My daughter is my princess but as a parent I certainly am increasingly aware that how I interact with her in these formative years of adolescence can have a tremendous impact on her growth into adulthood. The virtues, values, and instruction I provide her now will carry on into how she views life as well as how she forms her own family structure someday in the future. Thus, understanding ways by which parents should equip their daughters to be the Proverbs 31 woman that is the model in Scripture for what a righteous woman looks like is a vital tool for the parenting tool chest. John Croyle, founder of Big Oak Ranch and author of books that have proven to be helpful guides for parenting, has written a new book that aims to help parents in the effort to raise a princess who will turn into a Proverbs 31 woman.
Using the acronym of “princess”, Croyle engages 8 key virtues he believes are essential for parenting daughters. These virtues are praiseworthiness, righteousness, initiative, nurture, character, empowerment, servant-heartedness, and stability. Each chapter of this book is devoted to exploring in great detail each individual virtue while exploring how these virtues are noted in Proverbs 31. Additionally, Croyle does more than just note 8 virtues and send you on your merry way with the hopes you might just get it right in your day to day struggle of parenting. Conversely, he examines these virtues in a very practical and helpful way, providing clear and easy to use examples of how parents can leverage these virtues in their parenting efforts.
For example, in his chapter on righteousness, Croyle aptly notes that righteousness is all about “living the way you were meant to live, regardless of what the world around you is doing – a way that feels right.” This is a very important concept to relay to young girls, especially in a day and age where the pressure to look a certain way, to succumb to the temptations of sex in order to fit into the popular crowd at school, or the element of society redefining normal for their own sick purposes rains down like a thunderstorm on young girls. This is even more important for girls who come from hard backgrounds, something Croyle is very familiar with in his work at the Big Oak Ranch. Girls who were never taught by their parents what righteousness and standing up for what is right is all about are often the first to fall prey to the allure of short term pleasures.
Croyle’s discussion of nurturing also hit home with me. He notes regarding Proverbs 31:26-28 that the idea of nurturing is inherent in the attitude of the Proverbs 31 woman, a person who “opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” As a father, I need to nurture my daughter so I can prepare her to “nurture her daughters and sons”. God nurtures His children which is something Croyle rightfully reminds the reader. This often involves being gentle and tough depending on what the individual situation warrants. Croyle also aptly notes that the word “helpmate” which described why God created Eve for Adam connotes the idea of nurturing and sustaining. Nurturing can be taught in many ways, one of which is through the avenue of taking care of a horse, a suggestion provided by Croyle that fits into our family dynamics given we own a horse. Essentially, he stresses the need to develop such a virtue by providing situations and the means by which daughters can practice this virtue, knowing sometimes they will be successful and sometimes they will fail. It is the learning process that is important, the spending time with your daughter to instruct them in why nurturing is important that is the key to future success.
Parenting is tough. Anyone who says otherwise is either not a parent or if they are, they are perhaps not parenting as they should. Raising up a daughter who will be a Proverbs 31 woman is my desire and Raising a Princess by John Croyle is going to be a vital tool I will use time and again as my wife and I work with our own daughter on understanding the virtues that form the heart of what makes a Proverbs 31 woman. I highly recommend this book for all parents, especially those such as myself who are the parents of adopted kids from tough backgrounds.
This book is available for purchase from B&H Publishing Group by clicking here.
I received this book for free from B&H Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
by 
