We have three sons and two daughters. In one of the songs we taught our children, there is the phrase, “stalwart sons and daughters fair.” Daughters are uniquely distinct from sons; both are equally created in the image of God, and yet they have different roles.
In our last article we spoke about training boys to be leaders. This is not to suggest that women don’t have a leadership role. But in terms of training in the home, there is much beauty in training them to be nurturers. With the word “nurture” many words come to mind: care, feed, help, or encourage.
Generally, young girls grow up playing with dolls, playing ‘mom’, feeding their dolls and putting them to bed. I recall when my young sister received a carriage for her doll on her birthday, and we as boys would put the cat in her carriage and run away with it!
There are many ways of training girls to be nurturers. I’ll mention two:
First, we train them to serve others. It’s those nurturing instincts that moms can cultivate in their daughters at a very young age; like measuring out the flour for a cake. In time, she may teach them skills such as cake decorating, cooking, serving tables, braiding hair, or making pretty cards. Then mom might spend some time with her daughter, putting nail polish on her finger and toe nails.
I remember our daughters attending girls club the same evening that our boys attended the boys club. The girls did different things. They received badges for making crafts, decorating, baking, cooking, and teaching domestic and other life skills. This is preparation for life; to help out their future husbands and to be nurturers of their own children.
Second, we train girls to submit to God. In our home we taught our girls the importance of submitting to Christ. By submitting to Christ through faith in Him, they learn the value and the wise ways of nurture. In this way they can excel in their role as wife and mother, in addition to their many other responsibilities.
Teaching girls to be nurturers is not less important than teaching boys to be leaders. We should not think of one as better than the other. Both are necessary. Both roles are distinct, yet equally important. Don’t let our society persuade you otherwise!