OT: Celebrating the teen years

[MelInKansas]

My oldest is about to turn 11. My husband and I were discussing last night if we wanted to do anything special to celebrate her "becoming a young woman." Probably we would do something about 13 years old. I have heard of the purity ring and like that idea, I just wanted to hear what others with daughters have done or plan to do to encourage and celebrate their milestone of transitioning into teen years or young adult-hood.

Thanks for any input.

[Mamamindy]

When my girls turned 13 I wrote them each a letter telling about their birth day, how much they are loved & filled the letter with encouragement to make good decisions and to have a vision for their life. I also asked various women in their lives to write them a letter. I then took all these letters and compiled them into a binder with page protectors and presented the binders to them on their 13th bday. My girls are 16 & 17 now. They both get their binders out regularly and read through the encouraging letters.

[my3sons]

When each of our children and each of my nieces and nephews turn 13 yo, we parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents write a letter to them. I try to include a picture of me when I was 13 yo, with braces, glasses with a small heart sticker, and a toothy smile, just to show these are years of change and that's expected and exciting. We also have a special box of more grown up gifts in addition to the regular birthday gifts, like a wallet, a shaving kit, a journal, a teen devotional, an NIV Life Application Bible with notes on each page, special Christian Music CDs, etc. These letters are all very special to each 13 yo who has received them - especially now since some of the people who wrote them have passed away and are now in heaven. I still love reading my Dad's letter to Wyatt, and so does he. We'll also have his words to pass on to Riley this year when he is 13 yo, and though they were addressed to Wyatt, they'll be fitting for Riley too. It has become a special tradition for our family.

In Christ,
Julie