Unlike a lot of my friends, I'm not an anti-princess mom. Or even an anti-Disney mom. Which is why when I heard that Disney is coming out with Sofia the First -- aimed at 2 to 7 year olds -- in which the main character is a little girl, I smiled, rather than sharpened my pitchfork.

But let me clarify.

Actually, I'll let Einstein do it for me:

If you want your children to be intelligen­t, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligen­t, read them more fairy tales.

I think Princess Sofia is cute. I know not everyone agrees. Many see it for the marketing ploy it totally is -- even with Disney's not-so-reassuring reassurance that it's about good moral lessons (which apparently Sofia has to be a princess to learn). But strong female figures aren't Disney's thing, princesses are. So I'm going to let my daughter watch Disney movies because I know she CAN like princesses and still turn out just fine.

She reminds me of that hilarious little girl Riley who rants about pink stuff and superheroes in the latest cute kid viral video. Yes, I tell my daughter she's pretty. I also tell her she's funny, smart, creative, skilled beyond her age, artistic, silly, sweet, cuddly, talkative, and so on.

As Einstein said, it's important to expose children to many stories and my husband and I are doing just that. So far it's working. Just the other day, my daughter paired a Storm Trooper helmet with a Snow White dress and called herself "Princess Quesadilla."

Now that's imagination.

Do you go for a balance, or boot "Anything Princess" from your home?

 

Image via disney.wikia.com