Hopefully this thought process is a dying one. I think it's up to us to teach our daughters that happiness is found within. Whether they grow up to be doctors, architects, stay at home moms or landscapers, their mission should be to have a productive and content life.

Ask one of my kids what they want to be when they grow up - they'll answer 'happy'. This is what I want to instill in them.

I am all for marriage, if marriage makes you happy. And marriage is wonderful, but it isn't necessarily the key to a successful personal life (and since our divorce rate is at 50% and rising, you'd think we'd have learned that by now!). If a woman's goal in life is to get married and live a life devoted to marriage and /or children, then who are we to say otherwise? That is an admirable goal and a personal choice.

But I do hope the whole knight-in-shining- armor thing is fading. Fairy tales are lovely, bu they are fairy tales. Unfortunately I still know women who think that getting married is the ultimate achievement. It's one of my personal achievements (and I call it an 'achievement' because a healthy marriage takes an unselfish, compromising way of life and that can be hard at times and is certainly not for everyone nor should it be.) but it wasn't my ultimate goal in life. I wasn't the little girl who fantasized about her wedding day.

Girls can grow into women who think a man is what they need to be considered successful, or they can believe that they themselves have what it takes. Her parents are key in this.

I am excited to read that there is a book being published regarding girls finding happiness from within, not necessarily from the popular disney-themed "must find me a prince!"

The movie Shrek sounds similar to this, although it did end with the stereotypical "fairy-tale ending" of the two "ugly" ogres finding love and getting married (I think they even have a child!). Pixar, and other companies, seem to also be developing more movies with soul-searching themes for our little ones, not the current mate-searching themes. I think we are moving in the right direction with movies, and it won't be long until more books follow suit.

I grew up with my parents playing the empowering "Free To Be You and Me" record for my sister and I. Not all of Disney or Barbie is evil, though; I think it depends on the context that parents put it in for their kids... my sister loved playing with Barbie and I loved all the prince-princess movies (still do!). However, as adults, my sister and I both decided to each earn (multiple) higher-ed degrees, become successful professionals...and the boyfriends/husbands and children were on the list, but after we made career choices, money and a life for ourselves. (I agree with Susan, though...this is not for everyone, and I say this as a VERY proud, and new, part-time professional and full-time stay-at-home mom!)

I think the tide is turning in empowering our young girls and women through children's books and movies, as discussed above, but as a mom with a son, I think this is good for the boys/men in our society, too! I do not want my son growing up thinking that women are waiting for him to "rescue them". I want him to realize that women are equally strong, intelligent and ambitious. There are so many different personalities of women out there, that I want to encourage him to get to know lots of people, including girls (gasp!), and not assume or believe in the Disney-stereotypes, which could create frustration, boredom and a narrow-world for him to live in.