Today, I get to be Princess Elsa, while my daughter—almost 3 years old!—is Princess Anna. Anna is searching for Elsa, who has built a beautiful ice castle on top of a mountain. Along her journey, Anna has to run through a snowstorm (sprinkler), climb the mountain (deck stairs), sled through the snow (slide) and fight off a snowman (the fake owl we use to scare off the wildlife that eat our bushes). Just another busy day in the life of a fabulous princess.
My daugther loves many Disney princesses, like Cinderella, Ariel, Rapunzel, Merida, and Belle. We even make up our own princesses, like Princess Poopie (she rules the potty). My daugther has princess clothing, princess dolls, a princess backpack, and I even buy the string cheese that has princesses on it. She loves sparkly tutus, crowns, and high heels. She also loves to sing, dance, and is always ready to cheer someone up if they are sad.
My daughter is my princess, and I wouldn’t change it.
I was shocked to read the latest anti-princess headlines based on a new study out of Brigham Young University. The study suggests that a love of Disney princesses can negatively impact a girl’s body image and educational experiences, making them less likely to gravitate towards math and science. I actually find the opposite to be true. My daughter’s love of Disney princesses seems to empower her in many ways.
In fact, here are the 4 Ways Princess Play Empowers My Daughter:
Confidence
My daughter had a tough time (still does sometimes) going poopie on the potty. It scares her. It was something so foreign and she just couldn’t grasp how to make it all happen. To help her out, we came up with a story about Princess Poopie, who’s royal thrown is, yep, the potty. Princess Poopie has to protect her land by going poopie on the potty (she doesn’t question why…thank goodness). She loves to play make believe, so when she feels like she has to go poopie, she becomes Princess Poopie and suddenly it’s not so scary anymore. She’s gone poopie on the potty by herself many times, too, but Princess Poopie helped give the confidence she needs.
Problem-Solving
We pretend we’re princesses a lot in our home. Daddy is the prince, of course. During our princess play, we find ourselves in many predicaments that force us to solve problems. Like the other day, she built a castle made out of pillows. Once she was in the castle, she realized she didn’t have her crown on—bummer—so she needed to get out of the castle to get it. The problem: If she tried to get out, her pillow castle would be ruined. We came up with a solution to make a pillow door exit that wouldn’t destroy her work. She got her crown, and her castle remained intact.
Compassion
At a million months pregnant (or 9…), I am definitely starting to slow down. My daughter has taken notice of this and her sensitivity is beyond sweet. I was laying down on the couch and she asked, “Are you tired mommy?” I told her yes. She pet my head and started signing “You don’t have to be afraid…for the first time in forever…I will be right here.” It’s a song from Frozen and it melted my heart to have her sing it to me to make me feel better. A lot of the Disney songs actually have some lessons behind them, and it’s cool that she picks up on that.
Uniqueness
Each princess is different. My daughter does not take on the character of a princess but rather makes it her own. She loves to pick out her own clothes and create her own games. It’s not about copying the princesses, it’s about being your own princess.
Do your kids enjoy princess play?
