Although I have no children of my own (yet!) I often think of how I would like to raise children, and how I would go about instilling morals in them, especially in today's widespread social media usage. Usually I think I wouldn't let my kids have phones, but I'm not sure how likely that would be.
To get a better idea of what it's like being the mother of teen girls, I spoke to Sherrill Shiraz, mother of two girls ages 12 and almost 14. She gave some great insight on what it's like raising a family in a time where everyone is so connected. She also spoke on weight loss and wearing makeup.
"Both of my daughters have Instagram and Snapchat, no Facebook, and no Twitter," said Shiraz.. "I don't monitor what they post enough, but my friend is friends with them and she let's me know if she sees anything I should look at."
While both of her daughters have cell phones, Shiraz sets specific times when they can or can't use them.
"They are not allowed to have the phone at the table or when we are eating in the kitchen. Also not when doing homework. Otherwise my husband and I keep an eye on them and if we think it is getting out of hand we remove it. The phone is the primary privilege we take away from the younger daughter. My oldest rides horses, so we use that as leverage," said Shiraz.
Shiraz definitely thinks the media pressures women to look a certain way, and she expressed concern for her daughters.
"I tell my girls not to look at any clothing size tags because we can cut them out and nobody has to know the size- just look at how we feel," said Shiraz.
Shiraz recently lost 30 lbs, mainly for health reasons."I believe we should all appreciate our body and that we should try to stay healthy- that was my main motivation for losing weight. I like the way I look now and that I can wear different clothes. I think in a way that the motivation to stay thin or healthy is not 100% negative because there is an underlying benefit for our health, but when we judge ourselves because we are not 'thin enough,' then that is bad," she said.
Shiraz expressed concern for her daughter watching videos on YouTube. "She does not understand that these [YouTube videos] are really like advertisements and many of these people are wearing clothes and using products that they are paid to use," she said.
As far as makeup, I asked Shiraz if she herself wore any, and whether she let her daughters wear it as well.
Shiraz said that while she does wear some eye makeup and lipstick, she makes sure to use good moisturizers but doesn't care too much for foundation makeup.
"My 14-year-old started wearing makeup this year and her younger sister [almost 12] has just started wearing some cover-up for her acne and some mascara," she said.
"I have never said they can't wear it, but I have never encouraged them to wear it, so I guess I am neutral. I do comment negatively if I see someone with lots of makeup on just because I think it is bad for their face and also if it looks unnatural," said Shiraz.
Shiraz said her oldest has taken an interest into learning how to apply makeup.
"I think it's important for them to experiment with their femininity and makeup is part of that in our society," said Shiraz. "I am sure her father would say something if she put on too much though!"
Shiraz says she strives to teach her daughters that there are many other things to do other than shop or worry about clothes, and currently she is getting them involved in local charities, and teaching them how to make their own clothes.
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