WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A PRINCESS?

A couple days ago, I sat watching my daughter try on her friend’s princess dresses and wondered if she really understands what it means to be a princess.

Little girls seem to have a natural desire to dress up like princesses and act out their favorite fairytales! As girls, we admire princesses and want to be just like a princess. In fact, my daughter is begging me to let her dress up as Cinderella in a pretty blue butterfly dress this Halloween.

The truth is, one of my favorite princesses is Cinderella. Her’s is a classic story, portrayed over and over again! I’m so excited to add the new Cinderella to our collection!

As I watch my daughter’s love and admiration (dare I say obsession) for princesses grow, I’ve begun to wonder, what exactly is a princess? Why do we admire them? And how can we teach our little girls what it means to be a princess?

As a mom, I sometimes worry that my daughter might become too obsessed with the outside appearance of a princess. Princesses are beautifully illustrated and seem to have this unrealistic perfect figure that sometimes makes feeling comfortable in your own skin a little more difficult. I don’t want my daughter to feel that unnecessary pressure.

Being a princess is not about wearing a glittery tiara and a gorgeous dress, its about becoming someone that others want to be like!

Of course children love to dress up! And feeling confident on the outside, can certainly help build confidence on the inside… However, I hope that I can help my daughter to develop that beauty from within!

I want my daughter to see Cinderella and admire her for her positive attitude, kindness and hard work, even in a less than ideal situation!

Selflessness is one characteristic of princess Anna from Frozen. She saw the good in her sister Elsa, believed in her no matter what and wanted her to be happy, even to the point of sacrificing her own life.

Belle is a bit quirky and unique. The townspeople called her strange! But I want my daughter to see her quiet confidence in her own skin and her compassion towards others.

I love Rapunzel’s passion for life and excitement to try new things… Mulan’s courage and bravery… Jasmine’s desire to help others… These are all characteristics that make princesses such lovable characters!

So how can we teach our little girls to develop these princess-like qualities? Especially when there are so many outside forces pulling their focus in other directions! In our society, it can be hard to stand up for what is right, be confident and kind.

Here are few ideas:

Watch it! We like to have movie nights and watch together as a family. We try to point out the positive traits we see and help our kids understand how their actions influence those around them.

Play it! Join in the fun! Having a special one-on-one princess session creates memories and allows for a great environment to talk more in depth about the importance of developing princess-like qualities!

Note it! When you see your children doing something positive, demonstrating characteristics like compassion, service, courage and hard work, let them know how much you appreciate it. Drawing attention to these positive things will only reinforce that behavior!

Live it! I think one of the BIGGEST things that we can do is to be an example of these qualities ourselves. Kids listen more than we think and they watch our every move. So being an example for good is powerful.

Because I love Cinderella so much, I’ve joined up with a few of my blogging friends to bring you even MORE Cinderella ideas!

Don’t they look amazing?! Check out all of our ideas below!

Cinderella Party Ideas from The Love Nerds

Cinderella Champagne Cocktail from Living Better Together

Cinderella’s Magical Pumpkin Pinatas from Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt

20 Princess Party Games from Play.Party.Pin.

Have Courage and Be Kind Printable from Simply Designing