My daughter is 9-years-old, I’m already terrified of the teenage years. *yiikes*
Well, you just be sure to keep all the rules of the house intact. Don’t allow her to go out every night of the week either. Keep religion, rules, respect for herself number one, her family and her God first and foremost. Make sure she is doing useful things for others in her life. Make her stay on top of her studies and think about what she wants to do in life and don’t give in to the FADS they call fashion. Teach her to be INDEPENDENT and not fall victim to what others THINK she should do. Teach her to use her mind and make her own decisions. Teach her to be a leader and not a follower. Teach her to CHOOSE her friends and don’t let them choose her!!!
Teach her to look for joy in all things...even homework!!! Eat dinner together and talk, talk, talk. Teach her to do chores around the house and help you and all other family members and vice versa.
Doing laundry, dishes, etc...is good for the soul and won’t hurt her. Teach her that how the girls behave on TV and on Girls Gone Wild and Spring break is NOT how young girls and women should behave. it is wrong, vulgar and the boys don’t like the girls for it...they just like what the girls allow them to see. There is NO RESPECT from the boys towards those girls.
Teach her to be responsible and to know she has to answer for what she does in life as with every choice comes a responsibility and a consequence...good or bad but...it is there.
Last of all show her she is loved and respected and admired for who she is and how she lives her life.
That’s ALL you can do but...it sure as hell is one big start. God bless you and your daughter and rest of your family. Keep them close and pray for them everyday. Sounds to me like they will be just fine. Just don’t worry so much about it...just work on it now and teach all the right things AT HOME.
Try applying this book: The Power of Positive Parenting : A Wonderful Way to Raise Children
It is a method that absolutely works if you're willing to follow it. It'll mean a personal change from negative reinforcement to positive which is hard given being raised in a negative world, but you can do it. Check it out.
Just get her interested in being a career woman and she’ll be just fine. I know the jokes, but concentrating on a career will keep her on track and ensure that she learns self respect and self confidence, not self esteem. Let others rot, but keep her on track and she will do just fine.
Hon, I feel for ya. A few years ago I thought I would die come high school graduation and my darling little angel would be going off to college. Now that it’s here, I can’t wait!!! The only tears I’ll be shedding will be tears of joy as I help the holier than thou attitude pack and show it the door. Don’t get me wrong. Good kid, hard worker and tops in the class, but the attitude is too much. God made teenagers so we’d be forced to send our babies out into the world.
“My daughter is 9-years-old, I’m already terrified of the teenage years. *yiikes*”
You should be. My boy just graduated High School. I am amazed he is still alive after some of the things he has done :-)