Parenting Daughters As They Grow Up
When you have a daughter eventually you’re going to turn around and find that she is growing up way too fast. Gaining insight into the way she reflects the world around her is an essential part of remaining an effective parent even if she isn’t interested in your parenting. Her world has become a rather confusing place. Most parents aren’t sure how to handle this new child that has suddenly sprouted up under their roof.
When she was just a tiny tot your life was less complicated. Everything from baby cribs to tiny dresses made sense. As she looked through her innocent eyes you could see the way the world interacted with her and you could always be there to pick her up off the ground when she fell down.
Yet today you’ve noticed that she has traded in her girls sweatshirts for a more brooding style. She is learning about the harder aspects of life, including heart break and adult content. She isn’t sure whether it’s acceptable to be intelligent in the world or whether she should contain herself. She doesn’t know what others really think of her but she knows that she really cares about everyone’s opinion.
It’s like one day you notice that she has given into to something. Her shirts for girls are more like shirts that you would expect to find on a twenty something beach bombshell and her body is suddenly looking a lot like that of someone who is well beyond her years. Her music has even changed. Long gone is the innocent pop music. It’s been replaced with some sort of angered expression of her newly developed angst.
Of course, you are not the only parent to explore this rather difficult time. We all watch our daughters struggle to find out more about themselves and how they fit into the big picture. Their drama seems to be increasing while their thoughts turn to more intense ideas than we could ever really imagine. It’s frightening and yet perfectly natural.
The world seems to have matured faster in the last ten years than in previous decades. Girls today are becoming young women earlier and their roads are harder because of it. As a parent you want to reach in and be helpful, but often she won’t let you. She can’t figure out if you’re the enemy or if you’re her rock. She doesn’t know whether to listen to her friends or her conscience.
She will continue to strive for new places in her life. Because women of today have so many choices, most young women choose to try on a bunch of different hats to figure out exactly who they might be. They grow into it, like a floppy pair of shoes. Your job during this time period is to be her guiding voice. Even if you don’t think she’s listening, she is.
Tags: Parents, young girl, adult content, young women, modern-day parenting