My Chloe LOVES princesses. She dresses up like them, sings the songs, and wants to watch the movies 24/7. Of recent she wants to know why she can't be a mermaid like Ariel and brush her hair with a dinglehopper (fork). Her understanding of real and pretend aren't all there just yet. When she watches one of the Disney Princess movies the look on her face is priceless. She has this look of wonder and excitement. She is memorized by them. She want's sooo badly to go to Disney World and meet them all.So my concern is how much is too much?
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| Watching Cinderella for the first time :) |
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In a world focused WAY to much on the outward appearance how do I make sure my little girl doesn't get wrapped up in that? How do I make sure she knows she is
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made-ps139 :14. Chloe is a girlie girl. She's all about painting her fingers and toes, only wants to wear skirts and dresses and if I would allow it would ask me to put make up on her everyday. With her red hair she gets a lot of attention when we go out. People are constantly telling her how beautiful she is and what pretty hair she has. She often asks me "do I look pretty Mommy?". My answer is of course, "yes Chloe you always look pretty, no matter what you are wearing, Jesus made you and in His eyes and mine you are just perfect". But what she doesn't understand yet is
"Charm is deceptive and Beauty is fleeting, but a Woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" Proverbs 31:30.
I want my little girl to grow up secure in her faith and who God made her to be. Can a 3 year old really already been concerned with her appearance? I think at this point it's just innocent and that she really just likes pretty and girlie things. At this point all I know to do is pray scripture over my little girl and reassure her that whats in her heart and the way she treats others is whats really important. Not the way she looks. That's a good lesson for her Mommy too :) I know one day all too soon, she will realize not everybody believes what her Mommy and Daddy have been telling her all these years. My hope is at that point she will be grounded enough in her faith to not let that affect who she is and what she believes.
I, too, get concerned about the messages my little girl(s) get about outward appearance and I know they will one day struggle with questions about their changing bodies, appearance, emotions, etc. It's a part of growing up as a female. But I also know that watching lots of TV shows, commercials, and movies where the "sexualization of females" is so commonplace will no doubt have its affect on them as well. Those messages used to be so discreet and less often, but now those messages in our culture are in our faces constantly and even kid's programming is not neccessarily a safe place either. It just goes to show how susceptible we all are to falling for things in pretty packages - our boys included. It's definitely an area we need to cover in prayer for our children. I join you!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Michele. Adelyn can be very similar to Chloe (side note...she has found my bra, put it on and said, 'I have princess boobies!' AMAZING that she associated THAT with princesses). What is GREAT about this 'borderline' obsession is that there are so many wonderful virtues about the disney princesses...the little girls apparently just notice the bling, boys, (and the 'boobies' ;-) first. But you can see that the princesses are patient in affliction, obedient, diligent, imaginative, resourceful, kind, polite, brave, stand up against injustice, grateful, helpful to others & animals, and even selfless...the list could go on. I am trying to point out those virtues to addie (there are even some disney princess books that do just that!) instead of the dresses, the shoes, the hair. You know, the princesses NEVER start out @ the ball....always have to do a lot of work & learning to get there. ;-) ariel
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