Alternatives to "Princesses"

My husband recently started telling my girls bedtime stories and singing them songs about Princess Sydney and Princess Bailey, and they LOVE it. In fact, they now make ME tell them stories and sing songs about Princess Bailey and Princess Sydney. This is wonderful, but I'd really rather stay away from the whole princess thing as much as possible. I'm sure they'll become obsessed with princesses sooner or later, but I'd rather we not start the obsession ourselves. Princesses are great, but so often they are just sitting around waiting for princes to rescue them. While the princess stories we make up for the girls aren't like that, the ones in the books and movies often (not always, but often) are.

I'd rather just tell stories about something totally different. Does anyone have other ideas of story themes we could use for the girls in place of the princess theme? Since I’m not totally creative in on-the-spot storytelling, I'd like to think of another kind of story that has some sort of language around which you can build your stories (in the way princess stories let you talk about king and queen so-and-so and the royal whatever in the kingdom of whatever).

Thanks in advance for your help and creativity!

 

I make up stories (although at bedtime we call them dreams to dream) about animal adventures all the time. We always have bunnies taking adventures. And butterflies, turtles, that kind of thing. Also, ask them to create the story. It's a great way to teach imagination.

 

Maybe fairies, mommies, teachers, artisits, etc....you could use an occupation and make up adventures with each one. Or inject thier names instead of Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood---etc.

We are deep in the trenches of 'Princess' land. I really like that the newer DVD Disney videos 'Princess Tales' are about doign things for yourself, creative problem solving and caring fo rothers. Unlike the mainstream videos--they are more about embowerment and not a prince to the rescue in sight.=]

 

Scientists, explorers, animals, etc etc. I make up stories about animals all the time with the girls. I swear my M is going to either be a zoologist or a vet. She LOVES animals!

 

I was going to say Fairies too.

And my girls love Dora and Diego (they've asked for Binaculars for Christmas!) and they also love to play starring rolls in action adventure stories--maybe too wound up for bed time though??

 

Ugh!!

Thank you!! Great Question! Anything besides princesses!

 

Check out Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch. He also has a ton of other books, many about acceptance (and adoption) and just plain old silly books you can build and build on.

 

I was totally in the same mindset as you when the girls were that age. We have older nieces and they are all about the princesses.
Fast forward to 3 1/2 yr olds and we have succumbed and they like to watch Cinderella and want princess shoes and princess dresses for Chrismtas. They still love bugs, boy things and Handy Manny and Diego, princesses aren't everything to them. At this age its like we couldn't escape some princessness in their lives. They also love Fairies and we have a couple of fairie books no mention of princes, kings or queens so I like those alot. We have not yet called them Princess Natalie or Princess Brooke, so there's still hope for us yet!

 

My MIL started telling the girls Big Bad Wolf stories when she was here last and now every story has to have the big bad wolf in it...and them or Dora or Strawberry Shortcake. At this age, the stories don't have to be too long, so your options really are endless. My girls are just as happy with a "story" about what we did that day, with a few embellishments. They have started repeating the stories to us now, very cute!

 

I actually just told my children a story the other night, but it was really me narrating the movie Nemo . lol. I never used Nemos name, so all the kids were pretty much into the story (having no clue mommy didnt make it up) until I got to the part about Nemo being put in the fish tank, my oldest DS figured it out then, but let me continue telling the story.

Maybe you could use their names in movies like that.

 

QUOTE(Kendra @ Dec 3 2008, 07:15 PM) [snapback]1095754[/snapback]
Check out Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch. He also has a ton of other books, many about acceptance (and adoption) and just plain old silly books you can build and build on.

This is one of my favorite books. I had never heard of it, til my friend Tammy in Toronto sent it to Owen. (Is it a Canuck thing? )

My favorite Aunt used to tell me stories that featured me and my girl cousins as cowgirls, adventurers (like Indiana Jones) airplane pilots in Alaska, etc...we LOVED them!

 

Thanks! These are great ideas and I will for sure use them.

My DH came up with another idea on his own last night (I haven't yet shared these Twinstuff ideas with him). He called the girls the Wonder Twins (they had heard of this before since when they were about 1 he taught them to touch fingers when we said "Wonder Twin Powers....Activate!"). I guess his Wonder Twins story took them through a few adventures and they got to participate by deciding what they would turn into. Apparently, that part of it didn't go that well since the girls both just kept wanting to be Bozo the Clown (they don't actually know who Bozo the Clown is, they've just heard us say that). My husband got tired of trying to make Bozo the Clown be an exciting crime fighter. Of course, after the Wonder Twins story, they still wanted a Princess story, so even with all of our new story ideas, we may not have dodged the princess bullet.

 

Mermaids are also a big hit!