Oh Be Careful Little Girls What You Wear

I saw this post on CNN opinion and I agree wholeheartedly. It's worth a read, especially for those who parent girls. I, too, have seen so many little girls wearing outfits that are highly inappropriate. Parents don't often think about the fact that what they put their daughters in and what they allow them to purchase and wear does have an effect on them. We are telling them something. The question we have to ask ourselves is "What are we telling them?"

Okay, some people may not like something I decided, but I figured it was a good example of this. Before Alexis was born, I decided that I would not be buying bikini like swimsuits for her as a little girl. Granted, little girls do look cute in them. However, I asked myself, "If I start her out on bikinis now, what am I telling her? Am I telling her she should show off her body?" She doesn't understand any of that now, but if I start her off that way and then down the road say, "Bikinis were cute back then, but no more," I think I will have just confused her. I don't want her to think that a bikini is just normal swim wear, so get one every year, because down the road, I don't want Alexis as a teen to think that swim wear is for showing off her sexual body. Swim wear is for swimming. And I find that I swim just as well in a one piece as I would in a bikini.

Of course, beyond the CNN piece, there is another motivation for me as a mother. That is, my body and my life belong to God. My body is the Holy Spirit's temple. My body is not supposed to be exposed for all the world to see and admire and tell me how sexy I am. My body is for my God and my husband alone to get intimate with. And this is the other message I want Alexis to get: that her body is for God and her future husband and no one else.

P.S. At the bottom of the homepage of my blog I have a link to Moms for Modesty. If you are a mom who desires to raise a modest daughter, don't be afraid to declare it!