Young girls don't have enough good heroines to look up these days. Sure, there are lots of cute girls running all over the television, but half of them seem to be on the verge of stripping off the rest of their clothes and the other half are unbelievably goody-two-shoes. I was a girl myself once, and I can still remember Punky Brewster and the girls on Full House. It just seems like now that I'm a mother, I can't seem to find the same “normal” type of characters for my daughter to watch.
Role Model
I know that I am the best role model my child needs. I already do what I can to avoid some of the nastier curse words around her and find nice things to say to and about everyone. (Believe me, it's definitely a challenge sometimes.) I carefully screen her friends (and her friends' parents) to make sure she isn't going to be hanging out with the next Brittany Spears or Lindsay Lohan, but there is definitely something lacking still.
When I sit down to watch television with my not-so-little girl in the evenings, I want to find something that everyone can enjoy and something that is appropriate for everyone. This leaves out 99% of the reality shows and anything on a music channel. As far as evening television shows go, there just isn't much out there that satisfies the whole family.
A Stroke of Luck
Fortunately, we had a serious stroke of luck the other day. A friend, who also has a daughter too old for Dora and too young for the Housewives, stumbled across Miley Cyrus. Not only does Miley play a great character on her television show, she also is a quality person off the screen.
Onscreen Miley plays a girl who struggles with her true self and leans on her friends and family for support. She dresses appropriately, but fashionably, and looks healthy and happy. She is everything I know my daughter is and offers her a role model she might try to emulate.
Off screen, there is even more to Miley Cyrus. She is a real singer with a real solid wholesome family. She lives with her family who tries to protect her from the crazy Hollywood lifestyle and actually attends church every Sunday. Her father is a famous singer, and Miley is working to become one herself – in fact she's already there. A wholesome family girl who goes to church while following her dreams? What else could a mother ask for?
Building Up Miley Cyrus
So without being obvious about it, I starting working to build up a “relationship” between Miley and my own rising starlet. We watched her show together; we shopped to find clothes like her. I even found some online Miley Cyrus dolls on TheDollPalace.com that were a big hit. I'm not looking to raise a clone of Miley, and my daughter would never allow it, but if my angel is willing to look up to Miley, I'm certainly not going to discourage it!
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