Like a scene from a movie, a dozen little girls dressed up, some wearing tiaras, and took part in a training course at a London hotel to learn how to be a princess.
The one-day course covered proper etiquette, how to curtsy, and how to drink a proper tea.
Fitting considering the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton this month.
I don’t have daughters. I have two boys who are as “boyish” as you can get. So I don’t really know what it’s like to raise a girl.
As far as I understand, many little girls go through the princess phase: they wear princess gowns, tiaras, want to watch princess movies, dress up as a princess every single Halloween… not to mention every other day as well.
It’s completely normal, right? It’s a magical fantasy world that kids are entitled to. But they won’t actually grow up to become princesses, right?
In the meantime, they can learn all they need to know about being “royalty”, from learning to bow to the Queen to drinking properly from a tea cup and other “princess skills”.
The idea of the princess “bootcamp” is to give the girls real world etiquette lessons. Not really a far cry from birthday princess parties that North American girls have these days, or even beauty pageant training. Is it?
Do you think this is just a fun way to spend the day? Or is it sending the wrong message?
What do you think? Appealing or appalling?
2 Comments
It kinda gives me a bit of a queasy feeling. I dunno. Etiquette lessons/classes have their place. But this takes something make-believe, creative and special in a little girl’s life and attaches rules and expectations to it. It also uses the royal wedding as a marketing opportunity — to make money.
If it’s really fun and they get to dress up, play pretend and twirl around, great. If not, forget it. (An opinion from boyland…)
I also have 2 boys..but I have to say that the video was what bugged me a bit. The first thing that the first little girl said was, “Princesses are pretty and I want to be pretty.” Not smart or funny, just pretty.
If it is just a fun thing thing to do and the girls can see that they are playing a role and learning some etiquette, then I think it’s fine..but if these little girls grow into big girls with Royal attitudes..then there’s a problem.