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My four year old daughters always pretend to be princesses and absolutely love dressing up in princess costumes. Disney’s Sleeping Beauty was recently released from the Disney vault, so I picked up a copy of the Diamond Edition Sleeping Beauty Blu-Ray/DVD Combo pack from Walmart. Halloween is coming up soon too, so we picked up some fun Disney Princess costumes at Walmart while we were there. My daughters love their new dresses and crowns and camera. It was really hard for them to pick out only a few Disney Princess items for us to get!  But, if they really want to be princesses then they have to act the part with proper princess costume dresses and attire. But, princesses are more than just pretty girls don’t cha know? Princesses have many outstanding qualities and characteristics that make them as magical and beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.  A princess’s leadership qualities, skills, abilities, and talents make them even better than their perfectly styled exteriors. So, with princess costumes in hand, I set up a “Princess School” of sorts with my daughters and worked on helping them instill the characteristics of a princess this past week.  So, dress up your daughters, and take them to princess school, by embracing princess qualities that really make for a beautiful young lady.

10 Qualities of a Princess to Instill in Your Daughters

1. Princesses Value Their Beauty Sleep

I mentioned we just purchase Sleeping Beauty right? Well, sleep is a prevalent theme among several princess stories. Obviously, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, was really good at sleeping for a long time, as too was Snow White. Then there are stories like the Princess and the Pea which involve poor sleep. And it is when princesses are fast asleep that they can dream and wish, as Cinderella so beautifully explained. Clearly, princesses value their beauty sleep! And my daughters value it too. One of my four and a half year old twins still regularly takes a nap everyday, and both sleep soundly in their bed each night. Setting up good sleep habits will certainly help a princess more able to have several other qualities on this list…. because after all, it’s hard to be your best self when you aren’t taking good care of yourself!  It’s also important to help them dream big.

2. Princesses are well groomed.

And after their beauty sleep, princesses take some time to bathe (like in Cinderella), get dressed in modest attire, or dazzling ball gowns, brush their hair (Mulan, Rapunzel, Ariel, Cinderella),  do up their hair (Cinderella, Anna, Rapunzel), and so on. Princesses take their grooming seriously! So, I had my daughters practice brushing their hair and checking out their beautiful selves in the (two-sided) mirror for Princess School.

3. Princesses Do Chores!

From Cinderella and Snow White we learn the value of princesses who know how to clean and do chores! Princesses need to know how to clean up after themselves, be tidy, organized (like Ariel’s human artifacts collection), and neat. So I put my princesses to work! My daughters regularly help me load and run the dishwasher, do the laundry, sweep the floor, wipe off the table, pick up toys, and more. It’s important that princesses remember that they are not better than the Help, and that when they serve others, they are blessed for their service.  Plus, it’s important to work hard, and not just dream away your life.

4. Princesses are talented: they sing and dance!

There are so many Disney Princesses who sing and dance! As a princess these are important talents and traits to have.  Princesses need to spend time developing talents, by practicing them. My daughters love to sing songs, whether of their own creation, or a silly nursery rhyme. And my daughters are also currently taking ballet lessons. It’s never too early to learn how to dance and sing properly. Plus, besides singing and dancing, princesses are generally talented. My daughters are also budding artists.

5. Princesses love books!

Not only do princesses have various talents, they also cultivate a love of learning. Disney Princess Belle was very well read and greatly enjoyed many a good book! We are working to foster a love of literature in our princesses-in-training as well, by reading to them, telling them stories, and reading good books ourselves as the parents.

6. Princesses have poise.

A well-established quality of Princesses is their general poise, their grace, and their elegance. Princesses are regal and royal. So, in order to act like a princess, I had my girls walk down a straight line, holding themselves up high. The second time down our string path, I had them try balancing a book on top of their heads as they did so! It’s all about being tall and regal girls!

7. Princesses are forever the optimist.

Have you ever noticed how much princesses never give up hope? Sure, Cinderella was depressed when she couldn’t go to the ball, but even in the midst of her daily persecution, she possessed an air of joy! Princesses have a way of overlooking their situation, stay positive, and remain optimistic! They also see the good in people, are extremely trusting (too trusting and naive in some situations unfortunately), and they smile and laugh, and dance and sing, and generally carry an air of happiness. What a great description of a princess! My daughters are very happy, and bright, and smiley girls, who I am trying to make sure always hope for a better outcome next time, and to never stop believing.

8. Princesses Value Marriage!

What does every princess want to do? Get married! And my daughters are no exception! Princesses value marriage. They crave it. They will live their lives so that they can be worthy of it. They care about how they are presenting themselves, how they behave, and how they interact with members of the opposite sex. And that’s a great quality of a princess! Marriage is a beautiful, desirable thing. My daughters squeal with happiness at the end of any Disney Princess movie where they get married at the end! My daughter Alison will literally jump up and down, smiling her biggest smile, and exclaim “They’re getting married!! They’re getting married!!” It’s about the cutest darn thing I have ever seen. I hope she is that excited on her own real wedding day.

9. Princesses are Amazing Friends

It’s often said that princesses have hearts of gold, love everyone, are charitable, compassionate, see the very best in people, overlook appearances, and in short, are the bestest best friends you could ever want. I have twin daughters and I am so thrilled that they are still best friends. They are generally respectful to each other, give each other hugs, apologize, and play together peacefully. My daughters also make friends fairly easily at parks and in new places. I think if anything, my daughters have taken me to Princess School on this one!

10. Princesses Love Nature

Ever notice how many princesses are friends with animals? Who loving care for trees, flowers, plants, and rivers? Okay, so that may be mostly Pocahontas and Snow White, but princesses do respect nature, and most spend a good amount of time outside. Several Disney princesses have trekked through the woods, including Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Belle, and more. Princesses not only love nature, but are comfortable in the woods, in quiet spaces, and also can walk long distances without wearing out. I’m trying to help my daughters like all things outdoorsy, as I let them play outside and dig in the dirt. I also point out the stars to them, animals, and have taken them camping too.

So, tell me, how do you help your little princesses develop the good princess qualities and attributes? And do you think Princess costumes help act like a princess? And have you picked up your copy of Sleeping Beauty yet?