Austin Moms Blog | When Boys Play With Girl's Toys

I have a son who could mostly be described as ‘all boy’. He loves trucks, Transformers, Star Wars, wrestling, fishing… For the most part, dolls and stuffed animals are things he has never been interested in. BUT there are times he will watch me paint my fingernails and ask if he can have his painted too or he’ll ask if he can put on my make-up. Now that he has a little sister, he has started to take an interest in her baby dolls and will feed them and change their diapers. And I always encourage him to express himself whether it’s wearing my make-up or playing with dolls.

Allena-Gurley

And I think it is 100% okay for boys to do ‘girly’ things!

I understand that for whatever reason, there are certain things that are identified as male or female. Make-up = girl. Trucks = boy. Pink is for girls, and blue is for boys. Tiaras and princesses = girl…you get the drift. But I don’t think these ‘rules’ really matter. Gasp! If Trent wants a pink room and to experiment with nail polish, who is to tell him he can’t? Why should his creativity be stifled because someone 400 years ago decided that girls are the only ones who should wear glitter on their clothes? {Yes, I fully realize people 400 years ago weren’t wearing glitter on their clothes, but I think you get my point.}

Now I also understand that he could very possibly be made fun of for nail polish or having a pony tail {he says he wants to have one like his mom and sister!}. I am not naive to what society thinks of people who are ‘different’, I am not ignorant that bullying is a real problem, but I fully believe that he should be able to play and experiment with what he wants to so that he can become the person who he is meant to be.

I might be over-thinking this, but I hope that no matter who he grows up to be, he will know I 100% support him and love him unconditionally. If he is 30 and still wants to paint his nails or if he’s 8 and decides that he really only wants to wear girl clothes, I never want him to be afraid to talk to me about it – and I think that unconditional love starts now from me. To be comfortable in his own skin as an adult, he needs to be able to experiment now by playing with a doll and not worry about what anyone else thinks. Even if as an adult, he continues to mostly be ‘all boy’, he might still need my unconditional support to launch a business, start a band, propose to the person he loves… I genuinely believe self-confidence starts at home with support from your parents at an early age as you learn who you truly are…and whether that involves dolls or trucks, our kids have it from us!

:: Do you think gender rules apply anymore to kids? ::

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here