I was mostly joking in that last post about having failed. But doesnt 2.5 seem so young for this to start happening?! I can’t remember anything I read about gender roles but I’ve certainly never said anything like, “no way that is for a girl and so u don’t want it” or whatever. He’s fairly indiscriminate when he assigns gender to stuff.
In other girl/boy related news: We were at the park yesterday and he started talking about a girl who had been at the same park the day before. They had a few altercations about a driving toy. He said something like “girl was here, with pink bow. I love her”. He did!
No related posts.
Hee hee, you are probably right! But I have no idea why my little guy is just so into “boy stuff” when we never push it. Sigh. Of course, I just remembered that the very best time he ever had a park was about a year ago when he made off with some other kid’s toy stroller and twin baby dolls.
January 21st, 2010 at 11:05 am
I think there is just so much stuff out there about “boys” and “girls” that it’s impossible for them to miss it. But I also think there’s some innate component to it as well, because Patrick identifies as either a boy or a girl depending on how he’s feeling that day. And he quite likes pink, too. But he loves loves loves trains, rubbish trucks, fire engines, planes and all things transport related, without any pushing from us at all; we have given him a dolly and a pram, a tea set and other “typically girly” stuff, but he prefers to play with the trains and transport things.
When we were kids, my mum and dad decided we wouldn’t get gender-specific toys (for traditionally-raised catholics they really were quite progressive). But when my dad observed my big sister (aged about 2 and a half at the time) getting clothes pegs (the old, traditional wooden kind) and wrapping them up in handkerchiefs to put them to bed, and carrying them around like little people, he caved and bought her a dolly. At the time we lived on a tiny island with no TV, and my mum and dad, again, were not gender specific when it came to books or stories, either, so they really don’t know where it came from. They can only put it down to nature, rather than nurture, so to speak.
As long as he doesn’t say “I’m not playing with GIRLS, Girls are stupid” or similar, I reckon it doesn’t matter a jot.
Just my 2cents worth. Rant.
January 24th, 2010 at 6:08 am
Oh noes! He’s fallen for a bowhead!
January 24th, 2010 at 3:12 pm