Raising Daughters

Parenting

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Confession: Luke and I really wanted a girl with my first pregnancy.  Not only was I obsessed with the idea of dressing & cuddling a cute little mini-me, but we both come from families with firstborn girls so the news that we were expecting a boy was a big adjustment for us.

Fast forward 4 years and we had 2 adorable little boys.  I really loved being a “boy mom” and truth be told, I kind of expected to have another 1 or 2 boys before any girls.  So when we got first Juliet and then the twins, I was in girl heaven, buying up all the bows and the pink things!  Fast forward even further and we now have FIVE girls.  It’s a little hard to believe that there was ever a time when girls weren’t a part of our family.

Now we know all about girls, from the princess dressups to the My Little Pony underwear to the tear-filled dramatic meltdowns…and I love every bit of it!  I really do.  But as I face an uncertain future of raising these little girls to become little ladies, I’m confronting some real, deep-seated fears about what kind of mother I can and will be.

Today over on Instagram, I opened up about my past and present body insecurities and how badly I want to spare my daughters the pain of carrying around body angst.  The pressure to look and dress a certain way is everywhere: movies, social media, magazines, etc. and it seems almost impossible for a perfect little girl to emerge from such a body-centric world with her self-worth unscathed.

How do I teach them that they’re perfect exactly how God made them?  How can I possibly communicate that if I’m not sure I believe it myself?  Is it possible to teach my young daughters to be polite, kind, caring, refined and beautiful on the inside when I have so many (OH, so many!) flaws myself??

I’ve concluded recently that most successful people, be they world-renowned scientists or political thinkers or revolutionaries or really exceptional parents, rarely set out to be amazing; they’re simply willing to TRY the impossible and to never give up.  And if I have a strength, it’s a stubborn persistence to try something that everyone else things is crazy (you know, like raising 8 kids).

So that’s my commitment to my children, especially my daughters: to simply try to be the amazing, poised, kind and gracious mother they deserve, even if I feel like I’m failing on every front.  And while the pessimists of the world would convince us that it’s impossible to raise good humans in a world full of anger and hate, I think we mothers can probably teach the world a thing or two about inspiring good.

More about raising girls in this podcast episode!

Photos by Christie Knight Photography[spacer height=”20px”] Bag by Sage and Harper

Red heels & similar || Similar skirt || Top  || Earrings

Mimi’s shoes & similar (love these!)|| Mimi’s dress

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    Raising Boys: the Dirtiest Job You'll Ever Love • Bonnie and Blithe
    November 14, 2017 at 2:56 pm

    […] READ THIS if you also have worries about your girls parenting skills as well! […]

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