Daily Devotion

June 17, 2013

DR. JAMES DOBSON ON PARENTING (2)


“Talk about them when you sit…when you walk…when you lie down …when you get up.” Dt 6:7 NIV

When asked, “How do you teach your daughter about healthy self-esteem while not training her to be self-focused?” Dr. Dobson gave this answer: “Girls in their adolescent and middle school years are going through puberty, and that brings about acne and gangly bodies. Those girls look at role models like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. If they dare to be a little overweight—not even fat, but slightly overweight—they hear about it all day long. It tears into the heart and worth of a girl who just wants to be a princess, who wants to be loved by somebody. If the father in this situation doesn’t affirm her, love her, tell her she’s pretty, put his arm around her and give her attention, she often looks for it elsewhere. The only thing she has to bargain with is her sexuality, and she thinks she’ll be loved if she gives certain gifts of her sexuality. We know where that leads: he gets what he wants and dumps her, and she doesn’t get what she wants, which is love.” Dad, if you’ve been AWOL, come back to your children, particularly your daughters. Your home is a classroom. What you teach them there, they will take with them into the rest of their lives. If your life is out of order today, repent, get right with God and start paying attention to what really matters. You can’t undo the past, but with God’s help you can give your children the future they deserve. But it must become one of your highest priorities.

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