What little girl doesn't love all things fairy tale? Princesses, Castles, Villains, Handsome Princes...ahhh the day dreams those words evoke! Every little girl imagines being a princess, every boy of being a hero...these are good aspirations for little minds (in my opinion). I have read books by Christian authors & heard messages about the dangers of letting our children feast upon these ideas...claims that wanting to be a princess creates a "diva" mentality. I can understand & even agree with some of the claims made, but I have to say that as a whole I am of a different opinion. Hear my heart on this, I am not saying that every subliminal message in fairy tale movies is a positive one, but I am saying that we can impact the message our children interpret from them. One can argue that princesses are merely women who flaunt their beauty & simply sink in the mire of their problems expecting a man to come & rescue them or we can say that their inner beauty makes them outwardly beautiful & that strong, upright men come along their paths to walk through life with them...it's all about perception. If we tell our daughters that the princesses are weak, whiny, vain women then that is how they will perceive them, but if we point out their Christ-like qualities then that is what they will take away from the movies & stories.
I believe that there is a reason that our daughters & sons are drawn to this romanticism, that it has less to do with being self-centered & everything to do with being created in the image of the King of Kings. I believe that God has placed these notions within innocent minds because innately they know that princesses, princes, knights, & super heroes display Christ-like qualities. The world can take this naivete & skew it, but we as godly parents have the authority, power, & opportunity to encourage this lively imagination within our children & to take this natural excitement for fairy tales to instruct our children in the ways of the Father.
Our house is a chaotic mess of dress up gowns, tiaras, high heels, & princess dolls. I have 3 daughters that I am striving to raise as godly little women, & part of my training has been a purposeful acknowledgement that they are daughters of the Most High God...thereby making them princesses. I am teaching them that with that honor comes great reward as well as responsibility. It is an opportunity to jump upon their naturally keen interest in fairy tale & to use it to guide them in a biblical way. We have a Bible that the girls & I read daily called "God's Little Princess Devotional Bible" (by Sheila Walsh) that is an amazing tool to use towards this goal.
I recently came upon a picture of Disney Princesses that had an antagonistic, derogatory comment for each Princess. I have to say that as a grown woman it discouraged that deep hidden place that is still a little girl within. Below is the link if you would like to see for yourselves what I am describing.
http://pinterest.com/pin/160511174188743878/
That same day I came across this link which was a testament to God's sovereignty over the topic I am speaking on. It is a breakdown of the movie "Tangled" & how to pull out key points of Godly instruction for your children before watching the movie. It's amazing!
http://ptskjohnson.blogspot.com/2011/04/tangled-family-home-evening.html
Focus on the Family has a website (I'll post that one as well) that allows you to type in a movie & it brings up ideas on how to convey the godly qualities within them. My husband & I are going to be doing this with the Disney Princess movies for our daughters as part of a Family Night routine.
http://www.pluggedin.com/familyroom/movienights.aspx
I have no desire to rob my daughters of the innocence of their childhood (which is too short as it is) by depriving them of a natural desire to be a princess. I refuse to let the world skew something that is an opportunity to guide young girls in the plans their Father has for them. I am openly saying that I think Satan is trying to rob our children of their carefree days & that this is an avenue by which he is successfully doing that. If your children love these things (knights, princes, super heroes, princesses, & fairy tales) then see that it is an avenue by which to truly help them comprehend the qualities of Christ...don't just take it away because you are afraid of a negative impact...intentionally create a positive one! I am going to post the movies the I find on the Plugged In website, along with their Movie Night breakdown. I'll also be looking at creating my own synopsis for those I cannot find. If there is a movie you'd like me to search for please let me know.
I hope that we will stop Punishing the Princesses for the world's skewed view on fairy tales & that we will instruct our children in their responsibilities as Righteous Royals!
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