This post follows one that I wrote a couple years ago here in which I stated my fear of having a daughter that would turn out to be a "princess". Thankfully we have a daughter, and thankfully thus far have been able to avoid the syndrome. The other day, a friend who I hadn't seen in a while mentioned that I have one princess among my boys. I know she meant well, but it again reminded me how much it bothers me to hear little girls acting this way or being treated this way (most often by their parents).
The dictionary gives the definition as this:
prin·cess (pr
n
ss, -s
s
, prn-ss) n.
The dictionary gives the definition as this:
prin·cess (pr
nss, -ss, prn-ss) n.1. A woman member of a royal family other than the monarch, especially a daughter of a monarch. 2. A woman who is a ruler of a principality. 3. A noblewoman of varying status or rank. 4. The wife of a prince. 5. A woman regarded as having the status or qualities of a princess.
Do any of our daughters fall into that category? Are we raising royalty? Why aren't we raising our sons to be princes then? Other than being a child of a King (that King being our God on high), we should all be much more focused on being servants to one another, following in Christ's footsteps, and calling our daughters names that encourage that. The idea that our daughters should be princesses (that will one day meet Prince Charming) only sets them up for failure. The world is not going to see them as anything other than one of the many millions of others out there. Their future employers are going to want someone who digs in and works hard (more like Cinderella in her former days). Their future husband will hopefully treat her like a princess, but is she going to attract the right kind of husband with her world-owes-me-a-favor-'cause-I'm-so-cute attitude?
I say the rest of this because we finally got a library card and Elise checked out 2 Disney princess books (she already has a few doodads, so recognized them). Reading those books was nauseating. All about beauty and Prince Charming and dresses and "how do I look?" business. We've only watched Cinderella as far as the princess movies go, and I am thankful my kids enjoyed the cat and mouse shenanigans more than the rest of the story. (Except James who asked, "why were those stepsisters trying to kill Cinderella?" when they were stealing their beads and sashes back.) And I don't think we'll be watching the rest of them anytime soon. Beauty and the Beast has always bothered me due to the notion that it portrays that everything will work out if you just love someone enough. Hello, not true!
These days Elise is quite happy with Holley Shiftwell (from Cars 2), Strawberry Shortcake , Hello, Kitty with a smattering of Tinkerbell and that's just fine with me! Just as I finished typing this, I checked my email and this was written on one of them about training our children. Kind of sums up my thoughts on the matter.
Do any of our daughters fall into that category? Are we raising royalty? Why aren't we raising our sons to be princes then? Other than being a child of a King (that King being our God on high), we should all be much more focused on being servants to one another, following in Christ's footsteps, and calling our daughters names that encourage that. The idea that our daughters should be princesses (that will one day meet Prince Charming) only sets them up for failure. The world is not going to see them as anything other than one of the many millions of others out there. Their future employers are going to want someone who digs in and works hard (more like Cinderella in her former days). Their future husband will hopefully treat her like a princess, but is she going to attract the right kind of husband with her world-owes-me-a-favor-'cause-I'm-so-cute attitude?
I say the rest of this because we finally got a library card and Elise checked out 2 Disney princess books (she already has a few doodads, so recognized them). Reading those books was nauseating. All about beauty and Prince Charming and dresses and "how do I look?" business. We've only watched Cinderella as far as the princess movies go, and I am thankful my kids enjoyed the cat and mouse shenanigans more than the rest of the story. (Except James who asked, "why were those stepsisters trying to kill Cinderella?" when they were stealing their beads and sashes back.) And I don't think we'll be watching the rest of them anytime soon. Beauty and the Beast has always bothered me due to the notion that it portrays that everything will work out if you just love someone enough. Hello, not true!
These days Elise is quite happy with Holley Shiftwell (from Cars 2), Strawberry Shortcake , Hello, Kitty with a smattering of Tinkerbell and that's just fine with me! Just as I finished typing this, I checked my email and this was written on one of them about training our children. Kind of sums up my thoughts on the matter.
"Instead of worrying about "socialization", concentrate on raising polite, courteous and thoughtful people. Teach your children the importance of having a few good friends instead of a bunch of mediocre acquaintances. Stress loyalty and dedication over popularity and shallow emotional gratification."
"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." (Psalm 37:5-6)
