In The Interest Of Innocence.

  My daughter is ten years old and she is very intelligent. She is in the fifth grade at a wonderful Christian School. My wife and I have been very blessed our daughter has been tested from time to time and my wife and I have been told she is gifted. One minute she is playing with her Barbie doll and the next minute she is telling me that she deserves an allowance because she is a good house keeper and a very responsible daughter. Last night, I had  to force myself  to agree with her because it was very hard to take her  serious while she was telling me how mature and responsible she was with peanut butter stuck to the roof of her mouth and a milk mustache that covered  much of her face! I will admit my daughter,  is very intelligent. She is a straight A honor student and has maintained this particular status for five years in a row. As intelligent as my daughter is however, you may be surprised to learn she is also blissfully ignorant about some things and I have to say I don't mind. Would you believe me if I told you that until last year my daughter still believed in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny and still saved her baby teeth for the tooth fairy?That was last year though she is totally mature now that;s why she 's just got to have the latest Barbie doll just like the one her best friend at school has. I'm sure you mothers understand how important it is that every thing my daughter wears must be pink and it has to be the latest style just like what ever her friends at school are wearing and above all she could never wear the same out fit in twice in the same week heavens,  no parish the thought!

  I love the fact that although  my daughter,  is very mature in some ways she is also quite innocent in other ways. The only thing she knows about sex is that God, placed her in her mommy's tummy and she grew inside there until God helped mommy push her out.She is content for now with that much knowledge on how babies are born and until she inquires further that is all her mother and I feel she needs to know Some, I know will criticize me for wanting to hold on to my child's innocence as long as possible.I just think that society today places too much pressure on our children to grow up far too fast and very often they are not even really ready yet.
  This is one reason, I am so angry with the Obama Campaign. Last night I saw a campaign add  and in the add a young college aged girl talks about voting for the first time for Barack Obama, except she doesn't even mention this until much later in the add. When this add starts out this young girl says, "Your first time should be with some one you can trust someone who really understands women and what  their needs are." One certainly thinks she is describing her first sexual encounter not her first time voting for Obama! When I saw this add I was very glad my daughter was already safely tucked away in bed. I thought to myself,  is this where we have come to as a nation? I have to wonder is their anything society can teach our children without exposing them to some aspect of sex before they even want or need to know about it? I know society says, sex sells but I would ask you,  must sex sell everything in our society? I choose to preserve my child's innocence as long as I can. She will learn about certain realities of life soon enough. Sex,  may help sell just about every thing in our society but I won't let that secular philosophy tell  me I have to sell out my or my child's moral values.It is no accident that even Jesus says,  in the Bible in Mark 14-15 that those who would enter the kingdom of God,  must first have the innocence and believing faith of a little child. I can't say I'm in any real  hurry for my daughter to grow up and I guess you could say,  I shield her at times in the interest of innocence and I just bet,  I'm not the only parent who does this! As always, my friends, these thoughts remain, just, some words, to think on.