News Day Tuesday: The Princess Syndrome
Lindsay Morris, 6, right, looks over her favorite book, which is a guide to being a princess, with her mom, Caroline. (photo: John Amis / AP Photo)
What’s this? A News Day Tuesday? Can it be? Yes it can! All thanks to Lauren. She sent me this article a while ago, and I’m finally getting around to posting it.
So what’s the article about? It’s about something called “The Princess Syndrome” – the fascination with all things princess that many girls seem to have, especially the current generation of girls.
On the surface, the syndrome comes across as the enthusiastic attachment girls have for pink, frilly, sparkly things, for fairy tale princess stories, and pretty, glamorous lifestyles. On the one hand, the princess phase is almost like a rite of passage for many girls and just another type of imaginative play. But on a deeper level, some parents worry that this princess mentality is sending the wrong message to their daughters – especially now, during a tough economy, when frugality is coming to the forefront.
Pediatrician Dr. Ken Haller says that all of the heavy princess marketing (by companies like Disney for example) is actually a brilliant move that targets a normal stage of child development. Kids start to define themselves by age 3, and as part of that process they engage in fantasy play. Boys often imagine themselves as superheroes, whereas girls often pretend they’re princesses.
But for some people, the princess phenomenon has gotten a little out of hand. Psychology professor Jean Twenge argues that it just encourages narcissism when parents put their kids on a pedestal and rarely criticize them. A recent study shows that she may be right. Surveys of college-age women showed that they were developing narcissistic traits four times faster than men were. Men were still more likely to exhibit narcissistic traits, but women were catching up fast.
And how are parents dealing with all this? Some refuse to buy their daughters certain toys, such as Barbie and Bratz dolls, because they feel they are nothing more than “empty-headed girly-girl products.” Others just go along for the ride, viewing the princess obsession as just another phase. One dad joked, ”I worry more about the near future when she will want to be a pierced-up drummer in a punk rock band.” Some parents try to find positive ways to use their daughters’ obsession with princesses. For example, by pointing to Ariel from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” one pair of parents got their young daughter to try eating octopus.
And it’s not like princesses are all divas. Some parents try to focus on the positive traits displayed by princesses, such as compassion and trustworthiness, while downplaying the more superficial aspects.
Dr. Haller, the pediatrician, advises that moderation is key and that parents need to put the princess stuff in context and monitor their children to make sure they’re not engaging in fantasy to escape harmful situations.
What do you think? Did you go through a princess phase? Do you think that girls nowadays are too attached to princesses and it’s gotten a little out of hand? Is it just a phase? What are the positive/negative effects something like this could have on the emotional and social development of girls?
The article. Thanks to Lauren! Who actually is a bona fide princess, but she gave up her crown to help me with News Day Tuesday. 
Ninz
June 16, 2009I love pink, I love Disney, I love wearing dresses, but I don’t think I’m still a princess. I’m not spoiled or live in my far far away world. But I’ve had a real princess phase. I’ve had a cute pink princess dress for karneval and I loved to wear it all the time! But this phase went by and I still remember that one with a smile!
Today society has definite rolemodels. On the one hand there are the females. Women are he wives, care for children and work in social departments. Men are the strong gender (oh we all know that’s not true anymore! har har), work hard and make money. That’s how society works. Sadly. Because we still have the situation that women are paid less in same jobs as men. Especially in higher positions. We still can’t accept men to stay home to care for the family. These aren’t typical situation because society is the other way round!
I work in a kindergarden to earn some money beside college. You won’t believe how many boys play with dolls or want to wear dresses. Many of them want to be the mommy in a family game. Little kids don’t have the gender thinking like adults but there are forced into it. A couple of weeks ago I got blamed by a father that it will be my guilt if his boy is gay because I let him wear a dress. I was shocked. Honestly! Why can’t he play like he wants to? Why are we so bullheaded if it comes about gender.
I know a lot of boys who need more time to get ready in the bathroom. They have more cosmetics than me. Are these guys still in a princess phase? Nobody would say a word about them? Don’t we?
I think this princess phase isn’t something which comes from the girls themselves. It’s something we got pushed into it. Girls are expected to like all this stuff. And to be different costs a lot!
I want to add another thought. Do you know these girls who are 4, 5 or 6 years old and have to be on beauty competitions? What about them? Do you think they want this to do voluntary?