Dress Up

Lucky for us, this is Audrey's idea of playing dress-up. She doesn't demand any sort of sparkly princess gown, but instead, likes to pile on as many scarves, hats and gloves as she can. The sparkly shoes were actually recommended by her physical therapist, who said walking in a dress-up shoe (low heal) would help her strengthen various muscles.

We have been, for the most part, a no-princess zone. But the dentist gives her (Disney) princess stickers and toothbrushes and she is gifted things. And she's in daycare three days a week with two little girls. Avoiding sparkle is pretty hard and I don't want to make a super huge deal out of it with her or she'll just rebel hard. So when she asks for me to tell her a story about a princess, the princesses in my stories are usually minor characters holed up in the castle not having much fun, while all the other girls and boys are playing outside and actually DOING things (other than looking pretty). And when we talk about what she is wearing, I say things like, "That looks fancy!" or "I like your polka dots." or "Green is such a fun color, don't you think?" More than anything, I want Audrey to be a confident girl with healthy self-esteem.

This topic is getting all kinds of media coverage of late, with the release of Peggy Orenstein's book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter. I highly recommend her interview on the Diane Rehm show. It was excellent. Below are some related links.

• Kids and Commercialism
• Photographer Lauren Greenfield: Girl Culture
• Princess Free Zone
• Children as Consumers
• How To Raise Girls With Healthy Self-Esteem