They say kids are constantly learning. I think that’s true of us parents too.

Sometimes those learning moments come in the form of challenges circumstances. And then sometimes it’s when we’re having fun – like in kids’ films – you may have noticed me blog a few quotes from films like Megamind and Kung Fu Panda before.

The latest one to take centre stage in our house is Tinker Bell, a story of a fairy who dreams of going to the mainland with all the other fairies – except tinker fairies don’t go to the mainland, “it’s not what they do”.

So Tinker Bell tries to reinvent herself into a water fairy, a garden fairy, a light fairy and an animal fairy and each time it ends in disaster. I won’t spoil the story for you by giving it all away here, but the encouragement I want to share with you is: Yes, she does get her dream, and only when she stops trying to become someone else, and starts embracing who she is and using her unique tinker abilities.

So the lesson of the story?

• You don’t get your dream by changing who you are. In fact it’s completely embracing who you are and using your talents, that gets you to your dream.

• You can change the status quo with what you do. Tinker Bell didn’t have to change who she was, but she did change the ‘way things are around here’ and set a precedent for tinker fairies to go to the mainland along with the other fairies.

So I hope, like me, you’re encouraged to be true to yourself, and discover that when you do, magical things can happen!