My husband and I were discussing our girls, and the concerns we have for both of them. Madelyn is only 2, but Cailin is 8 already. No, she won’t be going to the mall next month, or even next year, without an adult. She doesn’t own clothing that we haven’t both approved. But as we would both swear that Cailin was 2 only yesterday, you’ll have to forgive the apprehension for her not too distant future.
We talked for a while about how hard it has been to raise Cailin in general, much less trying to get her to stay a kid as long as she can, teaching her how to make good choices when she’s older, and somehow leading her towards being a happy, well-adjusted kid along the way.
It’s rough.
But we have tried, really, really hard. In between teaching her to read, share, and know about the world; we have tried to teach her self-esteem, self worth, and how to take care of herself. Somehow, we seem to be succeeding so far. She checks her shorts and skirts every morning to make sure they aren’t too short. She insisted we buy her some bike shorts so she could still hang upside down on the playground when she’s got a skirt on. She always makes sure her behind is covered when she has leggings on. She had to be talked in to wearing a tankini last summer (which was actually a little bit overboard and pretty frustrating, but whatever.) She immediately changes the channel when something she knows we don’t like her watching comes on. She still cries when someone tells her to ‘shut up.’ She hates when anyone is upset, and is so flipping nice to everyone that we have actually had to repeatedly talk about the difference between being nice and being a doormat.
The point is, I think we are doing okay.
