Why Girls Confidence Drops at 10 with Elle Wilks, Episode #170
About this episode
This episode explores the decline in girls' confidence around age 10 with guest Elle Wilks, discussing developmental, social, and emotional factors.
In this episode, we sit down with Elle Wilks, confidence advocate and co-founder of Fearless Girls Club, to explore a pattern many parents notice but don’t always understand: why girls’ confidence so often drops around age 10. This is the age when many girls shift from carefree self-expression to self-consciousness. Peer approval, appearance, performance, and social comparison begin to carry more weight. What once felt easy — speaking up, trying new things, being silly, taking risks — can suddenly feel loaded with fear of getting it wrong. Elle shares what is happening developmentally, socially, and emotionally during this stage, and how subtle messages about being “good,” “nice,” and “liked” can slowly disconnect girls from their authentic voice. We talk about the growing influence of friendships, perfectionism, school pressure, and the early impact of social media culture — even before many girls are officially online. Drawing from her work with girls and families through Fearless Girls Club, an award-winning UK social enterprise supporting girls aged 8–12, Elle explains how confidence isn’t built through lectures — it grows through experiences of courage, creativity, and…
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