The world of princesses is one I'm not terribly familiar with. Little girls getting all dolled up with crowns and tiaras, pink frilly dresses, and high-heels, parading down run-ways.
I missed out on it, not having been into girly things - not even dresses - when I was growing up.
There really is a HUGE industry out there geared towards the stereotypical little lady and we're just starting to get a peek into how much of a draw that is.
Starting at age 4, the birthday parties start getting divided. Boys and girls start having separate parties. I'm not sure what the boys are doing, but the girls are having an amazing time playing princesses - getting dressed up, having their hair and make-up done, and looking pretty.
I'm not going to offer my opinion yet on how I feel about the obsession these girls are developing for looking beautiful, 3 and 4 year olds wearing heels and make-up, etc. For now, my daughter is enjoying time fostering friendships and she is learning a lot of great social lessons, including self-confidence. For example, it's just as cool to sport sneakers with her princess gown as it is to have sparkly ballet slippers that everyone's ooh-ing and aah-ing over.
I admit I cringed when I first realized princesses had taken over our house - at least that's what it felt like. However, we have also discovered so many opportunities have opened up for us to talk to Abby about things like judging things on appearances alone, friendship, kindness, duty, responsibility, stereotypes, and much, much more. So, princesses on the brain hasn't been bad at all.
A friend of mine works at a local children's bookstore called The Bookies - a great bookstore by the way - and she recommended a fantastic princess book to Abby called Not All Princesses Dress in Pink. I love this book, which celebrates individuality in a highly appealing, brightly illustrated, fun-to-read story. The princesses in this book don't twirl around in dresses and heels all day, but enjoy getting dirty and stinky playing sports, running around with dogs in the rain, gardening, fighting monsters, or working with tools. But, they do it all wearing a sparkly crown!
Anyway, sparkly crowns, painted fingernails, and fluffy, twirly dresses are all the rage for the preschool girls these days and we keep feeding the industry as these little girls enjoy playing princesses in extravagant salon birthday parties.
They are having an excellent time and there's no harm in letting them role-play along with their friends and be little girls so long as we, as parents, help them understand that the real world is not like fantasy.
I missed out on it, not having been into girly things - not even dresses - when I was growing up.
There really is a HUGE industry out there geared towards the stereotypical little lady and we're just starting to get a peek into how much of a draw that is.
Starting at age 4, the birthday parties start getting divided. Boys and girls start having separate parties. I'm not sure what the boys are doing, but the girls are having an amazing time playing princesses - getting dressed up, having their hair and make-up done, and looking pretty.
I'm not going to offer my opinion yet on how I feel about the obsession these girls are developing for looking beautiful, 3 and 4 year olds wearing heels and make-up, etc. For now, my daughter is enjoying time fostering friendships and she is learning a lot of great social lessons, including self-confidence. For example, it's just as cool to sport sneakers with her princess gown as it is to have sparkly ballet slippers that everyone's ooh-ing and aah-ing over.
I admit I cringed when I first realized princesses had taken over our house - at least that's what it felt like. However, we have also discovered so many opportunities have opened up for us to talk to Abby about things like judging things on appearances alone, friendship, kindness, duty, responsibility, stereotypes, and much, much more. So, princesses on the brain hasn't been bad at all.A friend of mine works at a local children's bookstore called The Bookies - a great bookstore by the way - and she recommended a fantastic princess book to Abby called Not All Princesses Dress in Pink. I love this book, which celebrates individuality in a highly appealing, brightly illustrated, fun-to-read story. The princesses in this book don't twirl around in dresses and heels all day, but enjoy getting dirty and stinky playing sports, running around with dogs in the rain, gardening, fighting monsters, or working with tools. But, they do it all wearing a sparkly crown!
Anyway, sparkly crowns, painted fingernails, and fluffy, twirly dresses are all the rage for the preschool girls these days and we keep feeding the industry as these little girls enjoy playing princesses in extravagant salon birthday parties.
They are having an excellent time and there's no harm in letting them role-play along with their friends and be little girls so long as we, as parents, help them understand that the real world is not like fantasy.
Sunday, January 23, 2011 |
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Comments (1)
omg they are all super cute!