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Have you noticed how princess-saturated girls’ toys and games are these days? You can’t get through Target or Walmart (and especially Toys ‘R Us) without seeing princess toys, bedding, clothes, and more. There are princess for babies, princesses for little girls, and princesses for older girls. Our girls are told that THEY are princesses.
And they are.
We’ve always called Emma ‘our princess’ because she is just that. We’re concerned about the princess message that’s being sent by the Disney princesses in stores though. I’m not anti-Disney princesses… not by any means. Emma has princess toys, princess dresses, and princess PJs. She has a princess coloring book and some story books too. My mom even made her an adorable Ariel mermaid outfit! We’re just concerned about the message that many of the princess stories send.
If you’re pretty you’ll be happy. If you find your prince you’ll be happy.
It’s all about external things making you happy. Sure, we all like to look pretty. And finding your real prince is a plus. 😉 But those things are not requirements for happiness. They don’t produce true joy. True joy comes from Jesus, from knowing that you are loved by Him for who you are. He doesn’t love you more because you’re pretty. He doesn’t love you more because you do good things. He just flat-out adores you because you’re you.
So how can we be intentional about our little girls knowing that they’re God’s princesses? We’ve tried to balance out the Disney princess messages with God-based princess messages. One of our favorite tools has been Gigi, God’s Little Princess. Gigi likes to be a princess, but she knows that she’s a princess because she’s a child of the King. As God’s daughter, she is considered a princess.
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If you’re struggling with helping your daughter see that she’s God’s princess and is loved for who she is, let me share a few of our favorite Gigi stories and movies with you. I hope they’ll be as much of a help to you (and your princess) as they have been for us.
Gigi God’s LIttle Princess Treasury
This was Emma’s first Gigi book. It’s a treasury of four Gigi stories, Gigi, God’s Little Princess, The Royal Tea Party, The Pink Ballerina, and The Purple Ponies. We just love them all!
God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible: Bible Storybook
This was the first Gigi devotional Bible we got for Emma. I remember her reaction to the jewel on the cover. She thought it was quite royal! 😉 This devotional is fun, especially the stories that have the Mom & Princess skits written into them. You can act out the story of Adam & Eve and the snake and other stories. There are even follow-up questions to ask your princess after you act out the scene. You can check out a sample of it here. (Just click the image of the cover to see the preview. You have to scroll down just a bit.) There’s nothing like a little drama to share God’s Word, right?
Sweet Dreams Princess: God’s Little Princess Bedtime Bible Stories, Devotions, & Prayers
We love this book for bedtime. We usually read a chapter from a book that we’re reading together and then follow it up with one of the devotionals in this book. Each story starts with a section of Scripture, and is followed by a Sweet Dreams Devotion. The devotion part ties the Scripture into Emma’s life. She’s able to think about what the Scripture means for her in today’s world. In fact, she asked Jesus into her heart after we read the devotional about Nicodemus. It talked about how people who are saved have two birthdays, their natural birthday and their spiritual birthday. So that day Emma decided she was ready to have two birthdays. 🙂
A Gods Little Princess DVD Treasury Box Set
Emma likes this DVD because she was able to see the characters in the books come to life on the screen. The author does some of the voices too, so she thought that was extra-fun. I like this DVD because it reinforces the messages in the Gigi books.
This book has a fun mirror on the front so that Emma can see herself as the princess in the story. Fun! The book is about how she’s God’s princess no matter what she looks like or what kind of day she’s having.
I hope you find these as helpful as have!
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Anne Alexander says
Great parenting advice. My kids are grown ups and I have 2 grand kids.
Wish Id known those principles earlier in life.
The princess curriculum is awesome
God Bless you,
Anne
Jennifer says
Thanks for your kind words, Anne. And thanks for stopping by. 🙂