As each year passes, my eldest daughter becomes more independent. She’s only six-and-a-half (the half is very important, she says), but I see the slippery slope of the world’s influence ahead. Yesterday, a neighbor came over to play. This girl is a bit older, so after they finished dancing and singing to a girly DVD, the discussion turned to a certain scruffy-looking boy band. My daughter grinned at me. “Gracie(not her real name), said I should like this boy in the band.”

I told her that she could like lots of boys as friends, and that she should stick with the ones she knows. I grimaced and walked around the corner to the kitchen where my husband stood wide-eyed and a little green around the gills. “What?” he mouthed. “Boys?” I shook my head, but wanted to bang it on the wall. I remember saying that sort of thing when I turned 13, not 6. (In hindsight even 13 seems too young to be thinking about that.)

It seems the fascination with the opposite sex starts in preschool with some kids, and the world feeds it. We’ve tried to shelter our kids, but we haven’t gone to major extremes. I wonder where the balance lies. I pray for her and with her every day. We pray she will have a heart to follow God’s ways and to honor Him with her actions. I pray she will be strong. I pray God will protect her. I need to pray more …

It’s a battle, ladies, and there is a long road ahead.