Most of us go into parenting completely oblivious to what is ahead. We think that we will be the best parents on the planet – the ones who always know where their children are and who they’re with. We look at child abductions and crimes against children, drug and alcohol abuse by children, pregnant teens, eating disorders, and think, “Not MY child.”
Pin ItCategory: Raising girls
There’s a woman I know who is young – maybe 21-years-old or even younger. She has three children by three men and has never been married. She lives with her mother. Her current boyfriend does not live with her, but he does spend the night often. She gambles regularly. And, she is deeply spiritual. You won’t find someone who talks about Jesus Christ more than her.
We exist in a culture that seems to set out to make our children into adults earlier and earlier in their life. They are bombarded with messages and images that cry out to them to leave childhood behind and make adult decisions, to dress like adults, to act like adults.
Pin ItMy husband and I went through a spiritual revival about 18 months ago. Part of that revival was cleaning out what we take in. I don’t mean food. I mean all of our sensory input: television, movies, games, music, internet, radio, etc. We stopped consuming sin, in a way to quit condoning so much sin in our culture.
Pin ItShopping one day, Scott brought to me a can of kids’ pasta in ABC and 123 shapes. This was an organic version of Chef Boyardee’s famous product, but the ingredient list was as long as my arm and it cost $3. So, I told him, “No.” He put the can back then pointed my attention to pasta made in the same shapes.
Pin ItAt the BINGO hall is a concession stand that sells the typical fare – mostly soy hamburgers on white bread, pork hotdogs, chips with nacho cheese, frozen “pizza logs” reheated in a microwave, etc. Consequently, when I get home from the soup kitchen, I usually make a big dinner and take it to feed to the volunteers.
It’s no wonder that 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies, and that by age 17, 78% are dissatisfied. It’s also no wonder that spending 3 minutes looking at fashion magazines lowers the self esteem of 80% of women.
Pin ItThe first time Kaylee ever kneeded dough, she still had a pacifier in her mouth (I wish I could find that picture.) That made her younger than 3. Now, at 13, she can make anything. She can read just about any recipe, follow the instructions, and create. I let her cook without restraint, and have, just this year, started letting her cook even if I’m not home.