Hoda Kotb, Hilary Duff & More Share How They’re Raising Strong Women

Should you occur to roam onto social networks on this International Women’s Day, you’re most likely to see a familiar quote duplicated in caption after caption: “Here’s to strong women. May we know them, may we raise them. May we be them.” 

And as fond as we are of this passage, which Michelle Obama once penned to Lily Collins after the release of the actress’ 2017 memoir, it’d be good if it included a couple of directions. Because there’s no one-size-fits-all manual to raising well-adjusted, enthusiastic, smart, strong AF women, simply the frustrating sensation that you do not wish to eff it up. 

Even the past FLOTUS herself confesses to feeling minutes of unpredictability when it came to raising Malia, 24, and Sasha, 21, with spouse Barack Obama. 

“As a parent, you are always fighting your own desperation not to fail at the job you’ve been given,” she wrote in her 2022 book, The Light We Carry. “There are whole industries built to feed and capitalize on this very desperation, from baby brain gyms and ergonomic strollers to SAT coaches. It’s like a hole that can’t ever be filled.”