Disney's Zootopia! Bring on the strong women

Disney movies are phenomenal. There was a time I got annoyed with the Cinderella , Snow White and Sleeping beauty kind of movies. There is always a damsel in distress and while I do want my daughter to know about these fairy tales, and I do want her to watch it for the phenomenal animation and great music, I do not want her to believe she needs a Prince Charming. A regular guy could make her life perfect too.
And then Disney started to change with the times. I love Tangled. Rapunzel is just so classy. I love Frozen for how it shows the relationship between sisters and how the ‘regular’ guy could actually be your true love and the charming idiot was actually the bad guy. I love Mulan that showed how daughters too can be brave and strive for their parents. I love Pocahantas for the brave princess that will do anything for peace. I love Nala in Lion King and I love princess Jasmine for being so darn firm in Aladin.
We watched ‘Zootopia’ on Monday evening and I am so thankful to Disney for yet another fantastic hero!
Officer Judy Hopps! Yes a female lead. A strong one that does not need a Prince Charming.  Being a mother of a little girl I am looking towards raising her to being able to follow her dreams. The sky is the limit. While I do want her to have long flowing hair like Rapunzel (and my little Z has never cut her hair since birth) I also want her to have a classic sense of humor and a touch of craziness.
Here are the reasons moms with little girls should watch Zootopia
1.       It starts with how we as parents put our fears on our children. We want them to be safe and careful and so we try our best to restrict them. We believe we are giving them ‘other’ options, but sometimes we are killing their dreams
2.       Little girls need to be trained to be brave! Going with the TED talk presentation of teach girls bravery and not perfection, Zootopia takes the cake.
3.       Little girls need to be taught that’s it’s OK to fail, but it is not OK to quit. Officier Judy Hopps kicks the butt of her peers in police academy to become valedictorian!
4.       Little girls need to be taught to make friends with people more than those just like them! Officer Hopps teams with a FOX! Yes a bunny and fox. We live in a world where we train girls to hang out with girls. We iron that condition out by making sure the rich play with the rich and the cool kids don’t mix with the uncool ones!
5.       Little girls need to be taught to persevere. Even in the male dominated Police force, Officer Hopps keeps going taking up the craziest challenges.
6.       Little girls need to be taught dignity of labor. We often tell our kids that certain jobs are too undignified for them. We do it in the name of career guidance. I once had a friend who was a physical trainer and got a lot of grief from her in-laws for her profession. She was constantly compared to her husband who was an engineer. She one day snapped back ‘I make more money than him’! In Zootopia, Officer Hopps has her first post as a meter maid. She does not reject it! She takes up the job as a challenge and is determined to do far more than is expected from her as a meter maid.
7.       Little girls need to be taught to be a little sly and use their brains! Officer Hopps has this classy little carrot pen and she uses it well. ‘It’s called a Hustle, sweetheart’

All in all Zootopia was a lot of fun! Disney has outdone itself again and I just cannot wait for more.

Kiss Kiss -- the difference between boys and girls

What are little boys made of?

What are little boys made of?

Frogs and snails

And puppy-dogs' tails,

That's what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?

What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spice

And everything nice,

That's what little girls are made of

 

Before anyone things I am going to be writing about 'Kiss' and 'boys' and 'girls' my age ... well you are wrong ... lets rephrase that a little
Kiss Kiss --- The difference between sons and daughters.
Even though my Ziv-Ziv may seems like the most independent person ... strutting around not wanting to be carried for more than a seconds ... there is something about her that lets you know she is all girl and like all girls will make you sigh as you see her grow up.
Even though my Isaac seems like the most dependent person ... wanting to be clinging ... found mostly around my knees ... refusing to run off and play ... there is something that lets you know .. he is going to be all boy ... always hiding his feelings

Ziva has changed a lot in the most subtle ways becoming daddy's little girl. There was a time that I could just lay her on the floor and she would fall of to sleep. Very independent. And she still is ... but now there are lot of hugs and kisses and wrapping her arms around your neck so you cannot breathe!
Isaac was always all boy ... mamas boy ... he still refuses to sleep next to anyone but me. Occasionally watching Ziva nestle between me and Suresh ... he will ask or that position just to piss her off!

But the most prominent difference between these two as boy and girl --- I discovered yesterday.
We got this new book called Kiss Kiss. Its a story about a Hippo that forgets to kiss its mother before it goes off to play. The Hippo remembers after seeing other baby animals kiss their mother and returns to kiss its mothers.

I first read the book to Ziva yesterday morning. Everytime a baby animal kissed its mother ... I would lean toward her and kiss her twice - since the words in the book said ' Kiss Kiss'. She listened to the book intently and enjoyed the kisses. It was a very cute book!
An hour later, Isaac was awake and we were reading the book again. This time Isaac was sitting on one side of me and Ziva on  the other side. Every time there was a 'Kiss-Kiss' I would bend over to Ziva and kiss  her and then bend over the Isaac and kiss him. At the first animal, I saw Isaac wipe  of the kiss still engrossed in the book. At the second animal there was a protest  'Aaaaa!'
When I reached the third animal as I turned to kiss Isaac, I was shocked with a hard whack on my face. (I think he intended to push my face away ... but got the better of the movement).
In a state of shock I responded ... 'Isaac I love you that is why I am kissing you!'
Isaac: 'Read the book Amma!;

Kissing Isaac when we could ...

That's what little boys are made of!

Ziva got 'Kiss-kiss' for the remaining animals and did not mind a bit of the extra-love!

Little girls and their giggles

That's what little girls are made of!

The woes of a mother of a girl child

As the mother of a girl child ... I can already feel the pressures of my growing little girl.  Do not worry I am not going to talk about  'Dowry'. And yes Dowry is still a very active and unfortunate custom of our  South Indian community.

But what I want to talk about is 'Modesty'!
When I got to know I was having a girl some 27 months ago, I was like oh no! No please... I love my little girl! Even as I look at her now, while writing this blog, there is a love and adoration that can find no replacement! But having an older brother, the rules would different. Curfews, parties and friends would be under heavy surveillance! Unfortunately true!
Right now I am protective of both my boy and girl ... but my girl ... will always get extra protection as she grows up especially in this perverted world!
I was having a conversation with another mom as her daughter was playing a sport. The coach asked her daughter to change her T-shirt since the sport involved bending down. Boys would look. Why don't boys look away? That was what went through the mind of the mother. But Me --- I was grateful for a coach who had probably seen a daughter in this girl. Whether she needed it or not ... he planned to protect her. Whether the boys were good or not ... he was planning on making sure she was prepared for the bad one!

I am a lover of shorts and and other crazy clothes. I love my sleeveless tops and other things that keep me cool during the summer. How am I going to teach my daughter modesty? I never listened to my mother or father when they told me not to wear a particular dress. Yet here I am 25 odd years later... already worrying about my 23 month old little doll. How will I tell her that being rebellious about certain things may not work for her benefit? How will I tell her that all I want to do is keep her safe?
But I have reached an age when my I do listen to my husband. He rarely tells me not to or to put on a particular kind of dress. Yet I will occasionally get an opinion of how its not appropriate to wear a certain kind of dress in the presence of certain elders. I seem to not mind taking those opinions. Probably with age modesty just naturally grow on. You learn to be aware of who is around you, to be soft when needed and loud when its OK. I may still forget it once in a while. But with a little girl in the house ... guess I got to get my act together

AAAAh the woes of  a mother of a girl child.