The Princess

We don't have TV. Or rather, we don't have cable. We do have DVDs, so the only shows she watches at homes are ones we've chosen to buy. I know at daycare she does watch TV so she's seen the whole range on Nickelodeon.

I read recently that the process for little girl fascination goes as follows:
2 years old - Dora
3 years old - Disney Princesses
4 years old - Hannah Montana (or is it Bratz?)

And sure enough, at her 3rd birthday, she was overwhelmed with Disney Princess stuff. I thought she wouldn't know what it was, but she did. She didn't know all the names, she just knew they were princesses. I'm not so thrilled with this trend.

See, as annoying as some find Dora the Explorer, I love her. Her mission is usually to save someone/clean the sea kingdom/rescue some animals/save Friendship Day/explore the world. And, she does it in multiple languages! Can you see why I like her even though she tends to yell a bit?

As much as I like all things Disney, the princesses, on the other hand, are all about finding Prince Charming who will save them from a life of drudgery. Now, I'm not opposed to my own Prince Charming, but I happen to prefer the idea of a little girl who goes out to save the world, relying upon her wits and her friends over the beauty who sleeps until the prince kisses her....(though I wouldn't complain if Angelina took to sleeping a wee bit more).

And Hannah Montana and Bratz/Barbie? Well, I honestly don't know much about them, except from photos of little girls dressed far too grown up.

I'm not really a prude, but I'd like my Princess to have her own power, intelligence, and inner strength to take on the world.

As for Angelina, well, turns out she's not so into the princesses afterall. She DOES however, like to call herself a princess. She loves to dress up in frilly dresses and twirl around. She also likes to explore, and play in the mud, and use tools, and definitely does not wait for someone else to guide her. No, she's ready to tackle the world on her own.




Lately, however, she's decided just being a princess isn't all it's cracked up to be. She's taken to saying "I'm the QUEEN!"