Why do kids have to act so grown up?!?

[Hayliesmom]

Last year my daughter got a minnie mouse watch for Christmas (she was 6) and absolutely LOVED it. She wore it everyday. Then one day she wore it to dance.... Once of the other girls made fun of her and told her Minnie Mouse was for babies and you shouldn't like her if you're older than 3. We had a long conversation about it, and she was fine still liking Minnie Mouse, and she still wears her watch, but not everyday

Today on the way home she was telling me about recess. She told me that her friend (we'll call her Kate) Kate's sister had her 17th birthday party on Saturday. It was an Ariel themed birthday party and Kate was so excited to tell her friends about it. But my daughter then told me that 2 of the girls started making fun of Kate's sister saying that no one that old should like princesses any more. It makes me so sad to hear these stories. Of course my daughter LOVES princesses and dreams about being a princess at Disney one day so I hope that she never outgrows them. It just seems that at 7 years old they should all still love princesses and not make fun of others for liking them.....

 

[luvmy3]

Last year my daughter got a minnie mouse watch for Christmas (she was 6) and absolutely LOVED it. She wore it everyday. Then one day she wore it to dance.... Once of the other girls made fun of her and told her Minnie Mouse was for babies and you shouldn't like her if you're older than 3. We had a long conversation about it, and she was fine still liking Minnie Mouse, and she still wears her watch, but not everyday

Today on the way home she was telling me about recess. She told me that her friend (we'll call her Kate) Kate's sister had her 17th birthday party on Saturday. It was an Ariel themed birthday party and Kate was so excited to tell her friends about it. But my daughter then told me that 2 of the girls started making fun of Kate's sister saying that no one that old should like princesses any more. It makes me so sad to hear these stories. Of course my daughter LOVES princesses and dreams about being a princess at Disney one day so I hope that she never outgrows them. It just seems that at 7 years old they should all still love princesses and not make fun of others for liking them.....

There does come a point in a little girl's life that certain things become "babyish". Being into Disney Princesses is unfortunately one of those things. I think it happened to my dd around 8 years old. Then weirdly at about 15 they become "in" again. Even Sephora has a Disney line.

 

[1000HappyWishes]

There does come a point in a little girl's life that certain things become "babyish". Being into Disney Princesses is unfortunately one of those things. I think it happened to my dd around 8 years old. Then weirdly at about 15 they become "in" again.

Yup. That's exactly it.

 

[FUNMAMADIS]

I think it is less about thinking things are babyish or acting too grown up and more about being insecure. Kids make fun of others first, so they don't get made fun of.

Growing up is really hard. Learning to love yourself, no matter what anyone says, is really hard too.

 

[Hayliesmom]

There does come a point in a little girl's life that certain things become "babyish". Being into Disney Princesses is unfortunately one of those things. I think it happened to my dd around 8 years old. Then weirdly at about 15 they become "in" again. Even Sephora has a Disney line.

And this is the exact thing that I'm against. Why is it deemed babyish. Who decides? Why are parents Ok with their little girls (because at 8 you're not even a tween yet) giving up little girl ideas of fun and play.

Theres obviously a market for that age group to still like princesses or there wouldn't be ever after high dolls.

 

[Hayliesmom]

Duplicate post

 

[Disneyaddictz]

It's a difficult thing finding your own, we have to Keep reminding our daughters they can do their own thing, confidence is the key. Fortunately for my daughter she feels anything goes at disney world so although she would never dress like a princess at home and is first in line at BBB!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[turkeymama]

DD is almost 13 and she doesn't mind telling her friends how much she loves all things Disney, to include the princesses. And she would totally go stand in line for a BBB makeover even now, lol. I think much of it does have to do with confidence and part of it is a natural growing process. It's kind of like that song from Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Age of Not Believing.

 

[luvmy3]

And this is the exact thing that I'm against. Why is it deemed babyish. Who decides? Why are parents Ok with their little girls (because at 8 you're not even a tween yet) giving up little girl ideas of fun and play.

Well since you put it that way, I'm against the idea that if an 8 year old girl isn't into Princesses anymore she is giving up little girl ideas of fun and play. My dd is creative and imaginative and "played" up until her early teens.
So as a parent I was happy that my dd was able to move on to other things and not fall prey to the notion that because she was a little girl, she had to play with princesses stuff. YMMV.

 

[CoffeeCup]

Well since you put it that way, I'm against the idea that if an 8 year old girl isn't into Princesses anymore she is giving up little girl ideas of fun and play. My dd is creative and imaginative and "played" up until her early teens.
So as a parent I was happy that my dd was able to move on to other things and not fall prey to the notion that because she was a little girl, she had to play with princesses stuff. YMMV.

Well said, and I agree completely. It's good that children's interest change with time, and a creative child with imagination can "play" much more than being a princess or a pirate. Sometimes the mom dreams of her daughter being a princess as much or more than the child does. When the little girl's interests change, it doesn't mean she no longer is a little girl. It's good for children to have a broader view of life than just Disney. There's nothing wrong with a "princess" becoming interested in horses, sports, butterflies, or whatever catches her fancy. Children grow up and change, but they can play, dream and have fun
with whatever catches their fancy at the moment.

 

[mjkacmom]

And this is the exact thing that I'm against. Why is it deemed babyish. Who decides? Why are parents Ok with their little girls (because at 8 you're not even a tween yet) giving up little girl ideas of fun and play.

Theres obviously a market for that age group to still like princesses or there wouldn't be ever after high dolls.

As the mom of 3 girls (and 2 boys), younger siblings tend to mature faster, and give up things earlier. My younger 2 were done with barbies, polly pockets, littlest petshop, etc. (never liked princesses anyway) by the time they were 7/8. I couldn't force them to maintain an interest. My oldest was one of the "younger" girls in her grade, one of the last to give up wearing dresses to school, playing with dolls, etc.

Prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child. You can't control what other kids enjoy. Tell your dd to keep enjoying things she enjoys, no matter what other people say.

Just wait until 3rd grade - that's when the clothing wars start - it's not pretty...

 

[wiigirl]

It's a difficult thing finding your own, we have to Keep reminding our daughters they can do their own thing, confidence is the key. Fortunately for my daughter she feels anything goes at disney world so although she would never dress like a princess at home and is first in line at BBB!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[luvmy3]

Well said, and I agree completely. It's good that children's interest change with time, and a creative child with imagination can "play" much more than being a princess or a pirate. Sometimes the mom dreams of her daughter being a princess as much or more than the child does. When the little girl's interests change, it doesn't mean she no longer is a little girl. It's good for children to have a broader view of life than just Disney. There's nothing wrong with a "princess" becoming interested in horses, sports, butterflies, or whatever catches her fancy. Children grow up and change, but they can play, dream and have fun
with whatever catches their fancy at the moment.

My kids (dd and my dses) "grew up" in the sense that things in real life and the real world were just as fascinating as Disney or fairy tales. They never gave up ideas of fun and play, they had more, different ones.

 

[chimilady]

If it makes you feel better, you can tell her that you know someone who just had a birthday on Saturday and turned 38 and received a Minnie Mouse watch as a gift and is wearing it as I type.

 

[crisi]

And this is the exact thing that I'm against. Why is it deemed babyish. Who decides? Why are parents Ok with their little girls (because at 8 you're not even a tween yet) giving up little girl ideas of fun and play.

Theres obviously a market for that age group to still like princesses or there wouldn't be ever after high dolls.

As a parent I've always wanted my daughter to follow her own interests. If that is princesses, that's great, but if that is Harry Potter at that age because princesses seem less mature, that is fine as well.

She SHOULDN'T be making fun of what other people like (and for the most part she doesn't), but she was NEVER into little girl ideas of fun and play. She had Barbies, they were never played with. Nor Polly Pockets - she did play a little with Littlest Pet Shop. But her interests were never "little girly" and I certainly don't think I should have forced it. She gave up Santa young - figured it out and was very proud of herself for doing so. And never thought that Mickey was anything but someone in a suit - even at three she knew that much.

She's fourteen now. Quirky and into Doctor Who and Sherlock and Percy Jackson and Divergent. She does art club and drama club. She follows her own muse and has her own sense of style and apparently plenty of self esteem. For her birthday she is having a gaming night - she wants to teach her friends how to play "strange" German style board games. And the other day we sat down and watched Lilo and Stitch. And she still loves Minnie Mouse - the only character we bother with at Disney is Minnie.

And that bullying goes both ways - because my daughter was never little girly, she got picked on for being weird - and still does.

Teach your daughter to be confident in her decisions - in her tastes. But don't turn that into criticizing the choices of others. Some little girls want to grow up faster than others - some are tomboys - some are intellectuals - some are prom queens - some stay "little" for a long time. All are OK. Teach your daughter to be accepting of others, confident in her choices. And when someone isn't accepting of her choices, teach her that is likely because they aren't confident in their own.

 

[Hayliesmom]

As a parent I've always wanted my daughter to follow her own interests. If that is princesses, that's great, but if that is Harry Potter at that age because princesses seem less mature, that is fine as well.

She SHOULDN'T be making fun of what other people like (and for the most part she doesn't), but she was NEVER into little girl ideas of fun and play. She had Barbies, they were never played with. Nor Polly Pockets - she did play a little with Littlest Pet Shop. But her interests were never "little girly" and I certainly don't think I should have forced it. She gave up Santa young - figured it out and was very proud of herself for doing so. And never thought that Mickey was anything but someone in a suit - even at three she knew that much.

She's fourteen now. Quirky and into Doctor Who and Sherlock and Percy Jackson and Divergent. She does art club and drama club. She follows her own muse and has her own sense of style and apparently plenty of self esteem. For her birthday she is having a gaming night - she wants to teach her friends how to play "strange" German style board games. And the other day we sat down and watched Lilo and Stitch. And she still loves Minnie Mouse - the only character we bother with at Disney is Minnie.

And that bullying goes both ways - because my daughter was never little girly, she got picked on for being weird - and still does.

Teach your daughter to be confident in her decisions - in her tastes. But don't turn that into criticizing the choices of others. Some little girls want to grow up faster than others - some are tomboys - some are intellectuals - some are prom queens - some stay "little" for a long time. All are OK. Teach your daughter to be accepting of others, confident in her choices. And when someone isn't accepting of her choices, teach her that is likely because they aren't confident in their own.

Thank you. This is a good, thoughtful response. One that shows it is ok for children to love whatever they love. If your child's interests change, thats fine, but changing them because they're for babies is what I was trying to say I don't agree with.

 

[crisi]

Thank you. This is a good, thoughtful response. One that shows it is ok for children to love whatever they love. If your child's interests change, thats fine, but changing them because they're for babies is what I was trying to say I don't agree with.

But that is part of why your child's interests will change. And they will change because she is exposed to new ideas from her friends. Her friends will mature, and she will as well. The trick is to make sure that she is maturing along with her friends - not because girls who are not her friends are pushing her.

 

[GotLabradors]

Some kids are just hateful and mean because that's example that is set for them. I know kids who are this way because the parent is such a negative nelly about everything. The kids just assume that's how you're supposed to act as a "grownup".

Here's to hoping Santa brings this 38 y.o. a new mickey watch for Christmas!

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

As a parent I've always wanted my daughter to follow her own interests. If that is princesses, that's great, but if that is Harry Potter at that age because princesses seem less mature, that is fine as well.

She SHOULDN'T be making fun of what other people like (and for the most part she doesn't), but she was NEVER into little girl ideas of fun and play. She had Barbies, they were never played with. Nor Polly Pockets - she did play a little with Littlest Pet Shop. But her interests were never "little girly" and I certainly don't think I should have forced it. She gave up Santa young - figured it out and was very proud of herself for doing so. And never thought that Mickey was anything but someone in a suit - even at three she knew that much.

She's fourteen now. Quirky and into Doctor Who and Sherlock and Percy Jackson and Divergent. She does art club and drama club. She follows her own muse and has her own sense of style and apparently plenty of self esteem. For her birthday she is having a gaming night - she wants to teach her friends how to play "strange" German style board games. And the other day we sat down and watched Lilo and Stitch. And she still loves Minnie Mouse - the only character we bother with at Disney is Minnie.

And that bullying goes both ways - because my daughter was never little girly, she got picked on for being weird - and still does.

Teach your daughter to be confident in her decisions - in her tastes. But don't turn that into criticizing the choices of others. Some little girls want to grow up faster than others - some are tomboys - some are intellectuals - some are prom queens - some stay "little" for a long time. All are OK. Teach your daughter to be accepting of others, confident in her choices. And when someone isn't accepting of her choices, teach her that is likely because they aren't confident in their own.

 

[mm1971]

Some kids are just hateful and mean because that's example that is set for them. I know kids who are this way because the parent is such a negative nelly about everything. The kids just assume that's how you're supposed to act as a "grownup".

Here's to hoping Santa brings this 38 y.o. a new mickey watch for Christmas!

Well said. I do think that Disney being a "baby" thing is an idea driven by parents or peer pressure. My almost 11 year old has been taught to respect everyone and their choices and would not make fun of someone due to what she wears or doesn't wear. She still loves everything about Disney, but also has a lot of other interests including sports, dance and the arts. I have raised her to be confident and not be influenced by others.

With that said, I see a lot of the peer pressure dynamic with my daughter. Not so much with DS. The girls just seem to be more competitive and judgmental about all things. I still wear my Mickey watch and know so many families that are still every year visitors, even with older children.