This is something I can relate to. I don’t want anyone to feel bad, but sometimes in doing the well-meaning things of parenting stuff can get overblown. Making this whole subject taboo in my house growing up led me down some pretty strange pathways to satisfy my later curiosity. It made my sexuality very complicated later on. I guess I would just recommend making sure that no topic is off-limits and no amount of activity beyond redemption. Peace.
This is a really good phrase; I like it!
While I’m not sure this behavior is to the point of mortal sin for her yet, something that we’re planning on doing with our kids might help you in this, too.
Once our kids reach the point of going to Confession, we’ll tell them–and repeat often, probably to the point of boring them–that they do not ever need to be embarrassed to say that they need to go to Confession and need us to take them. First off, everyone sins and needs Confession. Second, we will
never ask why. (If a kid seems to be scrupulous, we might ask a few general questions, but we will never hector them about Confession.) That way, the kid knows that if she says, “Mom, I need to go to Confession,” she’s not going to be hit with, “Why? What did you do? It can’t be that bad? Tell me!” etc. All she’ll hear is, “You know, so do I.” (Even if I don’t have mortal sins going on, then it’s always a good idea to confess venial ones.) “How about Wednesday evening? We can get ice cream afterwards.” We’ll also do a family trip to Confession every few weeks.
(OP, it does
not sound at all like you’re hectoring your DD over this; you’re doing a great job! I only offer this as a suggestion as to how to handle Confession in the future, especially when you’re putting this behavior in the context of the mortal sin that it can be.)
