest about letting them know that the world really is a blank slate waiting for them to be all they can be?

We should note that with that privilege is the knowledge that others may not see us but for the choices we’ve made. However, in the future our daughters could change that by respecting others in the same manner that they would like to be respected. But right now, you can be the instrument of change in your daughter’s life. Respect her and she will respect others.