If you’re like me, you love your daughter more than air and, would do anything to make sure she’s provided for and protected.
Many of us fathers call our daughters “princess.”
Some of us go as far as buying all the princess accessories including those expensive Disney dresses.
It’s cute isn’t it, watching our daughters strut around the house all dressed up topped off with a princess tiara?
When The Trouble Starts
If our little “princesses” over-identify, they start to believe they really are princesses. This tends to lead to becoming demanding, spoiled, and super entitled.
Some of them may even tell mom to piss off because hey, mom is not a “princess” like she is. I’ve seen this. It’s not a pretty sight seeing mom being disrespected by a five-year-old “princess.”
Dad may find this behavior amusing as he covers up not knowing how to deal with a disrespectful child. He may even double down with encouragement; more gifts and whatever else needed to maintain his daughter’s image of the perfect princess.
Where is this leading? For many, it leads to adult narcissism.
It’s normal for kids to be a bit narcissistic and most grow out of it. But if they don’t, they’re in for one painful ride and double the pain for anyone that has to interact with them.
How to fix it
I recently told a dad, at your child’s age, it’s time to transition by saying, “Go get your princess gear and let’s pretend to be a princess.”
Just adding the word “pretend” will help the child avoid over identifying with being a real princess and have lots of fun “playing” one. If she’s already convinced she’s a spacial princess, that’s demanding and entitled, this approach over time, will being her back home.
I’ve been working with children for over 25 years and have seen what can happen to kids over time when not corrected. It’s not cute and could have been prevented.
I’m not saying don’t spoil our daughters because I sure have however, just be aware of how it can turn out if you go too far.
The simple word “pretend” will outperform any long-winded talks about why she’s not a real princess and how acting that way is not healthy. No child enjoys an “ear-beating” from Dad, for something he helped create.
