Tag Archives: Princesses

The Trials Over Sofia the First

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The Dreaded PrincessMy wife and I had this all so perfectly worked out.

Our kids were allowed to watch a show in the morning (while we are making lunches for school or breakfasts) and they were stuck watching what we have classified as “morning shows.” I, at one time, had a list; yes, I made it even with cute pictures.

Technically, these are shows that are friendly, not overly exciting, and emphasize some kind of a lesson (numbers, reading, nature, etc.). Usually we draw from two stations, PBS and the Disney Channel. And each have their greats—for example, Wild Kratts (which I wrote about here) and The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse—and then okay shows (Martha Speaks, the soundtrack on this show drives me crazy and not in a good way).

I have always found that these kind of shows in the morning help get everyone warmed up for the day, the mind working. A nice little nudge towards more lessons later.

A great little parenting plan, right? And it might have even lasted well for a few more years, if it wasn’t for the doings of a certain princess.

For those that don’t know the Disney show Sofia the First, it follows the misadventures of a new Disney princess. We made the mistake of opening the door to this show as a coveted morning show because it is from the Disney Channel, but in one swoop it has left our morning show plan in rubbles. No, Sofia the First is not a morning show. There are really no lessons on the show… unless you are a princess and you are lucky enough to have the world revolve around you.

Who needs the alphabet when you are a princess? 

For someone with an adoration of Disneyland and a lot of Disney films, it isn’t easy for me to say this but, yes, I have a beef with Sofia the First. Continue reading →

Six Thoughts on Disneyland

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Sleeping beauty CastleSo last week I lived out one of my parenting dreams.

Ever since my wife told me we were going to be adding a family member to our team, I had dreamed of sweeping that child into my arms and rushing them off to Disneyland. Now it is six years later (with a second along for the ride), and I finally made that dream happen.

When you are a fan of Disneyland before adding the kids (I used to have an annual pass when I went to the University of Southern California, and I used it… often), you can never realize how much the little ones will change the experience. It is almost a new park. There were things I never considered before suddenly being on the top of our list of what to do next.

Fantasy Faire and princesses? Before my kids I would have avoided that bit in the park. But my daughter had to go to it twice, and both times ran with a smile right into a character’s arms… and then frowned in almost every picture.

On a side note: It’s funny but each time I visit the park I always wonder if I made the right call in my life career wise. The idea of being an imagineer (writing the script for a ride or coming up with a new one) or even simply welcoming someone onto a ride like The Haunted Mansion (“Move to the dead center of the room…”) sounds so enriching.

Here are six things about this trip with a family that changed my Disneyland experience for me. Continue reading →

For the Love of Disney

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WaltOn Friday I made a major sacrifice for me. My wife took my son to see Monsters University while I stayed home.

They needed some alone time together, which is understandable, and I watched the toddler, not at all imagining with extreme jealously the wonderful new Pixar film they were experiencing together.

On Saturday. I went to a wedding for a really great couple, one of my favorites. During the evening, I found myself standing around with a group of parents and the new Pixar film came up. The parents who saw it already fawned over it, one even declared it the best they have done.

Breathe deep, Scott, breathe…

Since starting this site I have written a few times on Disney and my fascination. Here are a few posts to check out:

Have a magical day!

Fighting the Power Rangers… and Losing

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I am an entertainment parental snob. Which means, I am NOT about to just put anything on the TV to entertain my child like some parents do.

Yes, other parents I am silently judging you right now… OK, maybe not silently.

Oh, yes, there is a bar for me and children television, and I expect a show or movie to reach it; because, frankly, I want my kids to enter the world of the arts (books, movies, music, etc.) with an idea of what is aesthetically good and enriching, what is bad, and what is just generic noise. And, hopefully, in other words, I will have 12-year old kids someday who will consider books like Harry Potter over books like Twilight.

So even before my first child was born I had a list in my mind of starting points of what I was going to do my utmost to avoid; a partial list would include:

  • Barney
  • The Wiggles, or any facsimile of it
  • Anything related to princess and fairies
  • All Dreamworks animation films (especially any film related to that horrendous green creation named Shrek)
  • Power Rangers Continue reading →