1. Laugh at her disobedience and
bad attitude when she is two or three, because she is just so cute.
2. Let her have whatever she
whines or begs for, so you can have some peace and quiet.
3. Idolize her while she is a
preschooler, because clearly she is so far ahead of everyone else.
4. When her bad attitude is not
so cute anymore, just grin and bear it with the consolation of your friends in
similar situations, because it is just a stage that all kids go through, and it
will pass.
5. Make sure she knows that you
feel that the first day of school is the best day of the year. Cheer and high-five
other parents at the bus stop because you finally get a much-needed break.
6. Expect that she will rebel
when she is a teen, because it is a natural part of growing up.
7. Let her hang around friends
who are bad influences, because you don’t want to shelter her from the real
world.
8. Let her develop relationships
with friends that are closer than those of her family, because peer socialization
is a vital need.
9. Let her wear what everyone
else is wearing, even though it is immodest, because you don’t want her to feel
left out or made fun of. It’s the heart that matters, anyway.
10. Let her watch whatever movies
and TV shows that everyone else is watching, because you don’t want to be
overprotective.
11. Let her read whatever teen magazines
or romance novels everyone else is reading, because you want to encourage the
love of reading, no matter what it is.
12. Make sure she is a part of a
church youth group, because not everyone can disciple at home, and kids listen
to youth leaders more than their own parents, anyway.
13. Let her have a private
Facebook page, email account, and texting because it’s none of your business
what she is saying or displaying to her friends.
14. Don’t ever read her diary, even when you have good cause to believe that she could be harming herself or may harm others, because
that’s just plain awful.
15. Don’t ever pull her out of public
school, and certainly not Christian school, even if you see it is affecting her
negatively, because then she will not have access to extra-curricular
activities or be able to get into a good college.
16. Follow the advice of those in
positions of authority, because they are wiser than you. The fact that they are
losing their own children, makes absolutely no difference.
17. Don’t take advice from those
who have successfully raised godly children, because you don’t want to be
legalistic and overprotective like they were.
18. Don’t discipline her for
disobedience or bad attitudes when she is older, because you don’t want to lose
her as a friend.
19. Let her keep her music,
friends, phone, computer, game console, TV, etc. because those are rights, not
privileges.
20. Let her hear you tell other
people that you can’t wait till she is on her own and out of the house, because
then she will no longer be your responsibility, and you can finally do what you
want to do.
21. Just give up, because there
is simply nothing you can do.
Don’t
be intimidated by this long list! None of these are hard to do; in fact, you
will find that this is the easiest way to raise your little princess…
