Here's an interesting article along the lines of a topic that came up recently on another thread in Weight Loss Support:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30827260/

Jay

Im so glad to have all boys!!LOL!!

My sister is the princess in our family. I was never into pink and dolls and all that stuff. I think it's important for people to just let their kids be themselves, not what they (the parents) think they should be. I always knew that my father didn't know me at all because he would always buy me dresses and dollar store Barbies. What the **** was I supposed to do with that? How could I dig for worms and climb trees wearing a frilly dress? Did Barbie ever have a roly poly farm or look at specimens under a kiddie microscope?

Or dig up antholes to find what was going on inside them with your mom's silver tablespoons.

Between Indiana Jones/Spiderman/Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker/etc (my 8 & 4 year old boys and sometimes my 2 yo daughter too!) and the princess/kitty/horse/what ever else is cute & cuddly (my 2 year old daughter).....I really see nothing wrong with it as long as the parent doesn't get in that mind set too

As you can see in my avatar I'm not a typical woman and I hope I raise my kids to be well rounded too esp my daughter.

I was never into princesses... I was too busy playing Lancelot and Robin Hood, and left the princess role to the other girl. Should've known then how I'd turn out, come to think of it.

Although, want to talk about disconcerting child games... my best friend and I would have the animal toys throw a revolution, reform their government into a totalitarian communism, and then they would suffer under their iron-fisted kitty ruler. Eventually the children would be put into slave labor, the crops would fail, mass hysteria, and the "hero" (usually a dog) would finally valiantly slay the evil kitty, and then also die tragically from his wounds. Then they'd put up a statue.

LOL, my middle daughter is the princess, but she still digs in the dirt all the other tom boy stuff, she just does it in princess attire. er brother, She loves to play pirate with her brother, but she is never the 'damsel in distress' my princess is quite the fighter...lol She beats up boys at school and is an awesome video game player. I think she is a perfect mix. My oldest, never cared for princess stuff or tom boy stuff, she likes to read and write(but nothing home work related...lol)

That's the things, though. I do happen to think that picture represents your typical woman more than a 6 year old in princess garb.

Typical women DO get dirty (not all of us have alligators in our backyards, though). I think most of us strike a balance between being lady like and getting dirt under our fingernails. Life calls for it.

I do think some parents overplay the princess and diva-ness, though.

I dont think i have a polarizing opinion on this topic, im for anything in moderation. but this struck a cord with me. im friends on facebook with a girl from highschool who has a three year old, and its always little diva this little diva that. and im thinking yeah its *cute* now, but wait til shes a teenager. ten more years of 'youre so cute when youre a diva' is going to create a monster. im not a mother, so maybe im wrong, but itll be interesting to see how it turns out.

Oh, never! I just grabbed a water hose and flooded them!

Ha, that's me! My auntie says I always put too much thought into my childhood games.

She sounds like my youngest cousin Jai. She's a little princess, her daddy's only child. It doesn't help that she actually looks like Belle from Beauty and The Beast. But she's a tough cookie, has no problem speaking her mind, and smacking people around. Love that kid!

That is my little sister all the way. Was a diva when she was young and is still one!

I think there's a very big difference between a child wanting and pretending to be a princess (or superhero) and their parents and grandparents treating them as if they were (giving in to every whim).

I remember when I was little, and later my sisters also, using the excuse "princesses don't do that," to get out of house chores like setting the table, and my mom or dad would say, "princesses who don't want to be sent to their room or get a spanking, do."

When my nephew recently tried to pull that, it was a complete dejavu moment. Mom (grandma) told him to pick up his toys while he was running around the house in his superhero cape (actually grandma's pastel crocheted poncho - an interesting choice for a superhero). He told us "I can't, I'm Batman, and Batman doesn't pick up toys." Grandma still has the nack, because she said sternly, "if Batman's grandma tells him to, he does."