Tucker started giggling this week. I first noticed it the other night when I was taking off his shirt to put on a onesie to go to bed. When I moved his hand away from his mouth to take his sleeve off he giggled. Tyler was with us and heard it too and we got him to do it a couple more times. Then, last night we were playing with him in the floor (I'm trying to teach him to roll over from his back to tummy) and I pulled his hand away from his mouth again and he giggled again. I kept doing it and he kept giggling every time. He is so strong and wants to keep his fist or fingers in his mouth all of the time. I think Gigi may have gotten him to do it first. She said several weeks ago that whenever she put his fingers in his mouth and then took them away he would giggle. I didn't believe her at the time or I thought it was just a great-grandmother exaggeration but it wasn't-
Madeline didn't giggle out loud for a long time. A really long time. Now she is silly and loves to giggle but she was a pretty quiet baby, just really observant and smiley. I remember her other great-grandmother, Memaw, curious about why she wouldn't laugh out loud. I was a nervous new mother and I was so concerned something was wrong. There wasn't she was just taking her time until something was REALLY funny.
We haven't done a lot this week. Just been really lazy. Madeline loves to stay in her underwear all day. No clothes. That is fine with me. We just hang around the house playing princess, watching princess movies and doing chores. Madeline pretended to be Cinderella this morning and I was the Stepmother so I gave her kitchen towels to put away and she wanted me to give her a wet paper towel to wash the floors. Fine with me! I opened the back door for her and asked her to clean the dog slobber off the glass. She's a great Cinderella and helper.
I wonder this all the time so I thought I would post my question here and see what you think...I know Walt Disney didn't write the princess movies- they were just adapted from old fables and stories but why do none of the princesses have mothers (except Sleeping Beauty)? Do you think that is why they all get married so young? Those of you who know me well know I have been perplexed by this for a long time. Also, these movies are pretty scary. When I think about what stuck with me through the years about the princess movies it wasn't the scary parts but I do worry about it. On NPR yesterday they were interviewing young kids about violence in movies and the research demonstrated that violence in media does have an adverse affect on kids but they were talking about horror movies. What about princess movies? Death, sorcery, witches, jealousy, evil, and Hell are all prevalent themes. A lot for 2 or 3 year olds to wrap their heads around. My Dr. Spock and What to Expect books say fables are a good thing. They teach very positive lessons that kids respond to. They say it is the parents that make kids think things are scary. Kids are just enjoying the story. This may be very true. I remember growing up my Dad liked to watch scary movies and my Mom didn't. I asked her why and she said that it wasn't so much the movie that bothered her, it was the mind of the man that came up with such a gruesome story that scared her. That stuck with me. I never watched a scary movie after I became an adult. I have known real horror and don't care to be "scared" by someone else's idea of it. Anyway, Madeline doesn't seem to be scared so far. There couldn't be a happier little princess on earth. And nothing bad is going to happen to my princess. She has a mother around to protect her.
Madeline didn't giggle out loud for a long time. A really long time. Now she is silly and loves to giggle but she was a pretty quiet baby, just really observant and smiley. I remember her other great-grandmother, Memaw, curious about why she wouldn't laugh out loud. I was a nervous new mother and I was so concerned something was wrong. There wasn't she was just taking her time until something was REALLY funny.
We haven't done a lot this week. Just been really lazy. Madeline loves to stay in her underwear all day. No clothes. That is fine with me. We just hang around the house playing princess, watching princess movies and doing chores. Madeline pretended to be Cinderella this morning and I was the Stepmother so I gave her kitchen towels to put away and she wanted me to give her a wet paper towel to wash the floors. Fine with me! I opened the back door for her and asked her to clean the dog slobber off the glass. She's a great Cinderella and helper.
I wonder this all the time so I thought I would post my question here and see what you think...I know Walt Disney didn't write the princess movies- they were just adapted from old fables and stories but why do none of the princesses have mothers (except Sleeping Beauty)? Do you think that is why they all get married so young? Those of you who know me well know I have been perplexed by this for a long time. Also, these movies are pretty scary. When I think about what stuck with me through the years about the princess movies it wasn't the scary parts but I do worry about it. On NPR yesterday they were interviewing young kids about violence in movies and the research demonstrated that violence in media does have an adverse affect on kids but they were talking about horror movies. What about princess movies? Death, sorcery, witches, jealousy, evil, and Hell are all prevalent themes. A lot for 2 or 3 year olds to wrap their heads around. My Dr. Spock and What to Expect books say fables are a good thing. They teach very positive lessons that kids respond to. They say it is the parents that make kids think things are scary. Kids are just enjoying the story. This may be very true. I remember growing up my Dad liked to watch scary movies and my Mom didn't. I asked her why and she said that it wasn't so much the movie that bothered her, it was the mind of the man that came up with such a gruesome story that scared her. That stuck with me. I never watched a scary movie after I became an adult. I have known real horror and don't care to be "scared" by someone else's idea of it. Anyway, Madeline doesn't seem to be scared so far. There couldn't be a happier little princess on earth. And nothing bad is going to happen to my princess. She has a mother around to protect her.
Hey, I just stumbled across this particular post of yours and thought I'd put in my 2 cents. :) One thing I've heard is that the motherless princesses reflect the time period that the stories were written - when mothers often didn't survive childbirth and live spans weren't very long anyway. Since fables are a way of helping kids learn and cope - having a motherless character may have been a way to connect. The other thing I've heard is that the stories don't have mothers because if they did - the moms would be around to guide the children, thus keeping the children from learning the lessons that the story intends to make.
ReplyDeleteI dunno if any of that is true - but it's a good question. :)
isn't laura fantastic? you would have loved her. i wish we had all known each other when she lived in arkansas.
ReplyDeleteshe's so smart. in all sorts of ways.
can't wait to see you.
also, i love what your mom said about scary movies. i have to agree.
finally, i'm going to bring you some rocks to put in your pockets. you look like you might blow away in that family picture taken on tyler's bday. seriously, clark. seriously.
haha, laughing at hannah's comment
ReplyDeletepaul and i always say "serious, clark, seriously" too funny.
Yes, Laura, thank you for that insight. I had wondered the same thing about the Max and Ruby" cartoons. Have you read that book yet or seen them? If not yet, you will. Max and Ruby's parents are NEVER seen except in a picture that hangs in their living room. A friend of mine looked for the reason for that online and it said the same thing- wanting kids to see kids resolving their own issues. Madeline was pretending to be Cinderella this morning and wanted me to be Cinderella's mother. She said. "Watch out Cinderella's mother, the stepmother and stepsisters are mean!"
ReplyDelete