Thursday, March 4, 2010

Good Boy With Bad Habits: Should Boys Be Allowed To Play With Girls' Toys?

R is lucky that he has 2 sisters, and thus the opportunity to play with toys that are on both side of the gender spectrum always presents itself.  I believe they make for a well-rounded person.  While he is naturally drawn to toy cars, train sets, and dinosaurs; he doesn’t shy away from cooking and baking sets, dolls, and other toys you might consider girly.

One afternoon, I caught him playing Polly Pockets… Action Star Polly, that is. Rapelling down the strings of the window blinds.

Run, Polly, Run….


And, she jumps off the cliff!

Even Polly seems to agree that she is in one big mess...

Still at another time, B’s teddy bear, Sparkle, was the unfortunate recipient of his attention…

Idle hands....
  
 
Poor Sparkle, didn't know what hit him....

Here he is in between sobs, after B found out what he did to her poor Sparkle...
 

As you can see I do not believe in labeling toys as exclusively for girls or boys.  That unjustified bias that society has shoved on us has no place in the world of kids play where imagination should be the only rule.  It is perfectly normal in our household for my li'l man to drop his Transformers to play with his sister's dolls the next moment.  I just relax and let go.  He still lives in a world free from society's prejudices, and as long as his innocent play doesn't hurt himself or those around him, I let him be.  These are probably the best years of his life - and mine, too!
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2 comments:

Mom-Friday said...

I also agree that there are no exclusivity when it comes to toys as kids, boys or girls, will play each toy differently with their own creative stories to tell. My girl also plays with Transformers and Bakugans most of the time and only likes her dragon stuffed toy, and still manages to share her cooking toys with the big brother!

BTW, thanks for voting for a header :)

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

I also agree with you guys! Stereotypes are just that...stereotypes! By promoting a healthy dose of non-gender-specific playing teaches our kids the meaning of diversity and individuality! Great job, T!

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