When I was nine, my mother forced me to wear makeup.  Said that I was a girl and I had damn sure better look like one.

@Italianmama32103@xanga - A few blackmail photos are always a good idea.  

I am absolutely terrified at the idea of every having a daughter because of my behavior between the ages of 9-14.  I had developed quite an attitude as an older teen, but it was nothing compared to the things I was doing that my mother had no clue about.  Still, things turned out okay for me so I think everything will be fine for my children...I still do not want a daughter though!

One of my sons acts almost exactly like me though...it is a bit odd but I admit to being proud of recognizing the same look of mischief on his face that I wear on mine. :) 

Well look at who made the front page. Will I need to call for an appointment to talk with you now that you are famous? So proud of you!!

I would certainly keep an eye on her online. Call me paranoid but the internet is dangerous for someone that young. no e-mail address unless the parents know the password, and no chatting with strangers, no facebook friends that the parents do not know and approve of. Those would be my rules. the kid can either abide by them, or have no internet access.

My daughter is only 6, and some days, I swear she's 6 going on 16. She has a sassy attitude that could easily trump the average teenage girl's. She is very much into music, and doesn't always understand why I limit her access to Katy Perry. Um, "I Kissed A Girl" bothers me a lot, and I'm 25! The last thing I want is for my impressionable young daughter to think kissing other girls for attention is an acceptable behavior. She is also starting to get into makeup, and I'm okay with this to an extent. If I'm fixing up my face, I have no problem dabbing a bit of powder onto her face or adding a little nude eyeshadow to her lids. I let her wear chapstick and sheer lipgloss all she wants because, let's face it, having pretty lips is fun. She's a self proclaimed fashionista as well, and this is baffling for me since I'm a jeans and t-shirt gal. This is one area where I don't limit her creativity since she knows what she can and can't wear. Our religion includes modesty, and we don't allow her to wear short shorts/skirts or tank tops even though she's little because we feel if she is instilled with the value of modesty now, it won't be such a surprise or fight when she's older. Some days, I have to do a double take when I see what outfit she's thrown together because she really looks so grown up. My daughter is so much like I was as a young girl, and this not only makes me proud, it scares me lol. I had an attitude from hell when I was a tween and teen, and my daughter has one at 6! I was defiant and rebellious, and I'm trying to gear up for when my daughter lashes out. I'm hoping she doesn't, but from what I'm already seeing in her, I'm almost 100% sure the teen years are going to throw me for a loop.

As far as internet access goes, I feel it's our responsibility as parents to limit what our children can do online. I'm a firm believer in parental controls and passwords and constant monitoring. We can warn our kids of the dangers, but some will fall prey anyway. If your child is talking to random people, maybe a parental block or app removal is in order? When I was 12, I got in trouble. The internet was a new thing for us, and nobody bothered to warn me about the dangers of chat rooms. I gave out my real information all the time, and mostly just had guys asking to "cyber." I'd end those conversations quickly, but those guys weren't the ones I needed to worry about. It was the guys claiming to be teens, forming friendships with me, and getting me to trust them enough to give out more information. I actually went as far as giving one guy my home address! Yeah, I got grounded big time for that one, but it wasn't my fault. My parents never monitored my activity online, nor did they talk to me about predators and/or how to keep myself safe. I got punished for something I didn't understand. After that, though, I was more careful. I wasn't monitored, but already knew better than to ever give out my information again. A few years ago, my sister and her best friend were engaging in dangerous online activity. They were not only giving out their personal information, they were meeting up with strangers. I found out about it, acted like I was okay with their behavior so I could pump them for information and approached my parents about it. Upon further scrutiny, my parents discovered my sister had over 200 contacts in her phone and 150 of them were men. She tried to lie her way out of it, and somewhat succeeded (she had all her privilages, including unlimited and unrestricted internet access, reinstated after only 2 weeks). Her friend, on the other hand, lost her phone for a month and got it back with a new number and every contact had to be approved by her father. She was not allowed to use the internet without someone watching her, and this monitoring is still in place 3 years later. My parents never seem to know where my sister is or what she's doing because they don't care enough to bother. They'd rather assume the best so as not to have to actually deal with their teenager's wrath. Now, I'm not insinuating you are this kind of parent, so please don't take offense to my stories. I only mention them because I have witnessed first hand how dangerous the internet is, and I'm sure if you nip your daughter's behavior in the bud, you'll have more control over her actions in the future.

Great post!  I don't have children yet, but if my future children are going to be like me or my husband, you better believe we're going to have our hands full!  I am having a hard time understanding why kids want to grow up so quickly.  Once they become adults, it'll be a hard truth to wrap their head around that it is not all about being able to do what you want to.  Being an adult means going school, getting a job and taking care of one's responsibilities.  I would love to be able to just sit around at home, playing with my computer, or chatting with my friends rather than working and worrying if I have enough money for all my bills!

@rachmorgan01 - I agree.  We should always be aware of the dangers.  I don't know too much about smartphones as well, I have a Blackberry and it suits all my phone needs.  People who are always jumping to buy the latest and greatest in smartphones seems to be a bit out of touch in person, especially out to dinner.  It's is like you're fighting for their attention. "Hello!  I'm right in front of your face!!  Put your phone down! (Please)  Talk to me!!!"

I'm just going to go ahead and put this out there: you come off as too authoritative. Not exactly too strict, but you seem more concerned with enforcing your rules and controlling your daughter's behavior than actually teaching her the reasoning behind those rules (if any). Pretty much every friend or friend's sibling I know that had those kinds of parents found ways to rebel, sneak around, etc.

My parents focused on teaching me about the world, including explaining its relevant dangers. If I was old enough to be on the internet, I was old enough to know it was wrong to trust people there, because there are bad people out there that would hurt me. That I shouldn't download files (except email attachments from people I knew) because they could hurt the computer. Everything was conveyed in enough detail to scare me, without over-scaring me. It stuck. To this day, I am very cautious about my online presence.

In other matters that were not safety-related, like makeup, my parents would find ways to express disapproval without actively forbidding the activity. My sister was the only one in the family interested in makeup, got a lot of "what did you do to your face/fingernails? No, it's not pretty." especially from my dad. Not "YOU aren't pretty" but "What you DID isn't pretty." Needless to say, she did not get any makeup from my parents...but she did use birthday money to purchase it, or get it as gifts from friends (both of which my parents asserted no control over). After years of experimenting in the bathroom and sometimes looking silly, she's now much better at makeup than I am, while still younger than when I FIRST used makeup. Basically, it comes down to her doing it behind your back, with your active disapproval, or with your help and guidance to keep her skin healthy and her look age-appropriate.

Finally, my parents listened--really listened--to our wants and perceived needs. We could almost always ask and negotiate without seeming impertinent. I asked to get an allowance in middle school, or to stay home instead of going hiking with my family sometimes. I didn't always get what I wanted, but it was always actually considered.  Your daughter may want a later bedtime. I don't know when they get up, but my bedtime was always 9 (and got up at 7).  Around the age of 10-11, I started having trouble falling asleep, like, for hours, because I wasn't tired yet. After this went on for a year or so, I negotiated a later bedtime, so I could at least read in that time, or something, instead of going crazy in bed (I shared a room with younger sisters, so I couldn't have the light on).

I don't know that I read you correctly; I only had two paragraphs to go off of. But my observation has shown that parents who try to control their children and impose arbitrary values on them tend to breed resentment and later rebellion, which ruins the relationship as the child grows into a teen and adult. Whereas parents who use more guidance and explanation engender mutual respect and can have adult conversations with their teenagers, who keep coming to them for advice and help even as independent adults.

All this is just a thought to put out there, with the disclaimer that no family, person, or child is actually perfect; mine neither was nor will be.

@mynewlife1126@xanga - Thanks for letting me know :) I'm often self-conscious about posting on momaroo as a non-parent, even though as the oldest of 3 girls and someone who's worked with kids on several occasions I don't find my views unfounded...though possibly untested.