Princess.
That's a four letter word in our house.
For some reason when my inlaws were in town (and when they talk to Beanie on Skype which oh my god I wish we'd never let them talk us into getting an account) they like to talk all about princesses. They tell Beanie a story about "Princess Beanie" and her castle and yada yada.
We do not like princesses here. Glenn hates Disney and we just don't care for the connotations that being a princess has. Or the assumption that every little three year-old girl wants to be one or is one.
We were at the park a few weeks ago for her birthday playdate and Beanie came running by me exclaiming, "I'm a princess!" I was surprised and said, "Really?" Some of the other kids had decided that they were going to role-play and play princesses. When we got home I told Glenn and he asked Beanie what princesses do. She replied that they ran around and played in their castles.
She does know one princess. Princess Pea from Super Why! We've vastly cut down our media addiction and Beanie doesn't watch much TV at all. She watches a couple shows in the morning while I'm getting breakfast ready and doing some chores and that's about it. We've completely moved away from Nick Jr and we only really watch PBS -- mostly Super Why! and Word World. There are a few other shows she watches occasionally and I'm okay with that.
I just wonder, why the assumption that all little girls want to be princesses? Truth be told, Beanie would rather be playing soccer or exploring in the woods than playing "princess."
I feel the same way about Princess labels and Princess stuff!
ReplyDeleteReally? No princesses? I have 3 sisters and my dad STILL calls us Princess. But? He also put us all to work in the yard, garage, taught us to shoot (handgun AND shotgun), and at 12 I was driving our bulldozer in the field. As long as you're not a spoiled brat princess and there's some balance, I see no problem with it. We didn't REALLY think we were princesses. To be honest, I liked being in the garage changing tires at 2 more than I liked dressing up like a princess!
ReplyDeleteYea, I agree with you to an extent Sandy. Beanie did get this book called Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots and it is pretty cute. I guess it's more the assumption that we MUST call her princess since she's a little girl. And the inlaws aren't really about the whole balancing it out thing. They're all about stereotypical princess stuff.
ReplyDeleteBTW, we're going to my niece's bday party which will be ALL about princesses....it'll be interesting to see what Beanie thinks.
I'll confess, we did the princess thing. But our bedtime stories were full of "and Princess Little Sis put a leash on the horrible dragon, built him a huge dog house, and tucked him into bed..." . Prince Charming never factored in, unless he needed rescuing.
ReplyDeleteThis is something I have been thinking about lately if I ever have a little girl and how I want to raise her...I get not wanting to tell your child stories about how prince charming came in and saved the day and they all lived happily ever after...I want to raise children who can stand on their own two feet. But you know, now that I think about it, I read all those books and saw all those movies and I have never expected a man to come and rescue me. I was taught that hard work has its own rewards and that I can support myself. I take responsibility for the decisions I make and don't make excuses for myself...yes, I have some body image issues, but those are rooted in other issues, rather than the fact that I played with Barbie a lot as a child. I also know that my parents spoiled me as much as they could, within their means, but they taught me values as well and I think I turned out okay...I guess what I am getting at is if you keep everything in balance, hopefully you will end up with well-rounded little girls who can appreciate being called 'princess' but still think for themselves.
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