My firstborn just turned nine. Before her birthday, she said some things that opened my eyes to see just where she is in her girlhood.
First, she told me that she did not want many toys for her birthday because she plays with them and then gets bored with them. The only "toys" she requested was clothing for her American Girl doll look-alike (a cheaper doll from Wal-Mart). Other than that, she asked for blue nail polish, a hand held mirror and perfume! My daughter is definitely a "tween" now: beginning to find interests in all those feminine delights, while still not too old to play with her dolls. Beautiful.
The next day my daughter said something that honestly shocked me: "Well, I'm not pretty enough to be on the cover of one of those magazines" in reference to her American Girl magazines. What!? First off, my precious girl is quite beautiful. Second, we had always told her so. It baffled my mind. Furthermore, my daughter is homeschooled and so is shielded from much of the peer pressure girls experience at school. Yet...no young girl can escape the effects of our culture.
The day after she spoke these words to me, I came across the following video:
The video ends with the admonishment to "talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does".
Yup, it's time for me to become proactive in steering my daughter through what is beginning, to hold her hand and her heart. I'm ready.
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