There is no such thing as a perfect parent. Part of being a parent means making mistakes.
Even as times change, it seems that most parents usually raise their kids how they were raised while also trying to do a better job than their parents.
Girls seem to be watched a lot more closely than boys are. There were a lot of things growing up that I noticed were different about my brothers and I, besides the fact that I am a female and they are males.
My brothers were usually the ones chosen to help my dad with manual labor even though I was the oldest. My parents did a great job raising me, but I often wondered why they were more nervous about me going out than my younger brother?
Whenever I felt that something was not fair between my brothers and I and I would ask why, and would always get the same answer — “Because you’re a girl.”
It bothered me that some parents did not think their daughters could defend themselves as well as their sons could. Parents, no matter how good of a job they of raising their children, will always question if they did good enough.
Society expects girls to be gentle, smart and nurturing. What about strong, determined and independent?
Girls need to start being raised with the some of the values boys are raised with. Girls should not be raised learning to depend on others for safety or financial stability.
Being nurturing and caring allegedly comes easier for girls than boys. Boys should be taught these values just as much as they are taught to be strong and successful. Boys need to know it is okay to cry, it is okay to be gentle.
It is time for society and parents to start reevaluating how girls and boys need to look at the world while growing up. Times are changing fast, and girls have a lot more opportunities going for them than they did 50 or even 10 years ago.
With each generation society grows new morals and values. These new morals should not be kept in the past, they need to move with, not against, the times.
Kristina Martinez can be reached at [email protected] or @orion_news on Twitter.
