Tatoos!

   

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

Who’s the marketing genius that decided to put pictures of all the Disney Princesses on Pull Up Diapers?  Whoever he/she is, they deserve a raise!  It terms of marketing:  it was a brilliant move.  It terms of motherhood:  it’s really annoying.

Growing up, I was a tomboy.  I preferred climbing trees to playing with Barbies.  So when I had a baby girl, I just assumed she’d be the same way.  But now, as she gets ready to turn 4, I realize that her world is full of princess “stuff” and it all started with these darn diapers! 

She can identify, name and differentiate between: Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty and whatever the yellow one from Beauty & The Beast is called.  This is especially interesting because she has never watched ANY of these movies, nor read ANY of these books.  It’s all from the darn diapers.  She’d pull one on and point to the picture and say, “Mommy, who’s that?”  I didn’t see any harm in telling her, so I did.

Then, little by little, as birthdays and Christmas come along, she’s started getting all these toys that have the same Disney Princess Pictures on them.  Tea sets, puzzles, dresses, stickers, etc.  Someone gave her a Barbie with a blue dress on and her first response was, “Hey, she has a blue dress…JUST LIKE CINDERELLA!”

The other day, she came down the stairs and announced that her birthday party would be a Princess Birthday Party.  I said, “Oh really, what does that mean?” She replied, “It means I have a Princess cake and plates with Princesses on them.”  And wouldn’t you know it, the bakery in our grocery store makes a Disney Princess Cake with all 4 Princesses ice skating across pink and purple frosting!  And the picture they have advertising it is right down at kid level – right next to the bin of free cookies they have out for kids!

So, I know it is only a matter of time before she is clued in to the fact that there are movies and books and horrible fairytale notions that go along with this whole Princess thang.  And I guess, I just feel duped.  I was hoping to save her from all that.