1960's
2010
Question: Why does any father raising daughters need to be afraid?
Answer: Look at the above pictures for the answer.
So what does that mean fathers? It means you should be seriously polishing up those guns of yours. I consider myself lucky for having a little bit of time left before the boys come "a knockin'". Now being 6-4 and 250 would help a little in the department of intimidation. However, if a father is protective, it doesn't matter what size he his......those fellas will think twice.
This brings up a tough dilemma though. I will hopefully always pride myself in the open lines of communication between all of the ladies in my life. My challenge? To not be too overprotective in the day and age where sexual discovery comes much earlier in youth, all realms of media feeding the "monster" that is swallowing our children's innocence is growing even larger and more dominant, and dependency on parents is fading.
How do I do this when I even find myself being caught up in all of it too? Yes.....I have GaGa on "The Pod" and I have even stopped to look at the cover of Cosmo to get a peek at the subjects of the articles about sex (and yes......the ladies that are on them).
I have to come to the reality that it is inevitable for my daughters and the youth of today to be exposed to the things that used to be hidden or happened behind closed doors. The "monster" is everywhere and it's not going away anytime soon. The big deal of holding hands in 6th grade has been replaced with things I don't even want to imagine happening with 11 and 12 year olds. It makes be cringe. Maybe I was too innocent in 6th grade. But was that necessarily a bad thing? Maybe it's because I just chose the right friends or hung around with girls that didn't have to prove they were older than they really were. This is something I see on an everyday basis, hiding their "innocence" behind the caked on make-up is just one sad thing.....nothing I can do as a teacher.
However, with this being said there are some things we can do. Keeping those lines of communication open with our kiddos is the first step. Telling them the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Not sheltering them too much (I can go off about this but decided to hold my tongue) and just plain loving them.......loving our children to pieces. Don't give them something they feel like they have to escape from. Don't allow their hearts to seek out love to fill the holes. Just be good parents. If only you had to have licenses for birthing or parenting children of today!
I have time to get over my over protectiveness (luckily). However, I will protect the love that I have for them in ways that they will never be able to understand.
How do I do this when I even find myself being caught up in all of it too? Yes.....I have GaGa on "The Pod" and I have even stopped to look at the cover of Cosmo to get a peek at the subjects of the articles about sex (and yes......the ladies that are on them).
I have to come to the reality that it is inevitable for my daughters and the youth of today to be exposed to the things that used to be hidden or happened behind closed doors. The "monster" is everywhere and it's not going away anytime soon. The big deal of holding hands in 6th grade has been replaced with things I don't even want to imagine happening with 11 and 12 year olds. It makes be cringe. Maybe I was too innocent in 6th grade. But was that necessarily a bad thing? Maybe it's because I just chose the right friends or hung around with girls that didn't have to prove they were older than they really were. This is something I see on an everyday basis, hiding their "innocence" behind the caked on make-up is just one sad thing.....nothing I can do as a teacher.
However, with this being said there are some things we can do. Keeping those lines of communication open with our kiddos is the first step. Telling them the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Not sheltering them too much (I can go off about this but decided to hold my tongue) and just plain loving them.......loving our children to pieces. Don't give them something they feel like they have to escape from. Don't allow their hearts to seek out love to fill the holes. Just be good parents. If only you had to have licenses for birthing or parenting children of today!
I have time to get over my over protectiveness (luckily). However, I will protect the love that I have for them in ways that they will never be able to understand.
