Character Queens

03.16.06

 

            When I was childless and knew everything I swore I would never buy into the blatant commercialism of Disney, et all.

            For example, I was never going to pay more for a pair of pants because they had a Disney Princess appliqué on the left leg.  I wasn’t going to be suckered in to that trap.  Just say NO to character clothing, bedding, and toys right from the get go.  Problem solved.

            This is my position on Character Labels.

            Now watch it crumble and fly away like snowflakes on the wind.

            In January we moved our girl from a crib to a twin size bed.  To do that we had to buy bedding.  My 2 year old picked out a very appropriate bed-in-a-bag from SuperWalmartHell.  The fun peach, teal, purple and yellow stripes go great with the tropical fish stenciled on her walls.

            All right.  Not knowing that  the crib-to-bed move would erase all potty training progress for the next many moons, I thought it wise to purchase extra sheets.  The cost of extra sheets to match her comforter was horrifying, so off to the children’s section we went.  There we found Spongebob and Spider Man (who are not revered in our house) and an assortment of Disney Princesses.  Oh, yes, and Bratz, which leads me to ask, “Who or what the heck are Bratz?”  To be honest, the Bratz characters just don’t look like good role models for children.  They don’t seem trustworthy.  Okay, I’ll just come right out and say it – they look like prostitutes.

            But anyway.  My daughter points and yells, “Dora!”  Dora the Explorer is a heroine in our household.  I mean, how can any 2 year old resist a 4 year old that goes on adventures through the jungle with her best friend, who happens to be a monkey, with not a parent in sight?  Dora sails ships, rides in hot-air balloons, and always saves the day at great personal peril.

            Come to think of it, she’s not all that great a role model, either.

            The Dora sheet set was on clearance and six dollars cheaper than the non-Dora one.  Well, okay, my creed was not to pay more for character items than other items, so how could I argue?  The Dora sheets were a better value.  And who can put a price on a child’s sense of security as she lays her head on Dora’s face every night, confident that Dora will chase away (in Spanish) any monsters that should appear from under the bed?

            Fast forward a few weeks.  Little Miss tells her dad, “My shoes too tight, Dad, need new shoes.”  Dad hands her an exorbitant amount of cash and says, “Give this to Mom and tell her you need new shoes and I need new pants.”

            When she hands me the money she says, “Shoes, Mom.  Pants.  Go to Kohls.”

            We bought pajamas at Kohl’s once, and she’s never forgotten.

            As it turned out she was cutting molars and running a high fever, so she stayed with grandma while I shopped.

            I browsed the shoe department.  They had Dora shoes.  With crazy flashing red lights.  They were only a couple dollars more than non-Dora shoes.  I thought, “My girl is miserable with fever.  These shoes will make her squeal with delight and her face will light up.”  I felt a glow.  Thrilling my kid makes me feel great.

            And so it begins.

 

            Sometimes you win, right?  And sometimes you change your mind.

           

 

Reader Weekly archive: http://www.readerweekly.us/2006/362/Sheri_Johnson.html