
I just experienced the most wonderful weekend with my 13-year-old daughter. I had purchased Family Life's Passport to Purity package a couple of years ago but have been putting off scheduling a weekend to go through it with my daughter.
Well, a month ago my husband cornered me and made me pick a weekend.
After 16 years overseas, we are moving to the U.S. this summer, and he knew it was definitely time for me to have some more serious conversation with our daughter about sexual purity.
We have had several talks about sex over the years, but in the midst of even those my insides have always been fraught with a strong message to get the heck out of there and talk about something non-threatening, like the weather! So as I opened the Passport to Purity package a week ago and began familiarizing myself with it, I got nauseous realizing that I was going to sit side-by-side with my daughter and listen to and discuss these CDs.
I also cried quite a bit as I realized how much I wish I'd had a weekend like this with my mom as I entered my teenage years. That was 30 years ago, and there weren't many good parenting books even on the market, much less an extensive tool to help my parents talk with us about what to expect in our teenage years and helping us set standards. I completely understand why I didn't have that time with my mom, but I sure could have used it. I had no idea what I was doing as a teenager and took all my cues from other kids who also had no idea what they were doing. So I knew I HAD to walk through every stage of this material together with my daughter, no matter how awkward it might be for me.
Now that our weekend is over and we are back home, all I can say is that it may have been the best two days in all of my parenting experience! I loved it; my daughter loved it; the walls are completely down; I became comfortable talking about all aspects of sex with her; and I feel like my daughter is fairly equipped to face the complex issues of her teens, especially as she experiences public school and life in America for the first time.
If you have a son or daughter in the 11-13 year age range, please take a look at www.passporttopurity.com to learn more. If we're not actively engaged in doing this kind of thing with each of our kids in today's culture, I think we are seriously setting them up for failure.
Theresa Olive
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