Preparing Your Daughter for Adulthood: A 5-Day Reading Plan for Parentsنموونە

Day 1: Parent Your Daughter with Love

Our kids are human, and like any human, they prefer to listen to people who love them well. Yet it’s hard to feel loved when all you hear is correction, scolding, or being told to get your act together. Even when correction is needed, we can choose our words wisely. As Proverbs 15:23 says, “Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!” Our children need guidance and correction, but first they need love and connection.

As mothers, we’re called to model God’s love and mercy. We know how deeply we love our daughters, but do our daughters feel it? Is our love conveyed through our words, actions, and attitude?

Sometimes in our effort to raise good humans, we get so focused on “perfecting” our daughters that we forget to delight in them. We internalize their poor choices and project into the future, imagining wild scenarios—like a toddler who feels out of control winding up in jail one day!

This narrative creates panic. It can make us swing too far to immediately resolve every weakness. In the process, we lose sight of our blessings. We start to treat our daughters like problems to be fixed rather than children to be loved. And since kids are intuitive, they pick up on this. They know when love doesn’t feel real. Not having our heart in the right place will undermine our connection with our daughters.

Do you do more correcting than connecting? If so, talk it over with God. Ask for help to identify the problem. Is it perfectionism or unrealistic ideals? Is it a fear of people thinking that you’re a bad mother? Is it criticism from your past that has suddenly resurfaced? Are you scared about the future—or just tired and stretched thin because motherhood feels exhausting?

Whatever it is, remember that God loves you. You can’t surprise Him or scare Him away. Open your heart to His grace and pray to see yourself—and your child—through His eyes.

Reflect: Do you do more correcting than connecting with your daughter? Explain. Have you talked it over with God?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the unconditional love You shower upon us daily. Help me reflect that same love to my daughter. Teach me to connect instead of correct when my heart is overwhelmed, and remind me to delight in the gift You’ve given me in her. Guide my words and actions so they reflect Your grace and mercy, leading her closer to You. Thank You for being patient with me as I learn to parent with love. Amen.