We have ministered in the church for 27 years. In all those years it feels like we have visited 50 million new babies in the hospital. Every time it’s a girl, the new dad holds her in his arms and playfully says, “I will never let you date until you are 30!” It sounds cute but we always wonder if that dad moves on to do anything substantive for his daughter when she is in middle and high school.
We have written previously about how passive dads are in our culture in a post called What Has Happened to Fathers. You are welcome to check it out, but what we really want you to do is watch the video.
It was created by an organization in Norway and it perfectly and painfully articulates how vulnerable our girls are in this culture. It should move every father to step up and do the HARD WORK of guarding and protecting their daughters.
If it affects you in any way, we invite you to get a copy of our book The Talks: A Parent’s Guide to Critical Conversations about Sex, Dating, and Other Unmentionables. It is an invaluable tool to help parents know how to help their kids through each stage of sexual and relational development. Our you can grab The Talks DVD Series for your small group.
Remember, parents (particularly dads!) need to be engaged and focused on these issues from the elementary years. If you wait until your kids reach high school, you are WAY too late. Beliefs and patterns of behavior are established far earlier than we think. (Watch the video!)
A Brief Warning:
The video uses a few graphic words and there is a brief shot of a teenage boy trying to reach into a young woman’s pants. It’s PG-13 but worth including because this is the REAL LIFE that YOUR girls are dealing with every day in the community where you live.
Adapted from infoforfamilies.com, a ministry founded by Barrett and Jenifer Johnson. After serving in the local church for 25 years, Barrett and Jenifer launched INFO for Families as a ministry designed to encourage people through speaking, personal coaching and resource development. Barrett served for 15 years in youth ministry before serving for eight years as the Family Minister at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Atlanta, one of the largest churches in the South. He has degrees from Texas A&M University and Southwestern Seminary, but he and Jenifer have received their best education through the no-holds-barred nature of everyday family life.
