Raising Daughters -- Modesty

I am a mother. I worry. It's my job.

I am the mother of two daughters. I worry more. It's my career.

Raising children, in general, brings out a whole avalanche of worries.  But raising daughters has a whole other level of worries.

I worry about their education.  I worry about puberty and hormones.  I worry about pedophiles and other freaks out there.  I worry about drugs.  I worry about drinking.  I worry about sex and teen pregnancy.  I worry about college.  I worry about boyfriends.  I worry about abuse.  I worry about weddings.

I worry about not being there.

You get the picture?

But my thoughts right now are about modesty.

Our family went to a family function at Nani's school last night.  It was the school's Snowball Festival - an evening filled with pizza, popcorn, games and dancing.  A good secure, family environment.  We thought it would be good for Nani to go - maybe see some of her friends and it would allow us to expose her to a social environment outside our home.

I'd like to think that I dress my daughters modestly.  Cute outfits, but appropriate.  My daughters are 6 and 29 months.  Last night they were dressed in little dresses with leggings underneath.  I thought they looked adorable.



Look at them!  Aren't they adorable?!

 But last night, My Marine and I were appalled at how some of these other little girls were dressed.  Now granted, there were a few that were dressed very appropriately - cute little dresses, jeans and cute shirts.

But the other half......

I saw a little girl who had to have been 7 years old - if that - dressed in white bike shorts and a leopard-print v-neck tshirt.  You could see her underwear through her shorts -- the material was that thin.  We saw little girls wearing outfits that I wouldn't even wear as an adult - let alone as a teenager.

It's an ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!

Am I crazy?  I must be in a small group of mothers who want their daughters to look respectable.

(And I can bet that my daddy is reading this right now and chuckling to himself thinking that the cycle has come full circle!)

I was raised to dress modestly.  I didn't own a pair of jeans until I was 8 years old and even then, my daddy bought them for me.  I practically gave my mother a heart attack when I came home with my dress for homecoming and it was strapless.  I was 17.  I remember wanting to wear a denim mini skirt on my first day of school my senior year and my mother telling me I had to wear shorts underneath it.  Again -- I was 17.

Looking back now, I can see what she was doing -- and there were times when I rebelled against it.  But it really wasn't that big of a deal back then.

But now that I have two girls.  It's a big deal now.

I don't believe in having them wear dresses all the time.  I allow them to wear jeans.  I allow them to wear nail polish and when the time comes, they will be allowed to pierce their ears and wear makeup.  It's part of being a girl.  I believe that you can do all of these things and still be modest and respectable.

Going into the stores, everywhere you turn, there's questionable clothing hanging everywhere. 

When we went school clothes shopping for Nani, we saw leggings that were nothing but black lace.  Something you'd see in a Frederick's of Hollywood catalog.  Sweatpants that say "Juicy" across the rear.  I could go on.

But I'm a firm believer in the "whole package" -- how you act, how you speak and how you dress reflect on your character.

Is it wrong that I want my daughters to be wholesome "packages"?

Maybe I'm just getting old. Or worse yet.....maybe I'm turning into my mother! GASP!

Linking up to Mama's Heart at It's Grace

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