How to Talk to Girls Without Complimenting Their Appearance

We’ve all done it. When meeting a little girl for the first time, or wanting to break the ice with an adult woman, even, we resort first to complimenting her appearance.  For little girls it’s “You’re so pretty,” while with an adult it might be, “I love your purse!” We are socialized to connect this way, but often-times such focus can be limiting, especially for young girls. As soon as they can start communicating, boys get asked about their interests, or complimented on their successes, not their outfits. How can we turn this habit around? Toward the Stars has collected 11 conversation starters for talking to little girls that have nothing to do with how they look:

 Thanks to Toward the Stars for generating this great list!