Secret Keeper Girl

How do you intend to make Thanksgiving a great day at your house? Turkey with stuffing. Football for the guys. Girl talk with the girls. What about actually expressing thanks? Don’t forget that!Our family has a neat tradition we’d love to pass on to you. Before the big meal, we draw pictures of thanks. All you need is paper, a few crayons and some creativity. After everyone has drawn their pictures, go around the table and let each person share their picture and say thanks out loud. We have sometimes taken photos of these treasured drawings to keep them around forever. What special tradition do you use to say thank you?

I just read an article from the Boston Globe stating that Desperate  Housewives was the most-watched prime-time show favored by 9-12 year olds in 2005! Did you get that? NINE TO TWELVE YEAR OLDS? If that isn’t evidence that the moms are letting their little girls grow up too soon, I don’t know what is!The current issue of Family Circle has a feature story entitled “Fast Times: When did 7 become the new 16?” (It’s worth the $2.49. So get a copy!) The article alludes to the fact that America’s Next Top Model and My Super Sweet 16 are today’s favorites among tweens. But most poignantly, it reminded me that just a decade ago 8-12 year old girls were turning to shows like Care Bears.It made me wonder, what is out there for our little girls to watch today that doesn’t compress their age? Even shows like Wizards of Waverly Place or Hannah Montanna feature girls ten years older doing things that good girls ten years older do. (OK, maybe they aren’t wizards!) But, in general, the starlets of these shows are a teens doing teen things. IS THAT WHAT OUR LITTLE GIRLS SHOULD BE FEASTING ON? The research tells me “no.” If they feast on teen stuff, they want to do teen stuff and that’s not good for them.Turn on “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” for a good night of television with your kids. Or maybe rent the fantastic old Muppets DVD’s that are available. My kids are 14, 15 and 18 and they love those old shows. Is what you are watching with your children instilling positive values or tearing down the value system you’re attempting to build? What do you watch with your kids?�

Posted by Dannah Gresh, creator of Secret Keeper Girl

Two years ago, my sweet Lexi brought me an exciting article. In it, tween idol Miley Cyrus said that the book on her nightstand was none other than one by my dear friend Susie Shellenberger, Girl Talk With God! A few days later, Lexi found another article reporting that Miley’s favorite band was Christian. (Never mind that they were a “scream” band. I was just glad they were screaming about something good!) We started praying for Miley right away—that she might stick to her faith when the industry began to press in on her to “grow up!” (Read “get sexual!”)

I do not doubt that Miley is a Christian, but this year’s Vanity Fair shoot and some on-line shots didn’t bode well for our little heroine. And on October 8^th, this photo was released of her possibly revealing a belly button ring.  For the sake of my tween visitors, I won’t post the photos here! I will say that I sure hope they are doctored photos or I’m seeing a dangling bead from her belt. Whether these photos are true or not it brings up the question of how to talk to your daughter about the infamous belly button ring!

Well, some good question to ask her would be: How have men responded to the possibility of Miley’s piercing? What goes on in their minds? Is it “just fashion?” I loathe this, but I’m going to actually offer you the words of male celebrity gossip icon, Perez Hilton. He wrote:


And so it begins!!! It all starts to go downhill with a belly ring!!! Miley Cyrus showed off a new navel piercing at her big 16th birthday bash at Disneyland on Sunday.

Getting your belly button pierced isn’t exactly “wholesome” is it????

What’s next???

We give her three months before pictures of her boozin’ it up or smoking a joint hit the Net!

-Perez Hilton, Celebrity Gossip Columnist 

Men view belly button rings as sexual. Your sweet girl might think it’s “cool” or “in fashion.” but guys think it is sexual. Vote no when you daughter pleads. How do you talk to her about it? Get to the heart. My number one question for my girls when they want to do something that I don’t want them to do is this: WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION? It opens them up and sometimes reveals what they themselves cannot see. What will you do to talk to your daughter?

I was so excited that so many of you were asking to win “My Best Friend Jesus,” our new Bible study for tweens. How great that so many moms want to influence their daughters to study the Bible. The winners of our Secret Keeper Girl stuff have three days to email us at eileen@purefreedom.org with mailing addresses.My Best Friend Jesus Bible Study goes to:

CF_Ivy   

caroline42

clezniak 

mouserfam25 

Danika’s Totally Terrible Toss goes to:

sprimom 

Just Call Me Kate goes to:

cnelson 

Yuzi’s False Alarm goes to:

maeling42 

T is for Antonia goes to:

jme 

Secret Keeper Girl Date Kit #1 goes to:

princess77 

Secret Keeper Girl Date Kit #2 goes to:

Deblynn