*eye roll*
I agree that Disney is ALL OVER the little girl market and it's hard to find things that aren't bedazzled with Princesses--but it's not impossible. Moms are the ones slathering their girls' room in Pepto Pink and Sleeping Beauty bedding, not an evil Disney CEO. It's Mom who buys the Princess dress up trunk...the hot pink kitchen set...the pastel Legos...the Belle bath towels. Mom doesn't have to pick pink--but given the opportunity she usually does.
Even if Mom didn't buy it, her little girl would probably take her hair band and slap it on her forehead as a crown anyway. Girls love Princess and dress up and frilly sequined 80's prom looks. Hey, 4 year olds are notoriously tacky.
Back to my point (if there is one): No one is holding a gun to Mom's head and forcing her to pick Princess! We have entire stores dedicated to nothing but toys--I won't even talk about how our culture practically worships at the Idol of Childhood--and Amazon and Etsy and a billion teeny tiny specialized internet companies. With a little bit of effort, I can easily find a neutral kitchen set or a career-themed dress up trunk or a de-hootchifying makeover kit for Barbie. If my playroom looks like Walt Disney secretly fathered my children, well guess who screwed that one up?
The problem doesn't lie in the doll clutched in my kid's hand...
It's my fault for treating my daughter like a Spoiled Little Princess.
I applaud mothers for stepping back and saying, "Whoa! This princess crap is getting crazy!" and wondering what impact this may have. (Mindful, involved parenting is always going to get my support.) But blaming the manufacturers for making the junk you bought is totally ridiculous.
We have absolute control over what comes into our homes, even down to what's playing on the Idiot Box. If Princesses are running wild, we can turn the TV off. Stop buying the dolls. Redirect her attention to something more fun. And even better--get down on her level and talk about what's so appealing about a blond girl in a pink ball gown.
2 comments:
Amen. This debate could be correlated to the "Fast food made my kids fat" debate. Nobody but the parent is at fault for their child(ren) eating fast food. Well put!!
I try really hard to NOT buy all pink crap and to NOT buy all pink clothes. I mean, she owns plenty of it, but I will NOT let her wear a shirt that says "I'm the princess" or some such junk. That's bull. She's a little girl with a lot to learn and I'm not gonna let her be a diva!
And it is interesting that girls STILL act like girls, even when they don't have girly stuff. My daughter won't even touch a car or any other toy with wheels. Weird.
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