I have been seeing this visual pop up over and over again on Facebook and Pinterest:
It has made me think a bit about how I refer to Maddie. She is our “baby girl,” our “honey,” our “sweet girl,” and our “little princess.” I also point out to her when she does something smart, kind, or that Jesus would like.
I looked into this a little more. When I typed in “Do not call your daughter a princess,” tons of articles came up, several containing this exact same visual. Most of them were articles saying not to refer to little girls as princesses, and quite honestly, I just had to stop reading. Not because I found the articles and their authors ridiculous, as you might expect, but because I am the queen of this household and there are lots of things to be done.
Do you know the role of a princess? A princess is a representative of a monarch and her country. She leads huge charitable organizations. She is also sometimes a wife and mother. I found this interesting article concerning the many activities of Princess Anne: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081002035350AAOeKFB. She sounds like someone that I would love for Maddie to strive to be like!
I would say that a princess is pretty awesome! To fulfill the role of a princess would require intelligence, kindness, patience, love, generosity, leadership abilities and every other word listed on the picture above.
So what’s the problem? IF YOU WANT TO CALL YOUR DAUGHTER A PRINCESS, CALL HER A PRINCESS AND BE PROUD TO HAVE A PRINCESS IN YOUR FAMILY! I know I am.
Our little princess.
I know that some of you are thinking, “But, Laresa, you know that when people call their little girls princesses they are referring to the typical Disney princess.” You are probably right, and there is nothing wrong with that. The Disney princesses are kind and virtuous women. And if that is something that you have a problem with, perhaps you should turn off the DVD player and sit down with your daughter and discuss the merits of a real-life princess. Or better yet, do a search of princesses in the Bible (search for daughters of kings in the Bible) and see what shows up! Now that is really interesting.
Here are some reasons that I will continue to call Maddie a princess:
1. I want her to be proud, like a princess. There is nothing wrong with being a girl and there is nothing wrong with being a woman. There is no shame in having a husband who takes care of you like a husband is meant to do. We need to embrace the fact that we were created by God to fulfill a certain role, that of a princess and eventually a queen. Our role as princesses and queens is one of the most important in the world and we shouldn’t be ashamed of it.
2. I want her to have high expectations, like a princess. A lot of girls and women today have such low expectations! I know I certainly did at one point in my life. If a girl has a father who treats her like a princess, when it is time for her to have boyfriends and choose a husband she will expect the same. I want Maddie to be called a princess and treated like a princess and then a queen by every man in her life!
Which leads to…
3. I want her to be virtuous, like a princess. We send the wrong message to our daughters today. We tell them that they need birth control in case they decide to have sex, that they can have abortions in case an accident happens, and that they can get a shot in case they get an STD. Instead, we need to teach them that they are princesses, and that they need to search for their prince. They are that important.
One of the best traits of the Disney princesses is that they wait for their prince charming. They long for him and they search for him, and that is what we need to teach our daughters to do as well. That is what God wants us to do, and there is nothing wrong with or uncool about that.
4. I want her to beautiful, like a princess. Yes, I said it. I want her to take care of herself and be healthy, and there is nothing wrong with teaching her that.
5. I want her to get to be a little girl, and little girls like princesses. When she wants to put on her princess dresses, I will let her. When she wants to read about Cinderella, I will get out the Cinderella book.
On the flip side, when she wants to put on her Superman consume (which she does have) I will let her do that.
I will let her enjoy her childhood and not clog it up with societies issues.
And most importantly…
6. She is God’s princess, and I want her to know and understand that. God made women in a special way, and Jesus loved women in a special way during his short time here on Earth. We are special to him, and we need to start feeling that again. I want Maddie to feel that and know that, so she doesn’t have to search for that acceptance in other places.
“God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7
You know, I am a firm believer that we are making life a little too complicated. We absolutely analyze every little thing, and I think it all goes back to our quest for happiness, which is not something that we will ever consistently have in this broken world. We have got to stop holding other people responsible for our lack of happiness (in this instance our parents who called us princesses) and instead accept the true peace and joy (not happiness) that comes with acceptance of Jesus.
Let’s stop wasting our time and give some power, love, and self discipline to our little princesses.
And just one more thing…
The next time you come over and see Charlie dressed up as Batman, please do not refer to him as Batman. Instead, just remind him that he is very kind or courageous. Thanks for your help!
My two sweet, intelligent, funny, beautiful children, AKA Superman and Batman.
Kudos to you Resa! I love this post.