On February 11, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science celebrates female role models and progress that we have made. But long before a woman steps into a lab or files a patent, her journey often begins at home with a parent who took her questions seriously.
In India today, more girls are enrolling in science streams than ever before. Yet many parents wonder how to support daughters who show an interest in science. The reassuring truth is that expensive coaching classes are secondary. Raising a future scientist is more about encouraging curiosity and ensuring her continued interest.
The Early Years
Between the ages of 3 and 6, science is not a yet a formal subject in most schools. But children, especially girls, are natural scientists. They test gravity by dropping spoons and ask ‘why?’ several times a day. The biggest mistake adults make is shutting this down too early with impatience or over-structuring.
What To Encourage: Let them keep asking questions, even if they tend to repeat it again and again. Allow them to spend time in the outdoors, observing plants, insects or the weather. Messy play might seem overwhelming, but let them explore water, sand and even kitchen mixing. Low-cost science experiments are easily accessible and available. Teach them to grow seeds in cotton, freeze and melt ice, and discover the properties of floating vs sinking foods. Instead of telling them they’re wrong, say, ‘Let’s test it.’
The Turning Point
Between the ages of 7 and 11, children are building exploration habits, so this is your golden window to get them interested. Girls at this age often begin to receive subtle social signals about what they’re good at, so counter those stereotypes early and casually.
What To Encourage: Buy them a simple experiment notebook, to record any interesting observations. You can also get them to start a scrapbook on nature walks, documenting dried flowers and leaves. This is a great age to introduce science documentaries and basic model building skills - think solar systems, volcanoes or circuits. Take them for field trips to various museums. Try the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) centres or the Nehru Science Centres and regional science museums. The ISRO and NASA offers excellent free kids’ resources online as well. At this stage, let her explain concepts back to you, because teaching strengthens thinking.
The Skill Building Stage
Between the ages of 12 and 14, try skill building without pressure. Middle school is where interest either deepens or drops. This is also when girls may start doubting their math or science ability, often due to classroom comparison, not actual aptitude. Focus on skill comfort instead of their ranking.
What To Encourage: Basic coding skills can be introduced about now, with beginner platforms like Scratch, Blockly and Python. Invest in basic DIY electronics kits and encourage her to join school science clubs or tinkering labs. You can start beginner robotics workshops around this time as well. She will also receive opportunities to shine in competitions such as school-level science quizzes, local science exhibitions, district science fairs and online STEM challenges. Avoid over-coaching too early and focus on depth instead of speed.
The Time To Decide
The years between 15 and 18 are the crucial decision-making stage where girls need to take a call on their subject streams, entrance exams, and overall identity formation. They can benefit enormously from exposure to real scientists and real work, not just textbooks.
What To Encourage: It is time for lab visits, and many colleges allow high school tours. Attend online lectures by Indian scientists and sign up for summer research internships. If your teen is interested in a specific stream of science, consider setting up a podcast or online journal for them. Allow them to attend Olympiads, science exhibitions and talent searches, but treat purely as enrichment. Remember to avoid burnout and maintain balance to continue sustaining interest. If she loses a competition, discuss what she learned, not what she lost. Science fairs are underrated training grounds, since they help build problem-solving, communication, experimental design and public speaking. They can also take up real-world problems for their projects – such as water quality, waste sorting, energy use, food science or low-cost engineering.
Scholarships And Financial Support
Many families assume science pathways are expensive. Several Indian programs support talented students, especially girls. Remember to track official portals though, and not random coaching ads on social media. Here are some scholarships and programs to explore:
- INSPIRE Scholarship, for science degree students
- IISER aptitude channel admissions
- State science talent scholarships
- AICTE Pragati Scholarship for girls (technical education)
- University-specific merit scholarships
- CSR-funded STEM fellowships
Today’s daughters have access to world-class science learning online, with high-quality free platforms. But it is important to avoid binge-watching. Instead, focus on a few areas of interest, and encourage note-taking and mini-projects.
Research globally and in India shows that girls often drop out of science not due to low ability but low self-belief. Parents can counter this by praising effort over talent, and normalising struggle in math and science. Stop labelling subjects as ‘hard’. Role models matter as well, so introduce your daughters to women space scientists, medical researchers, climate experts, data scientists, engineers and biologists. Representation reduces psychological distance.
What Not To Do
Don’t force science if curiosity isn’t there. Give her the tools and encouragement, but let her lead with her areas of interest. Don’t equate marks with scientific ability and overload with coaching too early. Science is more than just medicine and engineering, so don’t equate it with just a few careers. Your daughter can do so much more with scientific aptitude, from research and environmental conservation to AI, food tech and space policy. The idea is to raise a thinker instead of a rank holder. Teach your girl to asks questions and test ideas. It is important to support her by taking her curiosity seriously.