FIVE VALUES THAT I WANT MY DAUGHTER TO LEARN BEFORE SHE TURNS THIRTEEN

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We live in an ever changing world, and I often find myself asking questions like 'what is my daughter going to experience when she turns thirteen?'

It's hard to imagine that when I turned thirteen all I wanted was to get to wear hoop earrings and go to the ice-cream store without parental guidance, lol.

But now, I hear stories about teenage girls and boys being sexually active, doing drugs or young girls getting pregnant before they turn fifteen....

I'll be honest with you that this really bothers me, especially when I think about my daughter and all the little innocent girls and boys who might one day fall prey to the deception of the enemy.

I understand that I can't isolate or protect my daughter from being exposed to the effects of a broken society, but what I can do is invest in her to help her make the right decisions when she is faced with challenges.

So, I decided to focus on teaching her FIVE values that I would like for her to practice before she turns 13....

1). GOD SHOULD ALWAYS BE FIRST.

Putting God first was the best thing that my mother taught and modeled to me when I was growing up. It inevitably influenced every area of my life and aided me in making the right decisions when I was faced with adversity.

Remember the phrase, "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?" I found myself asking questions like, "Would God be pleased with me if I chose to have sex before marriage?". I did this unconsciously, and it became a part of how I approached challenges, and this is true even today.

So modeling this to my daughter is something that I plan on doing intentionally.

2). PRACTICE SELF ACCEPTANCE

Making comparisons is something that we all often do to try to either feel good about ourselves or beat ourselves down. Practicing Self Acceptance helped me not only develop an appreciation for myself but for others as well.

Knowing that I am unique and without rival even with all my quirks and imperfections, was the key to building my self-confidence.

Having self-confidence has helped me to stand out and focus on becoming the woman of my dreams instead of wasting time on comparing myself to others, and feeding my insecurities.

I hope that my daughter will pick up on this before she becomes a teenager, because it will help her to be comfortable in her own skin........

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3). PRACTICE SELF-ASSERTIVENESS.

My teenage years and even my twenties comprised scenarios through which the majority of people my age wanted to indulge in dangerous activity. From drinking and partying to sneaking out of their homes to go out and participate in reckless activity such as orgies.

I know that this is probably painting graphic pictures in your minds but it's the reality of what actually goes on in our society.

I had to learn fairly quickly to practice self-assertiveness so that I wouldn't fall prey to peer pressure.

And by doing so, I have learned to be immovable in situations that could compromise my character.

I would like Isabella to fully understand that upholding TRUTH is what matters most in life because only the TRUTH will prevail even when everything else fades away.

4). INVEST IN YOURSELF

This is something that I did not see value in until my late twenties. I spent time investing in everything else but myself, and my world began to crumble because my energy was spent on things that didn't add any value to my life.

After discovering the importance of self investment, I began to develop my gifts and talents which have ironically started adding value to other people's lives as well as my own.

So I hope to aid my little girl by encouraging her to develop her gifts and talents so that she can find her purpose in life at an early age and add value to others as well.

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5). PRACTICE SELF INTEGRITY

We live in a world full of opinions and staying true to ourselves often feels like a burden.

Practicing self integrity in the midst of an opinionated society helps me to do what is right and often not too popular with everyone else.

I know for a fact that if I had not been practicing this value/ethic I would not be doing what I do right now, instead I would've been trying to live up to everyone else's standards and their expectations of who they think I should be.

Even if my daughter doesn't learn anything else from me, I hope that she will at least learn to practice the first value and this one before anything else. And if she does so, I trust that she will do just fine.

Well, this brings us to the end of today's post. I hope that is added value to your lives and will hopefully, help you get proactive about teaching your kids your values.

Please tell us some of the values that you would like your kids to learn from you by commenting down below. We would love to read your thoughts.

Please share this post with someone that you think it will help.

LOVE ALWAYS,

Thembi Fletcher.

PHOTO CREDIT: SHANE FLETCHER.

#personalgrowth #characterbuilding #values