We heart the Mouse

100% love and adoration for the Mouse and all things Disney at our house.  A recent facebook debate between some of my sorority sisters made me want to be able to voice my seemingly one-sided opinion on my blog.  :-)

So, here are the questions:  is teaching our daughters about princesses and fairytales the wrong thing?  Are we harming their sense of independence and teaching them that beauty is important? 

I will answer them both this way, then explain.  NO!  These ideas are ridiculous and unfounded.  First of all, our children are CHILDREN.  They should be allowed to dream and have imaginations.  It is okay to believe that life is a fairy tale at the age of 5, even at the age of 8, or even (gasp) 10.  What is wrong with keeping our children innocent?  Secondly, I think that the princesses all have a very strong sense of independence and each has their own positive traits.  Belle is innovative, Mulan is fiercely brave, Ariel is independent, Cinderella is an incredibly hard worker, Rapunzel is creative and crafty.  What is wrong with teaching our daughters about any of these things?  The fact that they are all beautiful (inside and out) is irrelavant, however, there are those who think that we are teaching our children that thin and pretty is the only way to get where  you want to be.  Which leads me to my third point. 

Yes, I think that as parents, we are solely responsible for teaching our children good self-confidence.  We need our daughters to love themselves the way they are.  But, I am not dumb enough to teach my children that the world will not judge them for the way that they look.  They need to know that appearance does mean a lot.  People judge you based on your clothes, your hairstyle and color, and even your weight.  That does NOT mean that I am teaching my children that they have to be perfect, but I am teaching them to look their best for the situation at hand.  Do you think that my patients would look at me funny if I walked into their rooms in sweatshirts and jeans, no makeup, and my hair was unkempt?  Yes.  I also cannot go into a job interview with casual clothes, tons of piercings, and rainbow colored hair and expect that interviewer not to judge me. 

Anyhow, my point is, being a good parent is more important to your child than letting them watch and pretend to be a Disney Princess.  One of the reasons we love Disney so much is that when you are at Disney, life is magical.  You can be swept away into a fairy tale.  You can be transformed into a princess or a pirate.  You can be a kid again.  What is more special than seeing the sparkle in your child's eyes when s/he meets their first character?  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  We will continue to heart the Mouse for the rest of our lives and hope that we can pass on the innocence and magic to our kids.