As a parent, one of my main wishes for my kids – beyond the typical “I’d like them to be happy and healthy” – is that I wanted them to be well-behaved, well-mannered, so that I could take them anywhere, anytime – so that whether we were in a restaurant, or someone’s home, they would be well-behaved. So much more of the world is open when you aren’t worried that your children will be ill-mannered in public (or at your own dinner table!)

When I was asked if my daughters and I would like to host a Princess party in celebration of the release of Barbie’s new DVD, “Barbie Princess Charm School”, my kids begged me to say yes. Both of my daughters have a tremendous love for Barbie – but… how would they feel about…LEARNING MANNERS?

Short answer? They loved it. Why? Because learning manners can and should be fun, and we invited a few friends over to practice being polite the Barbie Princess Charm School way.

I’m not sure how long it was before I learned how to properly set a table – I never could remember which side of the plate to put the knife and spoon (answer: the right side), but my  Barbie Princess Charm School Hostesses were easily able to figure it out with the placemats we received with our Barbie Charm School party pack.

Once the table was set, we prepared for our friends to come over by making brownies for brownie sundaes. I’m of the “spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down” school of thought – it’s sure easier to talk about manners when you’ve got a yummy dessert in front of you (but! No talking with your mouth full – that’s not polite).

Each child was able to set a royal example, and I was tickled pink by all the “pleases” and “thank yous” I heard around my table. We learned Barbie Princess Table Etiquette (I don’t think Barbie would wipe her mouth with her sleeve, do you?), and we had fun practicing being polite. And at the end of dessert, one of the girls asked me if she could help me clear the table – talk about manners!

After dessert, my daughters and their friends took turns playing with the Princess Charm School dolls, Blair, Hadley and Delancey – and even TOOK TURNS with each of the dolls. Success? I think so!

We’re looking forward to watching the Barbie Princess Charm school DVD when it becomes available on September 13.

I was not compensated for this post. I did receive a Barbie Princess Charm School Party Pack to throw the party, but the opinions expressed within are my own.