Princess Aurora, Cinderella, Hannah Montana, Tinkerbell.
They are all being mass marketed at your daughter and your wallet. I admit we have plenty of items with their smiling faces.
But how much is too much?
I have a friend who doesn’t buy any of that so his daughter will not be a poster board for Mattel or Disney. I completely understand that logic. Everything I ever bought from NorthFace, I immediately took a black Sharpie and colored in the large white logo most satellites can see.
Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana is not a role model, nor is there a likely chance your daughter will be a princess (to anyone but you).
The fact BillyRay’s daughter is singing and giving my daughter a muse is powerful. A princess looking for true love is life lesson I hope my daughter will understand. These two things give my daughter hope and expectations for her future. They help her dream. And at a young age, children need to be dreamers, letting their imaginations wonder, play and create.
To paraphrase Uncle Buck… “I don’t think I want to know a kid who’s not a dreamer or a silly heart.”
As a father, you need to know what your kids are watching, reading, hearing and how much. Garbage in equals garbage out. Too much of just about anything can be bad, especially TV.
Your daughter’s mind is very naïve to the world, so you must be the gatekeeper. Protect her, but give her room to grow.
In doing so, find things that ignite her mind. Songs. Stories. Movies. Paintings. Music. Dance. Sports. Hiking. Wild Flowers. Books.
These are what will foster her dreams. Dreams for play. Dreams for her future.
They are all being mass marketed at your daughter and your wallet. I admit we have plenty of items with their smiling faces.
But how much is too much?
I have a friend who doesn’t buy any of that so his daughter will not be a poster board for Mattel or Disney. I completely understand that logic. Everything I ever bought from NorthFace, I immediately took a black Sharpie and colored in the large white logo most satellites can see.
Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana is not a role model, nor is there a likely chance your daughter will be a princess (to anyone but you).
The fact BillyRay’s daughter is singing and giving my daughter a muse is powerful. A princess looking for true love is life lesson I hope my daughter will understand. These two things give my daughter hope and expectations for her future. They help her dream. And at a young age, children need to be dreamers, letting their imaginations wonder, play and create.
To paraphrase Uncle Buck… “I don’t think I want to know a kid who’s not a dreamer or a silly heart.”
As a father, you need to know what your kids are watching, reading, hearing and how much. Garbage in equals garbage out. Too much of just about anything can be bad, especially TV.
Your daughter’s mind is very naïve to the world, so you must be the gatekeeper. Protect her, but give her room to grow.
In doing so, find things that ignite her mind. Songs. Stories. Movies. Paintings. Music. Dance. Sports. Hiking. Wild Flowers. Books.
These are what will foster her dreams. Dreams for play. Dreams for her future.
No comments:
Post a Comment