Not my girls...not ever

Let me tell you what...this is so not right.

I don't care if your little girl can dance like that, she shouldn't be dancing like that. When Alli and Abby were 8 and 9 they did numbers to Broadway tunes or Disney songs and it was cute and age appropriate. And in their recitals the TEENAGERS danced to Broadway tunes or Disney songs. These little girls are obviously talented, but they would be just as talented with another song, another routine and a little more clothing.

I understand that their parents must be thrilled with how good their daughters are. I get it, I do. Every time Emma swims a backstroke, I feel that. Everytime Kathryn hits a ball, I feel that. Everytime Abby races around a barrel, I feel that. And everytime Alli gets up on stage and sings, I feel that. But there is a difference between being proud of your little superstar and exploiting her.

I'm afraid for our daughters. In these times when their role models let them down (yes I'm talking about Miley Cyrus). When it's hard to find them a pair of shorts that will actually cover all parts and not have words like "cutie" or "sweet" splayed across the backside. When they start to gossip and back stab in the 2nd grade! When they are getting highlights and manis and pedis before they enter middle school. When parents are buying daughters "boob jobs" for graduation presents. When every teen magazine is telling them "how to get the guy". When 1 out of every 4 girls has an eating disorder because the perfect body is that 5'10", 110 pound airbrushed supermodel. When popular tv shows say that's its okay to hop from one person's bed to the next...in high school.

The messages we as a society are sending to our daughters...are unacceptable. I'm hot. I'm ticked off. I'm not perfect. But I tell you what, my children dress appropriately. My children eat mostly healthy. We do not use the "f"at word in this house. No one wears makeup until they are 13 and only then after a trip to the Clinique counter to learn how to apply it tastefully and naturally. And we do not watch an episode of Gossip Girl without discussing how entirely unrealistic and unacceptable that behavior is.

I like to think I am doing a good job. But I know that I could be doing better. A lot better. But the point is, I'm trying. I'm trying to raise respectable, smart, beautiful inside and out Christian young ladies. Which is why you will never see my girls dancing like that...even if they could.

I choose to let my little girls be little girls. For as long as they can be. And there's nothing wrong with that.