There’s a fascinating new article by the Associated Press that examines the significance of Princess Tiana, Disney’s first black Princess in The Princess and the Frog, and how parents and children tend to view said character differently.

To parents, Princess Tiana represents an important cultural and historical milestone: an African American Disney princess from New Orleans, surrounded by black culture and celebrated as someone who will forever join the revered ranks of Snow White and Cinderella in Disney princess lore. Children too are excited about the new princess, but they may not see the same level of cultural significance.

“[My daughter] understands that this is a princess who is African American,” said Holly Price Halford, an African American mother living in Virginia, to the Associated Press. “But do I think it’s a big deal to her? No.”

Another African American mother, Erica Branch-Ridley of New Jersey, told the AP that her 7- and 11-year-old daughters are excited about a new Disney princess, but that the younger one doesn’t really understand the importance. “She sees Obama, the first girls, she’s like, ‘that’s nice.’”

So what does this mean? One could make the argument that African American children are failing to learn the true significance of their history, and thus taking milestones for granted, but an argument could also be made that children are seeing less importance because America is finally starting  to become a more accepting and colorblind society. Perhaps some combination of the two.

What do you think?