Does anything compare to that beautiful feeling when someone calls out your outfit or praises your hair? It gives you an extra spring in your step and a confidence that stays with you the rest of the day. Serena Williams knows the power of lifting other people up, which is why she actively encourages her 6-year-old daughter Olympia to hand out compliments at school. The 23-time Grand Slam champion opened up about this really cool parenting move in a new interview, and we are so here for it.
“For me, it’s super important for them to love who they are and whatever they look like,” the retired tennis pro told Entertainment Tonight about her daughters Olympia and Adira, 8 months, who she shares with husband Alexis Ohanian. “I also foster that positivity by encouraging them to give others compliments, especially other girls compliments.”
And she does this by modeling it herself. Williams explained, “So if I see a girl in their class, I’m like, ‘Oh, she looks pretty, right?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, I like her hair.’ I’m like, ‘I like her hair, too.’ So just kind of encouraging that, because it doesn’t matter what they look like.”
“If you can find something positive about them then you’re also going to find something positive about you and then you’re gonna win,” she added. What a beautiful way to teach self-love! Instead of focusing on building up your kids, you focus on teaching your kids to build up others — and they will naturally start noticing things about themselves they love, too. Not to mention, they’ll see firsthand how good it feels to say and do nice things for other people!
The WYN Beauty founder recently shared that she is encouraging her daughters to play with beauty by playing with makeup with them. “The way I talk to myself about beauty has certainly changed throughout my life, and it will continue to evolve,” Williams told Byrdie. Motherhood has allowed me to look at beauty through the eyes of my daughter, Olympia. We’re always experimenting with makeup together, and I think about how these moments will be part of both of our beauty journeys.”
She added, “I want my daughters to look at my career and learn that being authentic to themselves is really the most important thing. You don’t have to be the best as long as you do your best. I also hope my daughters see how many different passions I have — from tennis to beauty — and learn that they can lead dynamic careers and lives across their many interests.”
