Thoughts on Disney movies? - Page 3

[**guest**]

I just want to say that I watched a ton of Disney movies as a child. The tv really was our babysitter then. Having said that, I'm extremely creative. I'm an artist and I've also been involved in the performing arts (some of that being Improv).
All of my creative friends were also brought up watching tv/movies.

I truly don't think it stifles creativity. Oh, and I remember that I never thought about how thin the characters were...just how pretty. They were always so very pretty...and usually ended up with plenty of money. I envied being rich more than pretty though. LOL.

[Cx(mummy to be)]

I don' thave children yet, but just to say I watched Disney all the time when I was a kid ( I mean probably seen cinderella and TLM over 200 times!) I would say I've turned out just fine, and any issues were certainly not from Disney. Even as a kid they were just fun, I never felt I needed a man to complete me (still don't). Like someone mentioned I think the best thing about it was the pretty dresses
I kind of think fantasy films are good, as long as the child realises it is make believe and real life isn't going to happen that way. Hell I still love watching films and fantasising about it.

[North_Of_60]

Originally Posted by OdeToJoy

The only Cinderella movie that I liked was the one with Brandi as Cinderella. It seemed to get the message across much better about believing in yourself.

Or 'Ever After', with Drew Barrymore and Angelica Houston. I love that movie.

Originally Posted by MamaPam

I do not think eleminating princesses, fairies, dolls completely in all forms from ones home is necessary. Playing with these things does not automatically equal poor self image of oneself and of women. Your reaction seems extreme. We do not allow Disney princess toys, Barbies, Bratz etc. But I do not understand your desire to eliminate all the things listed from your home. Ballerinas are thin but so are gymnists and athletes. My DD has a fairy doll from Magic Cabin. I don't see anything sexual about it or how it would effect her self image in anyway. By dollies, do you mean you do not allow any type of doll? If so, what is the harm of baby dolls or child like dolls? What is the harm of pretending to be medevil knights, kings, queens, princesses etc? I think we need to make concious decesions about what we allow are children to play with, read, watch etc but am trying to understand where you are coming from.

:

I love Disney. I grew up watching the movies, and even went to Disney Land as a teenager. I have several Disney movies, too. Including the princess ones.

DD will be allowed to watch Disney (although I DO have issues with marketing junk products to children so she won't have Disney sheets and Disney clothes, etc, but that's a whole other thread).

As a matter of fact, on Sunday night the 'Magical World of Disney' specials were my all time favorite (and I still have wonderful memories of watching that with my entire family all piled on the couch eating popcorn).

I then went on to travel the world, working in a man's profession, and never needed one to feel complete, by the way, all the while loving who I am on the inside and out.

I can only attribute this HEALTHY attitude to how my parents approached the whole Disney thing. I was made aware from VERY early on that this was fiction, and that pumpkins didn't really turn into horse drawn carriages, or that mermaids didn't really live in the ocean. I NEVER, EVER, felt like I had to be a skinny blond girl to feel important or loved. I have NEVER, EVER, felt like I needed a man in my life to feel complete. And I have NEVER, EVER, acted out any sort of violence based on a Disney movie. Ever. They are movies. Drawings. Fiction. I have always seen them in that light, and always will. I will my help my daughter to understand the same sort of thing when she is exposed to TV and movies (though we really don't watch a whole lot).

My mother was my role model and paved the way to the adult that I bacame, not some movie.

[linclane]

This is not really princess related, but we have had issues with Disney movies in our house lately. I watched them growing up and never thought much about it. I turned out fine and we've gotten several movies for ds (3 years old).

My problem is the words they use in the movies. From Cars my ds has picked up the lovely phrase "hillbilly hell" not to mention the words moron and idiot. From toy story he got stupid and shut up and thinks it's funny that Sid broke his toys.

We still have them and I do let him watch them occasionally, but I prefer other movies where he doesn't pick up words like that. It's hard for him to understand why he can't say "stupid dada isn't home yet" when Buzz and Woody say words like that.

Anyway, I'm anti-disney movies lately. But we haven't had to deal with any of the classics yet. And for what it's worth, I can remember being terrified as a young child watching Bambi, not because the mom died, but because of the forest fire. And my ds is scared during some scenes of the movies too.

[amyb15]

Perhaps you should watch older movies like Bambi and Little Mermaid. Avoid movies like "dumbo"

[velochic]

Originally Posted by amyb15

Perhaps you should watch older movies like Bambi and Little Mermaid. Avoid movies like "dumbo"

: What??? Bambi and Little Mermaid... mother is absent. In Dumbo, at least the mother was defending her child, even if she did get punished for it.

Disney movies really irritate me. They do not think about the message they are conveying. Everyone just gets caught up in the graphics and don't bother really listening to what they are saying. Disney is racists, anti-feminist, and homophobic.

[Human_Being]

My swedish relatives don't let their kids watch certain american disney cartoons cause the kids in them are so rude. And monkey see monkey, do is all too true!

They do pick up those phrases in the movies! When I was a teenager I used to baby sit and the three year old was frustrated once when his mother and I were talking and ignoring him, and he interjected "you pompous twit!" ---It was a quote from Cinderella.

[Linda on the move]

My DDs are 8 and 10 and well past the Disney Princess/ Barbie phase. After reading this thread yesterday, I started a conversation with them about the movies they like now, movies they liked in the past, etc., and I told them about this thread. I thought you might find their comments interesting.

1. Saying "Disney" movie is and thinking the person you are talking to knows what sort of movies you mean is silly. Disney has made all sorts of movies -- everything Swiss Family Robinson to Eight Below to Pirates of the Caribbean. The issues brought on this thread are about 1 type of Disney movie.

2. The basic plot line of pretty young women must over come problem and then marry rich/handsom guy is a VERY popular plot line. It can be found in not only Disney Princess movies but also grown movies like You've Got Mail, Pride and Prejudice, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and several of Shakespeare's plays. Saying that you have a problem with this basic plot line is sort of silly, unless you cut out ALL movies and plays that have it.

(they also got into a comparison and Beauty and the Beast and Pride and Prejudice that made me proud! They see similarities between Belle and Elizabeth Bennett, and Beast and Mr. Darcy.)

3. The real difference between a Disney Princess movie and a grown up movie with the same plot line is what sort of problem the pretty young woman has to overcome, and how interesting the conversations are along the way. Disney princesses movies are *babyish.* (they seem to feel bad about refering to them that way, but it was the word that fit it best for them).

4. They felt that while there are lots of good movies that follow this plot line, there are also a lot of good movies that twist it. Shrek!, (the princess marries an ogre) Pirates of the Caribbean (the pretty woman refuses an engagement, and then runs off on an adventure), and Sense and Sensibility (one sisters marries a poor man who is very kind, the other marries an older unattractive man, also because he is very kind).

5. They felt that the Disney Princess stuff is harmless fun for very young children, and parents shouldn't worry about it much because kids quickly outgrow it. My 8 year old put it best, "When you are 5 you want to be Belle or Cinderella for Halloween, but then you grow up a little, and you realize that there are a lot of other things you could be. You want to be somebody like Ginny Weasley, not because she has a fancy dress, but because she can hex Malfroy. She's tough."

My thoughts on the whole thing is that watching those movies and playing with Barbies did't dim their ability to think for themselves!

BTW, when they were very young they spent far more time playing outside/painting/playing than watching movies of any sort. Some things I vetoed because they just annoy me -- Little Mermaid, for example, gives up her voice for a man. When this movie came up for them (I think they were 3 and 5) I explained why I disliked it so much and that often women actually do give up their voices by not saying what they really think and I find it very sad. We've talked about things all along, and obviously they've been exposed to a lot of other movies as well

[**guest**]

Fabulous post, Linda. Thanks!

[Dreaming]

Originally Posted by amyb15

I think Bambi is a must see movie to bring emotion to the young

Hmmm...my kids are plenty emotional, thanks anyway.

nak
i understand the concern of negative influences.
we don't have any disney princess movies here.
yet.
however, i think we a parents are ultimately responsible for helping our children to have a healthy view of themselves and the world.
we cannot blame poor self image and eating disorders on barbies and princesses.

well, i suppose we "can" since people do it all the time.

[Cx(mummy to be)]

Linda I just wanted to pop in and say you sound like you have couple of wonderful daughters there

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed

I am so glad to even see this discussion happening here. My family doesn't get it at all. I feel so alone a lot of the time when it comes to isuses like these. They are actually disney obsessed-adults and children alike. In our house, we limit Disney movies, and we do not have many (if any, come to think of it) Disney products outside of a few movies given as gifts. At the very least, the family tries now to respect our wishes that we don't receive Disney or Barbie as gifts. I have found a great substitute for Barbie, called the Only Hearts Club. It's bendable figures, much like barbie, but they are actually girl-like and wearing clothes : .http://www.onlyheartsclub.com/


My problem with Disney and Barbie are also the image issues, the misrepresentation of history, the clash with our values (the whole princess must find a prince thing), and another issue that is very personal--Disney is one of the largest financial backers of the Republican party and that indirectly funds a war (and lots of other stuff) that I am wholeheartedly opposed to. I would actually feel as if I was buying warheads if I purchased a Disney product. I realize that is a personal and political view, and it is not meant to offend, but to offer a reason.

I should have stated here just for the humour in it. I am proud to say that I have grown and changed so much since becoming a mama.
In 1996 I was actually cast and played a role in a Disney movie. I also worked at McDonald's. Both things I could never do now.

[philomom]

Hmm, I was very choosy about Disney movies.

Lion King = one brother kills another, kid takes blame

Little Mermaid = Ariel is very disrespectful to her father, still gets her prince, bad villan is overweight

Hunchback = priest lusts after girl in a bad way

Dumbo = blackface circus workers portrayed in negative light

Pocohantas = good earth friendly message, no mother figure, villan has that stereotypical Jewish look of dark hair and beaky nose

Treasure Planet= good mother figure, bad father figure, some loyalty/trust issues with new male mentor evolve


Finding Nemo = overprotective dad, dead mom, scary new mentor is a bit of a bully

Beauty and the Beast = dead mom, bumbling dad, Belle loves to read (yay!) but must be "good" to her kidnapper/abuser to turn him around

Mulan = a "failure" as a regular girl Mulan must become a man to save her dad, intact family (yay!), spitfire grandma is a plus,

Etc and etc. I kept their viewing of these movies to a bare minimum before age 8 or so. Once I felt that I had instilled my values in my kids, I no longer worried about a little fantasy entering their lives.

[pixiewytch]

Okay, my DD is only 3mo so I don't have experience with the princess thing yet but since I have always been a Disney nut I let my son start watching Disney movies at an early age, probably around a year old. Now he is five and obsessed with them. I really can say I regret it because now I can't seem to get him away from them. He is only allowed to watch one a day when he comes home from school but now I wish he didn't even do that. I guess what bothers me most is the violence. As an adult I never thought about Disney movies much as being violent, not until he was old enough to mimic them anyway. When your child is constantly pretending to kill bad guys with swords, put them in dungeons, and so forth, it kind of leaves a sick feeling in your stomach.

Now I think there has to be middle ground. I don't really believe in entirely banning anything a child is genuinely interested in. I think that may leave to a later obsession with the said forbidden toy, treat, and so forth. I know that from my own childhood experience. I guess I think the best thing is to have a dialogue about it. I haven't done a lot of that with my son because we aren't dealing with bad gender role models necessarily so much as the violence.

As far as the princess thing goes, I have a weakness for princesses myself. I suppose that is because I have fond memories of Barbie and Cinderella growing up. I can't say I have the healthiest self esteem or that they were bad for my upbringing but I plan to at least have a dialogue with my daughter about them...explaining that there is more to a woman than what she looks like and even that ultimately looking like a Disney princess and marrying a prince doesn't bring happily ever after.

So I guess I'm saying that I don't think you should ban them entirely. Avoid situations where she might be exposed to it if it makes you uncomfortable. Obviously, don't buy any of the movies on dvd or let the grandparents do the same. I've learned that lesson the hard way...and if there is a situation where it is completely unavoidable keep an open dialogue about it.

[marnie]

for one thing, my daughter (nearly 4) isn't at all interested in the Princess movies. she loves watching previews and always asks me to skip the princess ones. she is more into movies with kids - she loves the Lilo and Sitch previews, for example. I don't allow Lilo and Stitch, though, because of the level of violence.

our body image discussion was about barbie - she has a lot of friends who have barbies, and they all do this thing now where when you go over to someone's house you borrow a toy until the next time. so they all pass toys around. Once she chose a barbie from a friend's house and told me she wanted one of her own. we talked about it, i asked her what she liked about barbie, and i told her what i didn't like about barbie (it places a lot of importance on "pretty" and I don't. On top of that, it considers a certain kind of look to be pretty and i don't think it's pretty at all. i made it about personal taste, and told her that *I* don't think that's pretty but someone else might.)

we talked about other kinds of dolls that might meet the elements she likes about barbie (not a baby - her other dolls are all baby dolls - she likes the size, she likes to comb her hair, and she likes the flexible arms and legs so she can make her walk and dance). She ended up really liking the Only Hearts Club dolls, and was most excited that they were "big girls" and not mammas.

Anyway, if the princess movie thing came up, i would handle the princess/woman/body issues concept in the same way. my sister has an eating disorder. I don't belittle them at all. but i also first hand how body issues are reinforced at home and with peers - and those are far greater influences than a movie. or they should be.

However, I'm so not into the anger and violence in most movies targeted for kids. Now that Maya's older, she can handle a little big of fighting while knowing it's pretend - we don't watch anything where slapstick is primary to the storyline, but a little tussle here and there in the storyline is something she can deal with. it happens on the playground, in her classroom, she sees that people get physical and knows it's wrong. i won't allow any movies where the hero "wins" because of violence, though. an example of this is Wallace and Gromit and the Wererabbit. It's got a big of guns and some yelling in it, some suspense that turns out to be nothing scary, and the heros are working hard for non-violent solutions to escape from/deal with a violent villian. In my opinion, it's an acceptable movie for my daughter and her level of understanding and interest.

we recently had a huge talk about "max and ruby" which she adores. But 3 times in a row while watching it she talked to me or her father in a hideously disrespectful tone, and we talked about how Ruby is really rude to her brother, and in turn her brother responds by being pretty mean, too. and how we noticed her tone of voice being affected, so we suggested we put it away for a while. She was fine with it, and let me tell you, she used to ask for that dvd more than any other.

I think it's important not to just hide things from kids, but talk about why we don't think it's a good influence. kids trust us to know these things for them, and they trust us to help them make good choices.

regarding death- we recently suffered a big loss - my dear friend's son, who was my daughter's age and her oldest friend, recently died. It hit maya hard, obviously, and she's still processing and understanding death. When death comes up in movies we talk about it, a lot. she knows people die. she knows parents and kids and good people die. we will not watch anything that celebrates death in any way, but if it does come up we talk about it openly.

I do stay away from Bambi, Nemo, Lion King, anything that has loss as a major issue, because honestly, once you've seen your kid crying "i want a playdate with my friend and i can never have one ever again" you see how falsely death is handled in those films. it's not that it's too scary a topic - it's that it's so false.

[mamabeca]

My .02

Self-inflicted abuse or pain is rarely, though occasionally, caused by a single factor. An episode of abuse (sexual or other) is one possibility, but generally there are multiple factors that play into low self esteem, distorted self image, vulnerability to marketing and social pressure, and mental health conditions that allow individuals to obsess over a particular aspect of themselves. Blaming barbie isn't going to fix the problem for them, or for future children who end up on that same sad pathway.

My dd is 8 and just getting past the disney thing. She doesn't watch them on her own, but sometimes if we are sitting for a smaller child, like a 6yo who wants to watch Cinderella, she'll watch along. A child with a pretty healthy outlook in life will outgrow the image in her own time. ALL children want to grow up and be a king/queen/prince/princess or someone with some kind of power. CONTROL is a HUGE issue for children. I always wanted to be a ninja! Not exactly peace loving lol!

CDNMOM - I am so sorry for the pain you are experiencing right now with your poor sister. It's so easy to point and say THAT'S the problem, but I don't think that's going to help her or solve the problem or make anyone feel better. Obviously you can keep whatever you WANT to out of your home. The image of the lithe, slender woman being the 'perfect' specimen is just as much fantasy as the films themselves. It IS important for little girls to know that, to LEARN that. Whether you keep it out of your HOME or not, they have to learn it. Billboards, TV infomercials, magazine covers, social/peer pressure, and a thousand other things also played into your sister's idealism, and ultimately her downfall. What an incredibly hard thing to watch and not be able to control or help.

2. I don't think that we can forever shelter our girls. Imho, it's appropriate to give them a cushion of time before they are old enough to grasp the difference between reality and fantasy, but I really believe that parents are the best judge of when that is. They are the best judge of how much and for how long they need to take that stuff 'out' of their world to give their girls (or children in general, tbh) a chance to live free from the pressures that can alter or help form their self-images.

3. I do NOT like animated disney films, in general. We have many. I just don't like the good guy/bad guy theme, and how they appeal so much to the little ones w/out any real lessons. I do like WTP esp their story book ones and their learning ones. The movies are ok. but all the disney's have scary parts that I didn't like for my littles.

I hope I havn't overstepped boundaries here. There's obviously a lot of emotion about this topic.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by philomom

Little Mermaid = Ariel is very disrespectful to her father, still gets her prince,

So, when a girl's father tries to dictate that his daughter can't date someone she likes, because he's not "our kind", she should be respectful? I've seen this objection to TLM before, and I don't get it at all. Her father was being a dictatorial jerk, and trying to own his daughter's romantic life in a way that I find offensive. I'd have told him to take a hike, too.

The message I got from all of that was that when parents simply dismiss their children's interests and try to lay down the law, they can expect their kids to react badly. Her dad drove her to make a bad bargain.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by philomom

Mulan = a "failure" as a regular girl Mulan must become a man to save her dad, intact family (yay!), spitfire grandma is a plus,

Mulan isn't into getting all dolled up to catch a man. That doesn't make her a "failure" as a girl, simply a woman who was born at a time when there were very limited options for women. Mulan is based on a very old Chinese text. It is the story of a strong woman who is smart and couragous, and willing to make sacrifices for her family and the safety of her people

There are numerous stories through history of women dressing as men so that they can fight in wars.

I think that when you are just looking for something to be negative about, you'll find it, but that if you look for something to be positive, you can find that also. Mulan is a movie where it is VERY easy to find things to be positive about. Mulan is a woman of action.

Pocohantas = good earth friendly message, no mother figure, villan has that stereotypical Jewish look of dark hair and beaky nose

Pocahantas is loosely based on the life of a real person, and IRL her mother was out of the picture. This is one of the things that they sorta got right, so it seems odd to hold it against them. (I wish they had gotten more things, rather than fewer things right.)

I really never thought of the villan as looking Jewish, and I've seen this movie more time than I can count and have many Jewish friends. I think it is a very wierd thing to say.

Pocohantas is another example of a strong woman. She can think for herself and is the driving force of the action.

Overall, I give Pocohontas 2 thumbs up as a movie. Obivously, reading kids a biography of the REAL Pocohontas is a good idea, but the real story would not have worked well on screen. She was a naked 11 year old girl who was friends with a 28 year old man. I'm glad they made them both grown up and gave her a dress.

[openheart]

Family Values that don't include Disney and Barbie

We are a TV free, no video, No licensed characters toys, clothes etc.. Family. We want our daughter (4 yrs) to just play without being a target of advertising or having someone else's image in her mind. ( i.e. a licensed character) She never uses the word bored. We go see many performances that are just plain fun for kids. We aspire to Waldorf philosophy that the Grimm fairytales are for a later age when she can understand them. Right now, she is in the world of make believe and is very innocent. She does not know of ToysRUs nor has she ever eaten at McD's. She has some wooden toys but mostly just regular household items as toys. No Plastic.

I will not support Disney because they are over the top with there use of rigid gender roles in their movies and I agree with an earlier post that Disney warps historical themes and their representation of people. (Also, by creating a huge parking lot in Florida, they made the Dusky Sparrow extinct.) Barbie is not in our universe though we talk about that others like BArbie dolls and why we don't. Too many reasons to list here.

I believe that many parents give up their beliefs that they held dear when their children were born on issues of TV, Videos, Barbies etc.. because it is all around their kids at school etc.. and they don't want to appear as a rigid parent. Yet, it you were a vegan and everyone in your children'e classroom ate meat, would you let your child eat meat?

I think as a parent, we have the responsiblilty to raise our children with our values, not other peoples values or the medias values. My daughter is not suffering because other children watch Videos, she knows we have our family beliefs and she is proud of them and her difference. Viva la difference.

Also, she is an incredibly creative child with a zest for life and plays from the moment she wakes up til bedtime and never asks to watch a thing. But she does ask me to be all sorts of make believe characters. Today it was a Shoemaker, a bus driver, a motorcycle rider, a cousin coming to sleep over, etc.. A constant you be this and I'll be that and we'll play like this.
Elaine : )

[mamabeca]

Originally Posted by openheart

We are a TV free, no video, No licensed characters toys, clothes etc.. Family. We want our daughter (4 yrs) to just play without being a target of advertising or having someone else's image in her mind. ( i.e. a licensed character) She never uses the word bored. We go see many performances that are just plain fun for kids. We aspire to Waldorf philosophy that the Grimm fairytales are for a later age when she can understand them. Right now, she is in the world of make believe and is very innocent. She does not know of ToysRUs nor has she ever eaten at McD's. She has some wooden toys but mostly just regular household items as toys. No Plastic.

These are all personal choices, and I don't think you'll get much argument from people here that they're bad. BUT - don't lord it sistah. It's not easy being a parent, making choices about what your kids get (vacations, tv, etc) or don't get (vacations, tv, etc.). My kid watched maybe 2 hrs. of tv before the age of 4, a choice. My choice. She never ate fast food, and had home made toys for the most part. I wouldn't say no plastic, she had a real (broken) phone (plastic), stacking bowls (from the 2nd hand store, just regular bowls of different sizes, plastic), a picnic/tea set of plates and cups (plastic), paint pots (plastic), but she had loads of felt and silk and wood and rock and shell and wool stuff too. Choices. I'm sure you weren't intending to judge, but it sure comes across that if someone else isn't doing what YOU are doing, that we are doing something WRONG. I feel completely confident in my parenting, and not threatened by how you choose to parent (better or worse or, most likely, some of both), and I love my kid's sense of space and time and imagination. She's lots of fun, and now at 8 will watch the food network with me, or the History/NG Channel with her Dad. Our choices.

I believe that many parents give up their beliefs that they held dear when their children were born on issues of TV, Videos, Barbies etc.. because it is all around their kids at school etc.. and they don't want to appear as a rigid parent. Yet, it you were a vegan and everyone in your children'e classroom ate meat, would you let your child eat meat?

Ummm.... Ok, seeing as you aren't someone who has made those compromises, how exactly would you know what someone who has is thinking? I think people have unlimited reasons for deciding to do something now that they had decided not to do earlier. I bought a minivan. I NEVER thought I'd buy a minivan. My minivan gets WAY better mileage than the old volvo I was driving, it made sense to buy it NOW. I let my dd watch tv/movies because I felt she was ready for them. I am still the parent. I still decide what is appropriate, and how much. Barbies and Disney movies don't necessarily symbolize the downfall of the human conscience, just a choice. Again, I think you are strongly passing judgment over people you don't know, children you don't know. Clearly we all have moments of shaking our heads about what a family considers appropriate for children. I try hard not to say anything because I do NOT always know the situation. One acquaintance of mine has 3 little girls, the middle one is my dd's age. She was a WEALTH of disney info - knows all those movies by heart, all the songs, all the love scenes! I mean ALL of them. I was kind of , it seemed excessive, since the girls met when they had just turned 6yo. When she came one day to pick up her dd, she brought the other two with her. Turns out the littlest one (3 at the time) had leukemia. The older ones spent a LOT of time in the Ronald McDonald room at the local hospital watching movies while mom was with the little one during those god-awful treatments, or while she puked her 3yo guts into stainless steel bowls. Families have all kinds of issues.

I think as a parent, we have the responsiblilty to raise our children with our values, not other peoples values or the medias values. My daughter is not suffering because other children watch Videos, she knows we have our family beliefs and she is proud of them and her difference. Viva la difference.

Yes, yes. Yes! Say that again when she's 14. Life changes, and life changes you. Rigidity is not the same as strength.

Also, she is an incredibly creative child with a zest for life and plays from the moment she wakes up til bedtime and never asks to watch a thing. But she does ask me to be all sorts of make believe characters. Today it was a Shoemaker, a bus driver, a motorcycle rider, a cousin coming to sleep over, etc.. A constant you be this and I'll be that and we'll play like this.
Elaine : )

I think this is very normal. Most kids play these games, especially at 3-6yo., even ones exposed to barbie, disney, tv in general. imho, she's right on par. My dd was more into playing pioneer, river expidition, etc. from books we read (Little house, Abraham Lincoln, etc.). She loved being a grandmother in russia making soup and pulling turnips, or a traveler on horseback, or a pirate captain (although her pirates always rescued starving children lol). Although it sounds like you are a wonderful playmate, and that she is really digging that arrangement, it doesn't make her more creative. Your choices just make her a kid with those boundaries.

It's VERY true that some kids, those left babysat by the TV regularly, will crave that kind of stimulation, and find it hard to 'survive' w/out a TV. I have one friend here with twin girls who rarely watch TV, and who don't really like to by choice. The don't have especially imaginative play, imo, so I don't think there's NECESSARILY a correlation there. And there's no evidence to suggest that there is, that I could find, esp. after the age of 4. They play school and store when my dd is over because they just don't get into the more abstract kind of play that she does, and my dd is fine playing WHATEVER. But L says her girls rarely play dress up or anything abstract like that on their own. They write, read, count, walk around with clipboards measuring, etc. My friend's cousins kids often join them in weekend skiing trips, and those are BIG time TV kids. When the cousins sit and watch tv it actually hurts the one little girls feelings (that they'd rather watch tv than play with her). The other one just goes off and counts bugs or something- she's much more self-absorbed so it's easier for her to ignore that kind of thing. It's not easy making choices, but there isn't a better KIND of child, and it sure sounds like that's what you're suggesting. I think you are making great choices, but it sounds like you don't have to leave the home to earn income, or that you have to split your time very many ways, and that you can afford some nice toys for your dd. It also sounds like you exercise your own creativity, both in play and in setting up the environment for her. I'm truly happy that you can live the life you aspire toward! I offer the wish that we all can, no matter what those aspirations are.