A few weeks ago, I read a blog by another mother urging all moms to stop calling their daughters "princess" because of what being a princess means- spoiled, not respected for their intelligence and only meant for producing heirs. I totally agreed when I read it.
And then I realized that I do call my 3 year old daughter "princess." All the time. But you know what? I'm okay with that. I'm okay with her thinking that she deserves to be treated like royalty. I'm okay with putting her on a pedestal. I'm okay with her wanting to be like the fairy tale princesses that she sees in movies. In fact, I'm good with all of that. My daughter is so young, and she has a lifetime to figure out that movies are just movies and princesses like that don't exist in real life. So why not let her feel like a princess now? She's not spoiled. She's not a brat. She's a sweet girly girl who likes to wear dresses and have her nails painted. She also loves sports and getting dirty and doesn't back down to any boy. She's brave and funny and a total free spirit and fiercely independent. I tell her all the time that she can be whatever she wants to be, whether it's a princess or a football player or President of the United States. That's the type of princess I'm raising. So I'll keep calling my daughter princess and ignore other people's cringes and judgement. Besides, if you ask her, she doesn't call herself Princess. She calls herself "a freaking beast!"
