Friday, we went to Target to get my niece a Birthday gift. I asked my three year old boy, who will be 4 in May, what he wanted to get his cousin. Without hesitation he frantically said, "A princess castle, Mom!". My first thought was that he had to be kidding.
Before we got to the toys, we went to pick out the Birthday cards. My boys love looking at cards. The majority of the birthday cards for girls were princess cards. My 3 year old looked through several and then he said with great enthusiasm, "Mom, this one is beautiful." And then he placed it in my outstretched hand.
My 18 month old picked a card that reminds me more of my niece.
I though this one was adorable. I looked inside the card and realized the little girls has wings. As an aside, I wondered if these cards are a reflection of the types of girls my boys will marry.
Finally, we arrived in the toys section. My 3 year old tried to quickly pick something out...so I would say what about this, or how about that. He would look at each toy, analyze if it was just right, and then say, "No, that's not it. When he saw something that he liked, he would say, "Mom, stop. I need to show you something." He did that often.
After through 3 aisles of dolls we made it to the Disney Princess area. I even thought how precious. Just as I was looking through the princesses, my 3 year old locked onto his favorite Disney charter Ariel. I'm not sure why he loves Ariel so much. He had the biggest grin on his face when he saw her. He asked me if we could get the doll for Lydia and if he could have one too.
In all, we bought a princess card, a fairy card, and a mermaid doll.
I didn't realize till we arrived home just how skimpy Ariel's bikini top is. Then I thought that the Princess Castle might not have been such a bad idea. So before the party we found a Precious Places "Pony Princess", so I'm taking the mermaid back.
I don't have girls of my own, but I have been in children's ministry years. I'm not sure that the toys and cards we gave my niece communicate or reinforce the information and message that she needs to be surrounded with at her age of seven.
What are your thoughts on products for girls? What dolls do you buy for the girls in your life?
