Raising a Girl: Parenting Tips We Wish We'd Known

Wish We'd Known: 16 Things No One Told Us About Raising a Girl

Even if you always dreamed about having a daughter, the experience can be completely different from what you expected. Here's what we wish we'd known about raising a girl (17 Photos)

Jenna McCarthy on Mar 13, 2012 at 6:14PM

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Wish We'd Known: 16 Things No One Told Us About Having a Girl

Source: Laoshi/the Agency Collection/Getty Images

When you found out you were having a girl, you might have pictured spa pedicures and fancy tea parties and matching mommy-and-me dresses. Since you're a girl yourself, you probably figured you'd have the daughter deal all dialed in. But the truth is, your little lass will have a few surprises up her tiny sleeve. From relentless chatting to the urge to hoard to the nearly universal obsession with all things pink, daughters are a breed unto themselves. Here, a sneak peek into your future.

You'll Buy Her Stuff She Doesn't Need
Feathered hair bands, polka dotted tights, tiny pillbox purses, socks that look like ballet shoes: It won't be long before your tiny toddler has a more extensive accessory collection than you do. That's because when you buy it for yourself it's a splurge; when you purchase it for her, it's a need. (Well, sort of.) When something is impossibly darling and on sale, you may need help restraining yourself from buying her two or three. We've never heard any of our boy-mom-friends confessing they couldn't resist buying another dump truck tee.