How to talk to little girls: response

As I have mentioned before, I come from a large family of males. I am the youngest of seven (five older brothers) and have ten nieces and nephews. Seven of which are boys. Because there are so many boys it is sometimes important to spend time with just the girls. We like to let them decide what they want to do. I have found that one of my older brothers in particular has really made an effort to mentally stimulate his daughter. He focuses on letting Kayla pick what she wants to do and make decisions, while also ensuring she is behaving and learning. Kayla loves to read books (she is not quite two), and enjoys the details around her. She can count to twenty and she is one and a half! Instead of saying things like "You are so cute!" or "Look how pretty you look!" I make sure to say things like "You are so smart!" and we are constantly challenging her intellect. One of my other nieces Kylie is always dressed down to her laces in the most glamorous glitzy outfits. And yet, her mother and father have made it crucial that in order to have those things she must be first doing her best in her classes. I take it upon myself to always compliment her first on something she has done in school. I then will ask how she picked out her outfit and why she likes it so much. It is interesting to note that just as we should be aware of how we talk to our little girls, I think it is also crucial to be aware of how we are talking to our little boys. It is not fair to always expect our little boys to be tough and to not be able to talk about how they are feeling. With my nephews I find talking to them about the decisions they make and why they do so allows them to open up more. Instead of just letting them throw a tantrum we go through and discuss a lesson learned on what can be done differently the next time. It is important to understand no kid wants to sit for twenty minutes and discuss lessons, these are things that may only take a minute or two but I find in the long run truly does have an impact on their own perception of their position in society as a male or female.