My daughter was supposed to grow up and play with wooden dolls, and handmade toys. She was supposed to make fairy gardens outside while wearing butterfly wings I would purchase from Etsy.
This post is sponsored by , a brand my 5-year-old daughter has quickly fallen in love with… and that was never supposed to happen.
My daughter was “supposed” to be a lot of things that she isn’t, a lot of things she has no desire to ever be. I love her for that as much as I hate myself for thinking she’d be anything different, for thinking she’d be anything at all – for having preconceived notions about what her likes and dislikes would be.
And, just like my child before her and the one after (and surely the one after that), she was sent here to show me that what I thought I wanted for my children prior to actually having them versus what our reality is now, are often two very different things.
She prefers zombies over fairies, and I don’t even waste my money on baby dolls. They absolutely bore her. She’d prefer to dress up as a dragon instead of a butterfly.
She’s not anti-girly. She came home from a playdate today with pink eyeshadow from her eyebrows down to her cheeks. She’s just… her own girl.
And she loves playing with dolls. Oh yeah, me-5-years-ago is DYING.
But the thing is, she will actually, like, play with them – these girly, edgy, freaky-fab dolls. She will sit in her room for an hour, just doing what kids do with dolls, I guess. It’s a refreshing change from her incessant requests to watch videos of other kids playing video games. It’s honestly kind of surprising to me. I thought that type of imaginative play wasn’t really her thing.
I think, though, she never really connected with the toys she had — all those wooden dolls I bought for her wooden doll house. Ha!
You should hear her. Imagine this conversation, one doll in each hand, high pitched voices:
“So are you a vampire, or a zombie?”
“I’m a bat! Duh! Time to go to science class. And then I’m going to sleep. UPSIDE DOWN! Because that’s what bats do.”
Followed by mischievous laughter.
The girl who loves to play Minecraft and Plants vs. Zombies with the boys has found her doll soulmates, and those dolls love going to science class. Be still my thawed heart!
Funny that the heart of the Monster High message is acceptance, and that it encourages kids to embrace and celebrate what makes everyone different. I think there’s so much still for me to learn when it comes to accepting Leyna for who she is and who she will become. We’ll figure this out together.
Thanks to for sponsoring this post, and for sending Leyna lots of ghoulish new friends!
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5 comments
My 7.5 yr old has discovered them, too. I hadn’t investigated it much yet. Thanks for an intro.
Love this! My first daughter prefers zombies over butterflies any day as well. Spent my entire pregnancy envisioning her in all things girl. Pretty darn humbling. 🙂
Love this!!! My five year old loves Monster High too!!!
My 7 yo has been a MH fan for years. The message is so refreshing – be yourself. I watch the movies with her and so does her dad. We are a Minster High family.
[…] I’ve talked to you all before about how pleasantly surprised I was to learn about Monster High… The monsters are students who accept their friends for all their unique qualities because that’s what friendship is all about. I love that I’m able to connect with her about this super important topic through the lens of toys and a show that she already enjoys. […]