Olivia Wilde’s 7-year-old daughter has the best attitude about crushing on boys
When it comes to raising a strong, independent little lady, it seems Olivia Wilde has got it in the bag. The mom of two recently took to Instagram Stories to share an empowering note she found that was written by her 7-year-old daughter Daisy, and it’s clear that Daisy is already fierce and fabulous like her famous mama.
In the photo, which has since expired, Wilde showed off a folded-up piece of paper with Daisy’s handwriting on it, next to a pink toy convertible car. “I have a crush on nobody,” the note reads. “I don’t need a boy.”
The “Don’t Worry Darling” director added a proud caption, writing, “That’s my girl.”
According to the “Kids Considered” podcast by UC Davis Health, first crushes may occur at any time, but generally start at around 10-13 years of age. And even if parents don’t feel ready to accept them, crushes are an important step in developing normal and healthy romantic relationships, and provide opportunities to learn how to compromise and communicate.
First crushes may involve friends or classmates, but sometimes involve other people like actors or singers (as many of us already know from firsthand experience). Children may be distracted during their first crush as they try to sort out their feelings, and parents can be an important source of support during this time.
Wilde, who also shares her 9-year-old son Otis with ex Jason Sudeikis, has been passionate about “trying very hard to reject traditional messaging of gender roles” ever since becoming a parent, as she told NBC News in 2018.
At the time, she noted that her young son would make comments like “Well, I should get the blue cup and my sister should get the pink cup,” and, “My skateboard is blue and hers has to be pink.”
“I do really try to make sure that neither of my kids put themselves into binary categories,” she said, noting that she encourages her daughter to love the blue Power Ranger instead of the pink Power Ranger. “I think that’s a parent’s job, and it’s something I wasn’t as keenly aware of before I had kids.”
Wilde noted that toys and color choices might seem innocuous, but the underlying message is what matters. “Feminism for me boils down to equality. … I think kids actually understand this concept better than some adults. They understand these ideas about fairness and equality deeply because they haven’t been influenced yet with ideas of inequality. We need to encourage this, and cultivate their natural instincts.”
“I want my son and daughter to grow up thinking girls can be Batman and boys can be Wonder Woman and that gender equality isn’t controversial or political—it’s just common sense,” she concluded. And to all that we say, yes, please!
