{"id":11147,"date":"2026-09-09T21:30:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T21:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/?p=11147"},"modified":"2026-09-10T13:00:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:00:43","slug":"bethany-hamiltons-take-on-raising-a-daughter-who-knows-her-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2026\/09\/bethany-hamiltons-take-on-raising-a-daughter-who-knows-her-worth.html","title":{"rendered":"Bethany Hamilton’s Take on Raising a Daughter Who Knows Her Worth"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
@bethanyhamilton \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bethany Hamilton knows firsthand how quickly the world can change \u2014 and how important it is not to let circumstances define your worth.<\/p>\n

Now, the professional surfer and \u201cSoul Surfer\u201d inspiration is passing that lesson on to her young daughter, Alaya.<\/p>\n

\u201cRaising a daughter is such a beautiful responsibility,\u201d Hamilton recently wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n

Hamilton, a mom of four whose youngest child and only daughter was born in 2023, said she wants Alaya to grow up confident without feeling pressured to meet the world\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want her to grow up knowing she doesn\u2019t have to fit anyone else\u2019s idea of what she should look like, be or become,\u201d Hamilton wrote. \u201cI want her to take care of her body, be grateful for what it can do, try hard things, face her fears and know that it\u2019s okay to fall and start again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Above all, Hamilton wants her daughter to understand where her worth comes from. She said she wants Alaya to know that God created and loves her and that her value does not depend on what the world says about her.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a message closely connected to Hamilton\u2019s own story.<\/p>\n

At 13, Hamilton lost her left arm in a shark attack while surfing in Hawaii. Rather than give up the sport she loved, she adapted, returned to the water and eventually competed professionally. Her journey inspired the 2011 movie \u201cSoul Surfer\u201d and turned Hamilton into a widely recognized voice on faith, perseverance and overcoming adversity.<\/p>\n

Hamilton recently brought that message to younger girls through a partnership with Faith Friends Co. on a special-edition doll modeled after her. Like Hamilton, the doll has one arm and a partial arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cBethany has built her life around the truth that with God, all things are possible,\u201d the company said. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t imagine a better woman to help Faith Friends remind girls that their circumstances don\u2019t define what God can do through their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton shared a video of Alaya opening the doll, and the 3-year-old quickly recognized who it represented.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s you, mama!\u201d Alaya said. \u201cOnly one arm!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton said girls have sent her photos for years of dolls they altered themselves by removing an arm. Now, she hopes the Bethany doll can send a larger message.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow she is here, a doll that encourages girls to overcome, to adapt, and try again no matter how hard things get!\u201d Hamilton wrote.<\/p>\n

More than two decades after the shark attack, Hamilton continues to point to her Christian faith as the foundation of her outlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife has its challenges. Darkness can creep in. Don\u2019t allow the dark to win,\u201d she recently shared. \u201cWith Jesus all things are possible! You can overcome!\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking at Colgate University earlier this year, Hamilton said she now sees even the loss of her arm through the lens of what God has done with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people would see this as such a horrible thing, but I see all the meaning that God has brought out of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same perspective Hamilton now hopes to give her daughter: Her circumstances, appearance and the expectations of others don\u2019t determine her worth. God does.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bethany Hamilton knows firsthand how quickly the world can change \u2014 and how important it is not to let circumstances define your worth. Now, the professional surfer and \u201cSoul Surfer\u201d inspiration is passing that lesson on to her young daughter, Alaya. \u201cRaising a daughter is such a beautiful responsibility,\u201d Hamilton recently wrote on Instagram. Hamilton,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":11156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBethany Hamilton's Take on Raising a Daughter Who Knows Her Worth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2026\/09\/bethany-hamiltons-take-on-raising-a-daughter-who-knows-her-worth.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bethany Hamilton's Take on Raising a Daughter Who Knows Her Worth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bethany Hamilton knows firsthand how quickly the world can change \u2014 and how important it is not to let circumstances define your worth. 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