So, I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday about kids....and he made mention of a bumper sticker he saw that really made me think about how we raise our kids. The bumper sticker had all the Disney Princesses and said something to the effect of "We wonder why women have such unrealistic views on men". That really stuck with me....it is true....we do set our children up to be disappointed. Not just the little girls who dream of their Knight in Shining Armor but, the little boys as well because we teach them that the girl always needs him to ride in on his white horse and save her. How many of the fairy tales show them as equal partners or have her saving him? I can't really think of 1 off the top of my head. I know we want our kids to dream and look for their happily ever after but, we need to encourage them that we aren't cookie cutter people and that the happily ever after looks different for everyone. And we don't just stop there.....
We encourage our kids to play games....and we've all played them ourselves as kids....like monopoly. Have you ever really though about what that game emphasizes? Well, I have the last few days as I've watched my kids going through a monopoly craze. We teach them that money is what fixes it all. If you have money....you can go out...buy whatever you want....build whatever you want...and take the money of the other people around you to get ahead and win the game. Okay, maybe I'm looking a little too deeply because I'm in such a deep dark place in my head the last few days. But, is a game just really a game or do we unintentionally teach our children things that we shouldn't and don't even stop to think about it. Sticking with the monopoly theme here....in this new day and age it is even worse. Now we have monopoly with credit cards and electronic banking. Then we wonder why no one has a sense of responsible spending? We give our children credit cards!!!
Am I a perfect parent, by no means. I don't know if before yesterday, I really though all of that through. I guess every little girl wants to grow up thinking that fairytales do exist....and in reality they do....just not the way books define them. My fairy tale happy ending is 30 years from now...I look back on my life....and I see the legacy I left behind when I have 3 strong, happy, healthy grown children who are blazing their way through life...doing the right things, making the right choices, loving their spouse and children as I do mine, and having the right priorities in life....yes...that's my happily ever after.
A somber Pandora
XoXo
1 comment:
I agree that we have unrealistic views of what "happy ever after" really looks like. I think we are just starting to figure out our lives and it has take us over 15 years to get here. I don't want my son to have to go through the long struggle to learn what he wants in life. So if you are right, it leads to the question, "Where does it begin?" Who should start this change in the view of society? We can teach our own children but if the rest of society is content to sit back and settle, do we really accomplish any social change?
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