On the need to be a Princess

Every morning, for the past couple of weeks, it's been the same requirements from Mia in picking her outfits. "I wanna be a princess." Evidently, "being a princess" means wearing a skirt or dress. The poofier the better, of course.

In the midst of my nesting fervor, I've already packed up the majority of her summer clothes, and while the highs are still in the 90s, the mornings have been quite chilly and I've been steering her in the direction of shirts with sleeves, rather than the whispy little tanks and summer dresses she may prefer to fit her "princess" requirements.

Usually, by about Wednesday, she runs out of "princess" items, and has to resort to shorts or pants. I insist to her: "Mia, Princesses can wear pants too!". Well, apparently not. Mia came home from daycare yesterday and informed me that Charlie (an older girl) told her that she was NOT a princess because she was not wearing a dress. I told her that Charlie was wrong, and that she didn't make the rules. Anyone can be a princess, no matter what they are wearing. Even boys can be princess if they want to be!

Really? Are we dealing with this kind of peer pressure in the 3 year old classroom? I knew that raising daughters would mean facing body image issues, self-esteem, judgment from other girls, etc. But I didn't realize we'd be getting a glimpse into those adolescent issues this early on.

This morning, she asked her father to dress her. Undoubtedly because B lets her wear whatever she wants. She's no dummy. She found a tutu and a pink t-shirt. Both were weather appropriate, and while I can't imagine it's comfortable to run around a playground at daycare in that outfit, it's her choice.

B dropped her off at school this morning, and reported that as soon as she entered her classroom, she went straight up to Charlie and said: "I'm a princess today." I'm still pretty baffled by the whole situation, but B said it was very much of a warning. Don't give me any shit today, I'm a Princess. At least she's standing up for herself.