I need advice on raising a girl.?

I just found out I am having a girl. I see kids today and while they aren鈥檛 that different from when I was a kid I really am not impressed. They are so quick to be manipulated by fashion, television, and idols. I am not a stuffy man; I just don鈥檛 want my girl to hop on every pop culture band wagon that is marketed to her. No offense to all you teens but I believe that Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus to be nothing more than corporate products designed to bring in profit. My niece is 14 and her entire image is defined by what her friends think of her, and how well she resembles people like Paris, Miley, or whatever airbrushed image of the week that comes along.





I don鈥檛 want to raise a superficial, shallow robot, but I don鈥檛 want to raise a timid, sheltered little girl either. I want to raise a classy, confident girl. I want her to have high self esteem, strong values, and a sense of independence from the mainstream world.





I am A Chemical Engineer in my mid 20鈥檚. My wife is a CRNA. We are both professionals and our only major stipulation is that she will attend college or be forced to support herself when she is 18.





Given all that I want for my future daughter, can anyone give advice or tips on how to raise such an individual. For instance I never watch commercials. I always Tivo any shows I like and fast forward though the commercials. Any suggestions on how to achieve what I want would be helpful.I need advice on raising a girl.?
I want the same things for my daughters! And it IS hard to keep their minds off the pop culture. Even at 5, my oldest has gotten enamored with Disney money machines b/c HER FRIENDS have introduced it to her. Not because she has been catching that stuff at home.





Something I read in a parenting book that I thought was really helpful was this: Praise isn't good for kids. That's because most of the time it's false and drummed up to make them feel good, and your children are smart enough to know the difference. It's never a good idea to associate ';goodness'; or ';cuteness'; with how a child does a certain task. Praise links a child's worth to what she does. Encouragement emphasizes the act.





I suggest some reading by Dr. Kevin Lehman...he seems to have a good balance of being a protective, but loving, %26amp; encouraging parent. Good luck!





P.S. About the college thing...I understand you want your child educated, but if you can first get your child to LOVE something %26amp; have a desire to do that...then she will desire to further her education...but if you make the focus ';being in school'; rather than furthering herself...you may burn her out on school. And what good is an education if she has no desire to use it? There will be a lot of time between now %26amp; then. Take things one day at a time.I need advice on raising a girl.?
'; They are so quick to be manipulated by fashion, television, and idols ';


I'm 36 years old.


When I was a kid we were all quick to be manipulated by the fashion of Madonna and Michael Jackson, and the television of Miami Vice.
You can't force her to become exactly what you want, but only support her in what she wishes, and tell her at a young age what she should do, sorry but thats the american life nowadays.
Jeeperz, you just found out today what you`re having!! Just be happy she`s healthy when she`s born and go from there.She`s not an individual...she`s your baby, ( smacking my head).
Try to socialise her with young children and help her develop hobbies and interests at a young age. When she is a baby and toddler, try to limit her ';mindless'; TV intake, but let her watch occasionally for a treat, but try to give her education things.


Read to her a lot, perhaps speak basics of a different language around her.


Try to develop interests such as martial arts, playing music and so on, and take her to places of interest to develop her culturaly.


Make sure she does work around the house, and just try to teach her good morals and ideas.


Tell her the truth about things that are in the world, make sure she realises its not some fantastic place where everyone skips about smiling, but tell her that if she works hard, she can have a great life.


Try not to put too much pressure on her, that could lead to rebellion, but just use your instincts and go for it. I'm sure you'll be a great father.
kids learn by example ..my children are turned off by commercialism and materialism , because I teach them MY values. We dont buy into Disney Videos ..We dont watch mundane Nickolodeon crap, on tv. They have a life outside of media influences .
Talk to her as soon as she can walk about your personal values, reinforce her own self worth and positive self image, and talk about peer pressure and the drive to conform. Kids who are slave to trends and fashion and pop idols are usually indulged (read ';neglected';) by their parents, have low self-esteem and think the only way to be valuable is to copy someone else who seems to be popular. Kids who get plenty of positive reinforcement at home and who know what the expectations are usually turn out to be independent thinkers.
My daughter is 10, and she's not obsessed with pop culture. She loves Egyptology, reading, art, science and learning different languagues (right not she's studying Hebrew and Japanese). She's become the person she is because we have always encouraged her to do the things she wanted to do. We've helped her in her relationships with her friends by encouraging her to stand up for the things that are important to her,and her real friends will respect that. We stayed away from too much commercialism when she was little; We used more generic themes like butterflies in decorating her room rather than Disney Princesses...although when she was old enough to express an interest in characters we allowed her to pursue them of course.





The key is to always allow her to be the person that she is, and give her support and encouragement.