Keep 'em off the pole...

Okay, so we know this friend of a friend (isn't that the way every good story starts?!), and I'd like to take a minute to share his parenting philosophy on raising daughters:

He says that as the parents of daughters, our job is to basically 'keep them off the pole'. That's right, my friends. This is actually his 'take' on parenting. That everything we do as parents either pushes them 'closer to the pole' or 'back from the pole'.

The 'pole' to which we're referring (if you're over 60 or live under a rock) would be a 'what'? Yes, a STRIPPER POLE.... ding! ding! ding! You guessed it.

Now, it starts with the name you give your child. Now, I'm not going to start a list of names here, at the risk of offending someone. But between these two names (completely hypothetical! jeez... don't go commenting on my blog) : 1. Anna Elizabeth OR 2. Crystaleene Rychelle... which of these moves your child closer to the pole?!! I think we can all figure out that little brain bender.

Every academic achievement or personal accomplishment? Why, that's 'one step away from the pole'. Pretty simple system, right?

Now, I gave both of my daughters very classic, beautiful names, so I felt like I was a good step ahead on this 'pole business'. That is, until this evening.

My own little Elizabeth loves to listen to music. And she loves to watch music videos on YouTube. She has her favorites, and she always requests them... "I wanna hear Gink in the Pink!" (Geek in the Pink by Jason Mraz)

She is so cute, standing in front of the computer, dancing, singing along, we can't help but laugh at her. (plus she's the third child, so she gets extra points for 'adorableness'!) So, tonight, having finished dinner, Phil and I were cleaning up the kitchen, and she wanted some music to listen to. We'd eaten spaghetti, and knowing what a mess she usually makes, we'd taken off her shirt before unleashing her on her plate of pasta with sauce.

So after dinner, she moves a little stool to the computer so she can see better. And then... I swear to God... she says "I can dance better like this!" and totally drops her knickers. At this point, we have a completely naked 3 and a half year old, standing on her own personal little "stage', dancing.

I'm a little worried that might be one giant step closer to the pole. ;-)