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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Bringing Up Our Girl

Our church librarian passed along a book that I have been reading lately.  I have a little bit of difficulty with this book, for the simple fact that it overwhelms me.  I am reminded yet again of the tremendous responsibility I have as a mother.  That fact scares me!!!  At the same time, I love this book, because it is opening my eyes to some things I need to work on.  The book:  Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson. 

I have especially been challenged by the idea that it is my responsibility as a mother to teach my daughter to be a little lady.  I am the one who is responsible to teach her manners, which leads to the development of morals.  Dr. Dobson asserts that manners facilitate morals, but they also "help develop confidence and poise.  A girl who has been trained properly is never completely knocked off balance when she is in an unfamiliar circumstance.  She knows what is expected of her and how to deal with it.  Her sense of self-worth is reinforced by the way adults react to her charm, poise, and grace."  (pg 41)  Wow.  All beginning with manners.

We are working on "thank you" this week.  My little lady is 21 months old, and she repeats "thank you" when prompted.  We are working on getting her to say it whenever someone gives her something.  I am excited for the day when she looks up at someone and says "thank you" because she knows it's the polite thing to do...not because Mommy told her to.

I am currently halfway through this book, and I intend to post more about it later.  Stay tuned!

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