Dear Parents of Girls: LET THEM TINKER.

Build their confidence, validate their curious minds, and let them do what they love.

That means letting the girls in your life get muddy, oily—dirty. Let them wear out the knees in their jeans from crawling and climbing. Let them get dirt under their nails. Don’t stop them when they take apart their toys to find out how they work. When they are in a blissful state of delight while exploring the world around them, don’t let your worries over their manners or cleanliness get in the way. Bite back your fear of seeing them fail; don’t stop them from discovering solutions on their own.

Girls who have had the freedom to explore and discover things for themselves are more likely to grow into confident, courageous women who aren’t afraid of fields like engineering and technology.

Whether it’s with Legos, Lincoln Logs, or a broken clock radio, give girls room to explore.