Our daughters....
I have spent a lot of time wondering how can I protect my daughters and my son. I have a complete understanding that I can not protect them from everything and as they get older and attend school my protection can go but so far. Speaking to other parents and learning what their opinions on tops are on weather they let their kids do some things and not some has surprised me over the years.
When my oldest was a baby I was so paranoid, there was always something on the news about parents neglecting their children or children being abused and passing away. It was heartbreaking to know that this was the world we lived in. I made it my missing to talk to my daughter and teach her right from wrong. My mother was an easy going mom, she let me walk to school on my own at a young age. I was able to spend nights over friends house, go out to play to the park without her. I still can't see myself letting my oldest do any of these things.
I came across this article online https://familyshare.com/26467/sponsored/dovechannel/7-things-you-didnt-realize-you-need-to-protect-your-daughter-from. After reading this article I couldn't help. It agreed with almost all of them. I shared this article with a dear friend who was has a daughter almost the same age as my oldest. She didn't know what she should do now that her daughter was in school and shouldn't do with her daughter. I honestly thought she would think the article was a bit extreme, surprisingly she agreed and thanked me for sharing it with her. Which inspired me to share
"6. Secrets: Keeping secrets can harm your daughter in small ways (like hurting a friend's feelings) or big ways (like not telling an adult about something dangerous). Establish a rule that secrets are not allowed in your house so you can protect your daughter from the dangers they cause. Instead, teach her that surprises - something that you will eventually reveal to others, like a Christmas present - are fun, but secrets are not."
This one topic was something we both agreed so much on "secrets". When we were both younger secrets were alright and our parent both kept things from us even till adulthood because they were more scared of how we may feel. I have this rule in our home and it has done wonders for us. Especially when my oldest tells me that a she uncomfortable when her friends at school tell her secrets. When she gets home she asked me a general question on the topic which has now become a tell on what she really wants to know. This being said not everything she hears at school comes easy to explain, for example a student in her school told her that she kissed a boy and that it was a secret. My daughter knowing our rule on secrets said she did not want to know and came home to tell me. Turns out that the student was in the 2nd grade and the boy in the 4th. I thanked my daughter for telling me even though she looked so uncomfortable. I explained that I was concerned that someone so young was kissing boys at such a young age. My daughter laughed and said "yeah that's gross." I think being able to talk to your children is important. it gives them the confidence to be open with you.
What do you think about this article?
