The New Royalty

The monarchy has been reinstated here in America, and it's by a new flock of Princesses. You see them everywhere: flouncing about in dress-up ball gowns, preening in the mirror with roll-on glitter and lip gloss, and turning pirouettes on a stage before an audience of watch-watching relatives. Any accessory or appliance imaginable can be found stamped by princesses. Disney was savvy and put them all in a regal league together: Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Their faces now grace backpacks, lamps, flash lights, dinner ware, crowns and beads, you name it.

I have a daughter myself, and it is precious to watch her twirl in a tutu or totter by on plastic heels, with head held high. But I sometimes wonder, what we will do when our precious 2, 3, and 4 year old princesses grow up and begin to demand reign in their larger kingdom? It's harmless and sweet now, but when the little sweeties start demanding the applause, center-stage: gifts and favors which were once fun to bestow could begin to feel obligatory, and increasingly less appreciated. If they've been told they can do no wrong, that they are the fairest of them all, and that there is nothing they can't do or have, reality will smart a good deal. With the deepening of vanity and pride and how does one then reaquaint them with reality without crushing the "self-esteem" so carefully built?

What are we moms of budding princesses to do? Revel together in the joys of girlhood, and don't rush with them into teendom. Snuggle and giggle, dress-up, dance to music, taste cookie batter, set up tea parties, gather garden bouquets and sing made-up songs on the piano together. Steer away from the media "princesses" as ideals, and point out what it is to be a real lady. (In fact, my dad tells a joke that a man should never hitch himself to a woman whose father dubs her "princess" - talk about high maintenance!!) Hold up the heroic women of the Bible as real examples to follow. Dispell the myth that one must be the "fairest of them all" to be fair or content at all. And remind them that yes, you are special as God's Little Princess, as the book GiGi by Sheila Walsh poignantly tells. . . . And so are all these other children of His, so treat them accordingly. Look for ways to serve, rather than be served. Treat all His "subjects" with courtesy and respect, and to be ready to use what it is that God has given you, whether or not it is the best that there is out there.
May we all have eyes to see ourselves as He, the King of all kings, sees us!