Bringing Up Girls

I must admit that when I first found out we were having a little girl, I was terrified.  I wasn't terrified of all of the adorable clothes, headbands, and joyful laughter that only a little girl can bring.  I was and still am terrified of bringing up a girl in today's society where girls are under so much pressure to grow up too fast and handle certain situations that they are just not ready for.  Thankfully, I stumbled upon the book "Bringing Up Girls" by Dr. James Dobson at a Christian bookstore.  I have started reading it and I haven't been able to put it down!  It has already offered so much insight to our crazy society and the obstacles that Christian parents face as they bring up their children in today's times. In this book, there is an exerpt from columnist Steve Lopez  that summarizes this dilemma well in his article "A Scary Time to Raise a Daughter":

Three months ago, with my wife's contractions getting closer and closer, we flicked on the TV as a distraction before going to the hospital.

Bad idea.

No one expects a great deal of enlightenment from the tube these days. But as we switched from one tawdry and vapid reality or dating show to another, I wondered if we should have our heads examined for bringing a child into this world.

Especially a girl.

It's not just television that scares me. It's the Internet, pop music, radio, advertising. The most lurid elements of each medium now dominate pop culture, and the incessant, pounding message, directed primarily at young people, is that it's all about sex.

Sure, some of us boomers had our flower child days of free love, but that was a social revolution, not a corporate-driven campaign.

Today, if you haven't just had it, you're a loser. If you don't expect to have it in the immediate future, try plastic surgery, because sex appeal -- the one true standard of human achievement -- is the only thing worth aspiring to.

Yes, I'll admit it: I'm frazzled about all of this because I have a baby girl. Each day, I feel a little more like Dan Quayle, who was once ridiculed for wagging a finger at television's Murphy Brown, an unwed mom.

Where's Dan Quayle when you need him?

http://articles.latimes.com/2003/oct/26/local/me-lopez26

I am sure Raynor & I will be reading this book several times throughout the years but our goal as parents for our little girl is this: to teach her eternal values and to seek first the Kingdom of God and to instill in her humbleness, truthfulness, self-control and sweetness of spirit.

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord"
- Ephesians 6:4