10 Ways to Be A True Princess

I've made it clear in previous posts that, to me, the idea of being a princess is about being strong, feminine, compassionate and smart. It's about not feeling helpless and about being helpful. It's about realizing your ability to attain your dreams.

Here is a list of ten quick and simple ways to be a true princess.

1. Believe in yourself and in your ability to achieve your dreams. Always believe.

2. Be compassionate towards others, giving help when you can.

3. Be gracious in accepting help when you need it and never look on the need for help as a failure.

4. Never believe the words of people who try to tell you that you aren't strong enough, aren't smart enough or aren't pretty enough, because you are strong, you are smart and you are beautiful.

5. Believe in the beauty of people's souls. Everyone is beautiful inside, and everyone deserves respect.

6. Demand respect for yourself. Never let anyone treat you as less than the wonderful person you are.

7. Be kind to animals. Animals bring out the best in people and deserve the best from us.

8. Learn as much as you can. Read and study. Be knowledgable in the things that are important to you.

9. Take time for yourself. Never forget to spend time doing something you enjoy. It nurtures the soul.

10. Don't forget empathy. The ability to feel what others feel or at least to feel for them in whatever situation they find themselves in is what holds humanity together.

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Sites That Empower Girls

As you know, Princess Parade is all about girl empowerment and believes very strongly in raising our daughters to be strong, confident and capable. With that in mind, I have been perusing the web for websites that have similar beliefs and have come across two that I would like to share with you.

The first one is called 7Wonderlicious. This site states in its about page:

"We believe every child is placed on this earth to accomplish something remarkable, something that only he or she can do.

Our tribe was created with one single purpose , to help reduce all threats to girlhood that crush our girls ' true nature and potential.

We focus on overturning the gender stereotypes that make girls obsess with body image, keep girls from taking leadership roles, that limit girls' interests in sciences and maths and cause them to feel self-aware when playing sports.

The first years of a girl's life are a crucial time when their identity and model of world are being shaped. Our goal is to provide in our 7Wonderlicious girls a group of fantastic role models; confident girls that are healthy, confident, resourceful, persistent and a lot of fun."

They share a lot of links and helpful news articles about girl empowerment and raising powerful, confident daughters. They also have some fun apps for kids.

The other site I found is called SheHeroes. The SheHeroes vision and mission statement states that

"Our Vision
■A world where young people can see themselves in whichever occupation they choose.
■A society where gender doesn’t limit one’s choice and voices of both women and men are heard with equal regard.

Our Mission
■To tell inspiring stories of female role models via free web based video interviews geared towards 3rd through 5th graders.
■To awaken youth to their potential, increasing the numbers of youth from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds who will consider entering the workforce in a variety of careers. Careers which they might not have known or thought about previously.
■To encourage positive choices and reduce risky youth behaviors through video programming which facilitates discussion between the youth and a caring adult."

They share video interviews with women role models to help inspire young girls with the knowledge of the greatness that they can achieve.

I recommend that you go and visit these sites! I'll make sure to let you know of any other sites I find that empower girls.


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How To Feel Like A Princess

Some common ideas about princesses are that they live in the lap of luxury, they can have almost anything they want, they dress elegantly, have perfect make-up and look beautiful at all times. With that in mind, most of us would like the chance to feel like a princess.

You might be shocked to find out that you can make yourself feel like a princess and that it is surprisingly easy to do so! Here are ten easy steps to take to help yourself to feel like a spoiled, pampered and beautiful princess.

1 - Believe in your own beauty. You are a beautiful person and one way to help yourself believe in that fact is to remind yourself frequently that you are beautiful. Act as though you are assured of your own beauty and pretty soon, you will start to feel it and believe in it.

2 - Take some time every week to do something pampering for yourself. Whether this is to take the time for a long and luxurious hot bubble bath at the end of the day or getting a professional massage to help relax yourself, it is important to do something special that is just for you. Indulge in buying your favorite gourmet chocolates or go and get a pedicure. There are many ways to treat yourself.

3 - Take time each day to style your hair and put on your make-up. If you don't have time to do this everyday, give yourself a couple of days a week where you take the time to glam yourself up a bit. You could also go and have your hair and make-up done professionally on occasion.

4 - Wear a pretty dress. If you're taking the time to glamorize your make-up and hair, make sure to also put on a dress or outfit that makes you feel pretty and feminine. It has to be something that you feel pretty wearing.

5 - Take special care with your accessories. Wear jewelery that compliments your outfit and coloring and shoes that flatter your feet and legs. These finishing touches are a great way to top out your glamorous look and can help add to your feeling like a princess.

6 - Do some breathing exercises. Take slow deep breaths and empty your mind of all thought except for concentrating on those slow deep breaths for a few minutes. Hold your breath for several seconds between breathing in and out. This can relax your body and calm your mind, and feeling calmer will help you keep your emotions under control and can lift your mood.

7 - Donate to charity. One thing modern princesses are noted for is their contributions to charity. Your donation doesn't have to be monetary. You could volunteer to spend your time at a soup kitchen or to drive your elderly neighbor to do her weekly shopping. Doing good things for others will help you feel better about yourself.

8 - Set a small amount of money aside from each paycheck to save towards doing something you love. Even if all you can set aside is $5 from each paycheck, it will eventually add up and knowing that the money is there can be a huge stress reliever and you'll be able to look forward to whatever it is that you have planned to do with it.

9 - Be tidy. By keeping your house uncluttered and clean, you will feel better and will even be more likely to entertain guests. Having a dirty or messy house can be stressful and stress can definitely keep you from feeling like a princess.

10 - Spend time with your prince and if you don't have one yet, make sure that you never settle for less than a true prince (i.e. a man who shows you both love and respect). Spending time with your man and letting him be the one to spoil you with affection and to let you know how beautiful you are to him can be a wonderful boost to your ego and is a great way to feel like a princess!

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Dads, How Are You Raising Your Princesses?

"Lift your daughter up to the sky when she is young, and when she is grown, she will soar to the heavens on wings of her own creation." ~Rebecca Fyfe

Here's one for the dads. Your daughter needs you to think of her as your little princess. Not so that you can protect her, but so that you can encourage her. Not so that you can spoil her with gifts, but so that you can spoil her with love and affection and with time spent with you.

More and more girls are growing up with a lack of self-esteem and barely any belief in themselves or in their abilities. But this trend can be changed. Dads, you need to be active and present in your daughters' lives. You need to support them not just financially but emotionally. You need to believe in them. You need to show them through your actions that you respect all women so that you reinforce in their minds the fact that they are worthy of being respected. You need to spend time with your daughters so that they believe that they are worth spending time with. You need to listen to your daughters and let them speak so that they realize that their ideas and thoughts are important.

It's not enough just to work to support them but never spend time with them. It's not enough just to criticize them when they do something wrong or to harp on them about their chores. They need to know that they matter. They need to know that you see them for who they are inside and that you like that person.

Think about this; studies have shown that girls will subconciously seek out men in their lives who either treat them the way their dads treated them or who treat them the way they saw their dads treat their mothers. They learn what they see, just like everyone else in this world. Let them see you treating them and every other woman on this planet with respect and decency and care, and that is what they will expect from the men in all areas of their lives.

Isn't that what you want for your daughter?

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Every princess deserves to feel special on Valentine's Day. If the princess in question is a child, then Mommy or Daddy should do something special for her to mark the ocassion and let her know how loved she is to them. If the princess is grown, then a friend or a sister should do something special for her to show her she is loved.

One year on Valentine's Day, I had a lot of single friends and my fiance was 7,000 miles away, so I threw a Valentine's Day party. My single friends all came. There was party food and games to play, romantic movies to watch and I even bought cute little stuffed frogs for them all that, when squeezed, would either croak like a frog or say "Give me a kiss" in a rough voice.

I always do something special for my children on Valentine's Day too, from buying them Valentine's Day cards, special sweets or cute little toys to sometimes just making cupcakes for their whole classrooms.

You don't have to limit Valentine's Day to just a romantic day; it can be a day for friends and family too.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day, full of the love of family and friends.




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A Princess Drawing Done By A Five Year Old

Five year old Isabella loves the idea of being a princess. She loves princess stories, princess dresses and princess art. Today, using a book called How to Draw Princesses and Ballerinas (Usborne Activities), she drew this princess.

For the book in the US:


For the book in the UK:




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Feminine & Strong

My little girl loves everything to do with princesses. If it's sparkly and pink, then she acquires it and adores it. She loves wearing dresses and she loves looking girly. She is five years old.

For my other daughters, five was about the age when they started to lose their love of all things girly, or at least, they pretended to lose their love of dresses and tiaras and other girly things.

I wonder if my little five year old will start to think that she has to show the world a different face. Why is it that the world around her seems to encourage her to be tough rather than tender, stoic rather than emotional, and suspicious rather than trusting?

She is hanging on to her idealism about being a princess. I hope she continues to do so. There is nothing wrong with being tough and strong, but there is also a great deal of strength to be found in things that are traditionally considered feminine. Being able to shed tears and show emotion has the power to help us heal emotionally and the strength to face almost anything. Being able to show compassion and tenderness is one of the ways of making this world a better place for others.

When did the world start equating femininity with weakness? When did the world at large decide that to be anything other than macho and masculine was to be weak and victimized? It's a falsehood that should never have been given legitimacy in society.

Some of the most feminine women I know have backbones of steel.

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