Dads and Their Daughter’s Dress
Mar 29th, 2007 by admin
Most men don’t really think it’s their responsibility to teach their daughter’s how to dress modestly. We tend to think that belongs to our wives. But such thinking is another abdication of spiritual leadership. In this excerpt, John Piper tackles this subject. Something he says in this video makes me ponder: “Does a little girl’s bathing suit at 2 years old (say a bikini), influence how they’ll dress at 15 years of age?”
I have three daughters, ages 7, 5, and 3. Right now, they all want to wear pink and are satisfied with the clothing we buy them. One day, they will want to buy their own clothing. I know that how we dress them now, what we teach them about modesty and sexuality (yes, sexuality now), will drastically impact their view of their bodies, sexuality, boys, and men in the future. But I also know that this weighty matter of responsibility does not rest with my wife, but with me. May the Lord be gracious to me, to us fathers.
- Fight for Your Daughter’s Purity!
- Tweens or Gospel Needs
- Pimpfants
- Temptations for Teens to Undress
- Christian Girls and the Allure of Sexuality
Excellent thoughts here. I like what you said about the responsibility resting with you and not with your wife. Yes - I have a 15 year old daughter and I am constantly trying to remember that point.
Thanks
another good conversation is how one’s faith community shapes the value system/worldview of our children. 75% of our church are single, average age is about 25-27, and i’m not looking forward to some of the chat we’ll need to have when the weather gets warm here in seattle. way too many crack, bellybuttons, etc.
Thanks for spurring the conversation - I’ll elaborate. One thought Dads can have as daughters get into the teen years is to think “she needs to learn about how to be a woman, so I’ll take a backseat and let my wife take the lead”. Our daughters certainly need to learn from our wives but we cannot abdicate our role to lead the family. One particular application in the area of dress & modesty is to be willing to advise and encourage our daughters in modesty. It also means be willing in a gracious but firm way set and enforce the “standard” when necessary. It serves my wife to not to have the be the “bad cop”.