Saving Our Daughters

Domestic Violence is an epidemic and it will not go away unless we, as people, take action and make a difference. Not only in the lives of those who are currently being abused, but to those who are still young: our daughters.

As parents of daughters it is important to teach our daughters about self-love, self-respect, and self-dignity. We must guide them and inspire them to have a direction in their lives besides a “Fairy Tale Wedding.”

There is nothing wrong with having a family or wanting one, but our daughters must focus on their future that includes an education, college, career, and even what they can give to the world around them. Girls and young women have the need to please.

They live in a society where they compete with their peers. Not only do teens compete with fashion, shoes and clothes, but also they compete with each other about having a boyfriend.

In USA Today, on August 13, 1998, and article called, “Childhood Depression, Rich or Poor, more kids Struggle with Symptoms,” stated that, “New studies with 615 teens show that girls worry much more than boys about matters they can’t control well-popularity, appearance, and family problems.”

As parents we must respect that teenage love is real, but instill in our daughters that the love they feel for someone doesn’t mean to end their dreams and lives. We must teach them what “love” truly means and what “love” isn’t. Girls need to be raised to feel worthy without having a boy in their lives.

A lot of girls grow up with the belief that a woman is not complete without a man. According to Children Now/Kaiser Permanente Poll –December, 1998 states that, “forty percent of teenage girls age 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.”

And according to Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) August 2001 states, “one of five female high school students reports being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.” Why are so many teens in this kind of situation?

As much as we should educate our teens about sex, safe sex, and no sex, we have to educate our teens about abuse and their civil rights. We have to teach our daughters the signs of an abuser and how to recognize whether or not they are being verbally and emotionally abused. It is hard enough for adults to figure this out; how can a teen recognize mental and emotional abuse? 

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