The moment a daughter is born, she earns the position of princess in the eyes of her parents. The title is given and earned without any effort from the little baby who will one day grow into a beautiful young woman. As Christian parents, for many, the desire is to not only raise a daughter who is beautiful on the outside, but is also full of the beauty of Christ on the inside. In the book Raising a Young Modern-Day Princess: Growing the Fruit of the Spirit in Your Little Girl, Doreen Hanna and Karen Whiting strive to equip mothers and fathers with the tools to not only raise princesses in their eyes, but in the eyes of God.

If you have had the opportunity to read Raising a Modern Day Princess, of which Hanna is also a co-author, you may already be familiar with the theme of the book as well as the hearts of the authors. Both are mothers of daughters and understand the responsibility Christian parents have in raising their daughters to become daughters of the King. The journey is not easy and being a Christian (or a former little girl) does not guarantee you will know the steps for raising a godly woman. Raising a Young Modern-Day Princess is geared towards parents of pre-teen girls. It takes readers back to the beginning when their girls are young, and guides mothers and fathers along the way. Molding and nurturing your daughter while she is young is a very good place to start and not too early.

The forward and introduction of the book reminds readers of why the authors chose to write the book and of the beautiful young girls who have been placed in their care by God. Parents are introduced to themes and activities to strengthen the parent-child relationship they have with their daughters. The word PRINCESS is used as an acronym to describe actions of a mother.

Mother’s actions: Perceive, Refine, Inspire, Nurture, Cultivate, Encourage, Show her and Serve.

Displaying those actions can lead to developing princess attributes in your daughter that result in fruits of faithfulness, peace, joy, goodness, gentleness, kindness, patience and self-control, and love. As you read, each fruit is further discussed in the chapters that also include personal accounts. There are activities to complete and tools for mothers and fathers to use with their daughters as they nurture the fruit in the lives of their young girls. The addition of having a father involved in this experience will be invaluable in the life of a young girl. Hanna and Whiting note the importance of including a father in this experience.

A section that may be very helpful to all parents is the defining your daughter’s personality type, which is introduced at the beginning of the book. Having a better understanding of your daughter will enable you to implement the tools and conduct the activities shared in the book. Bible verses are used to further define the fruit being developed and assist in explanation of the value of that fruit. Discussion questions are included in the book to guide the reader through each chapter. Most of them are for written responses or you can choose to share them verbally with your spouse making this a complete family experience. Completing the discussion questions is just as important as reading the chapters. The time you take to complete the questions deepens the experience of learning how to raise a young modern-day princess and promotes the achievement of better results.

If the heart of your daughter is important to you, taking the time to read Raising a Young Modern-Day Princess will be an extension of that love.

-Product review by Jennifer Smeltser, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January, 2017

Another Reviewer’s Perspective:

Raising a Young Modern Day Princess

By Doreen Hanna & Karen Whiting

Tyndale House Publishing, Inc.

www.tyndale.com

Raising A Young Modern-Day Princess is fundamentally a guidebook on raising daughters in the Lord. The book is full of practical advice, activities, and encouraging words to empower your princess to follow the Lord faithfully amidst the challenges they are faced with every day. The book is available in paperback for $14.99.

Raising A Young Modern-Day Princess is 192 pages in length. This book is written for adults, but the material in the book focuses on building character in girls 12 and younger.

When we envision a princess, we automatically think of fairy tales. But, on the contrary, our daughters are daughters of the King of Kings. As daughters of the King the Bible calls them to live worthy of their calling. Ephesians 4:1 and II Thessalonians 1:11 are just a few of the verses evidencing this calling. In both Matthew and Luke Jesus tells the parable of the gardener, illustrating how individuals are recognized by their fruits. The famous French painting La Belle Jardinière by Renaissance artist Raphael is used as an illustration at the beginning of each chapter to help foster the Fruits of the Spirit into the hearts of our daughters. Princess attributes discussed are: prayerful, respect, inspired, noble character, compassion, encourager, self-control, and server, which spell out PRINCESS. Each chapter introduces a princess attribute along with its corresponding Fruit of the Spirit. Each chapter ends with activities to help develop these fruits. Also included in each chapter is a section entitled, Dad’s Toolbox. This book is a great resource for parents or caregivers raising young girls.

-Product review by Jennifer Ladewig, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January, 2017