My oldest daughter is officially a middle schooler. Don’t ask me how this happened, I probably blinked or something. I have so enjoyed raising her and getting to know her. I think that last part is almost more important than the first right now (almost!).
One way I actively get to know my daughter and nurture her heart is through what we call our GIRL TALK. About once a week my husband takes the little kids and makes sure that this girl and I get alone time for an hour or so. Sometimes we go somewhere, other times, like this week he just takes the two littlest outside to play while she and I sit on the couch and chat.
I start with a simple “So what’s on your mind?” or “Hey I noticed you _________ (insert just about anything here- um like- hit the neighbor kid, yelled at your brother, stomped away when dad was talking to you, etc, etc, etc. these are just examples) the other day, what was going on there? Do you want to talk about it?” Our conversations get pretty silly with loads of giggles, but also pretty deep. Sometimes there are tears of relief and understanding. We always end or start our time in prayer.
Lately I’ve learned she’s pretty freaked out about the changes her body is going to be making as she hits puberty. I remember for me it was such a traumatic experience where I went from being the annoying little sister to the disgusting little sister. I shot up to being the tallest kid in my class (boys included!) in 4th grade and then REALLY felt like a freak. I still feel that way when I tower over people around me. I just want to be a cute teeny tiny Polly Pocket with delicate fairy wings!
It’s natural for any girls in this situation to be a little freaked out, but I do want to answer my daughters questions and ease her worries in an appropriate way that glorifies God and explains why HE designed her body this way.
We are working through the book called The Body Book (The Lily Series)
This book has been a game changer!
This book has been called the Christian version of American Girl book: The Care & Keeping of You. We haven’t read that one, but I bet it’s great too. We’ve loved the American Girl books!
My daughter is constantly carrying this book around and has her nose in it every chance she gets. As a mom, that is a win!
Now I don’t fully agree with EVERY single word in the book, but I’ve only seen about 2 or 3 lines that I sort of shook my head at. Not too bad if you ask me!
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