Little Princess

Today's discussion has struck a cord with me more than any discussion we've had thus far. This is because for the last 5 years I have watched my niece Teighan be subjected to princess culture. Teighan just turned 5 in July and what did she receive from her family and friends? Loads of dolls. Pink t-shirts covered in rhinestones. A Disney princess backpack. It would be one thing if this little girl had developed this girly girl personality naturally. But around the time she started walking, she was a tomboy. She loved being outside, getting dirty. She liked throwing a ball around with her older brother. Unfortunately somewhere along the way, my sister (Teighan's mother) put the idea into my niece's head that she was a princess. It started simple enough: she'd call her "Mommy's little princess." Then that was shortened to just "Princess." One day my mother asked Teighan what her name was. Her response? "Princess." She quickly went from a sweet, rambunctious child to a whiny, entitled (for lack of a better word) brat. I love her with my whole heart, but that's exactly what she turned into. And I don't even blame her! I blame my sister for putting these ideas into her head.

One day when she was around 18 to 24 months, she was playing with Cooper (her brother who is two years older). They were tickling each other and it got a little rough, but Teighan was having the time of her life. Cooper accidentally knocked her down, and my sister began yelling at him furiously. Teighan was still laughing though. Every time Teighan would get hit in the head with a ball or knocked to the ground, Cooper would get the blame. This slowly put the idea in Teighan's head that she is delicate. Now if she so much as gets a paper cut she cries for an hour, and somehow blames it on Cooper. This behavior my sister has subjected on Teighan has all but ruined her relationship with Cooper. He easily gets annoyed with her now. It's unfortunate because they got along so well before all this "princess" nonsense. Parents pretty much shape a child's personality, and my sister (in my opinion) did a real disservice to Teighan.