Moms of boys

KathrynMD

are you (or your DH) bothered when your son plays w/ "girl" toys?

Do you buy him traditionally girlish toys - baby dolls, play kitchen, etc.

I was very bothered this weekend when I saw dad take away a doll stroller his not even 3 yo son was playing with and then laugh it off to a bunch of other dads "hehe, that's enough of that DUDE!"

Cooper81

Doesn't bother me at all. One of my friends only has girls and her extensive toy collection is all pink, I have no problem with him playing with traditionally girl stuff, dolls, strollers, etc, and DH didn't seem to mind. Most of the toys we have purchased for him have been mostly gender neutral, ball popper, stacking blocks, musical instruments, play dough mellissa and Doug stuff. All the "boy" stuff like cars and trucks, he got for his birthday. It seems prettynclosed minded of the dad, but most likely pretty common response from a dad with a group of other dads. Maybe it was more of an image thing, and he wouldn't have cared if there weren't other men there.

mdmommy07

Not bothered at all. My MIL watches them 2x/week and she has a little girl (foster child) and MIL has a few baby dolls and play purses, and both boys will walk around with the purses and the babies letting everyone know they are taking care of "their" baby. It is imaginative (sp?) play. I wanted to get a play kitchen for them last x-mas, but daycare has one so I thought it was overkill. Right now they mainly have traditionally boy toys, but it's what they pick out and are into right now, and if they picked something out that was tradionally marketed for a girl, I would not steer them away. Why can't a little boy push a doll in a stroller, does his dad not push him in a stroller, dress him, feed him, etc.???

caramadeleine

My son will be two and loves trucks and cars and elmo.  I know at daycare he plays with dolls and I don't care.  I don't think my husband would care so much about a doll and stroller, but when it comes to other things, my husband gets a little moody:).  I have this rhinestone, sparkly headband, and my son LOVES it.  My husband doesn't like it  when I put it on him.  We were in stride rite this weekend and my son found the headbands with the bows.  I let him put it on and told him to go see Daddy.  He ran over to my husband and all my husband could do was laugh.  I don't think kids know.  It is just colorful and looks fun.  I don't think I would buy my son a doll unless he asked for it.  If he wanted one, I don't think my husband would tell him no.

ThePastor'sWife

I could care less if DS plays w/ dolls, etc.  I'm actually planning to buy him a play kitchen b/c he is OBSESSED w/ the one in the church nursery, so clearly a kitchen doesn't bother me!  I also planned to buy him a baby doll just to prepare him for his new sibling (so we could work on how to touch the baby, etc.), but that wound up being unnecessary since I'm watching his little cousin and he's learning from being around her. 

Like PP, basically all the toys we've bought him have been gender neutral, w/ the exception of his Little Tikes toolbench - but that was only bought b/c we found it for a killer deal at a consignment sale and couldn't pass it up.  Any "boy" toys he has have been bought for him by others, not us.  Kids don't know any better, and there's no reason they need to, esp as toddlers - I'd rather see him using his imagination than worrying about what, specifically, he's playing with!

mrs. remy

No, I couldn't care less.....however its pretty rare that he would. All he has an interest in is football/baseball, and trucks & tractors.

M&D06

Dh doesn't care at all.  We bought him a pink travel magnadoodle because it was the only one left at the store.  At a friends house, he loves playing with her daughter's Barbies and My Little Ponies.  He plays with her son's boy toys too but he doesn't have any 'girlie' pink stuff at home so it catches his eye when we're somewhere else.  Dh just laughs.  He has the Laugh'n'Learn house and a shopping cart with play food too.  Him and a cousin used to play dress-up with their grandmother's clothes when they were younger so it doesn't bother him at all.

lauranne

It doesn't bother me or DH at all.  DH goes to daycare with two girls who are his age (and a boy who is 2) and they always play dolls.  I think it's cute.  I know that as Claire gets older, I'm sure she'll be playing with Aiden's trucks and cars, and I certainly won't discourage that either.

daisyterp

No, it doesn't bother me or DH at all.  DS actually has a doll of DD's that he "prefers" and he kisses it, etc. DH used to put him into some of DD's pink baby clothes (sleepers, etc.) when he was a newborn and he wears some of DD's old pink diapers, etc. 

Since I watched 2 boys and I don't want DD to just play w/ girl stuff we had a train table and a few cars and trucks before DS was born, he is now really into the duplo lego blocks, but he plays w/ the play kitchen and dollhouse, too.  

 

JennigoesUSA

I think it is healthy for them to play with toys that are thought to be girl toys. After all it is just pretend game of a family life.

Now, if my boys would ONLY play with dolls, want to dress up as princesses and not have any other interests at all then I might try to encourage some more boy typical toys in there. 

 

Now dads are different. For some reason they seem to have a hard time accepting "girls" toys in boys hands. No idea why. I suggested to my husband a couple of years ago to get the boys a play kitchen for Christmas and he was not happy.

junebugrbig

I don't care but I know DH does.  If my DS sees a play kitchen, forget it...he is gone and hard to get him to stop playing with it so I plan on getting him one for our house.  He has been typically drawn to boy toys, sports, trucks, trains, etc but if he wanted a doll, I would get it for him.

ngentile

We're not bothered by it at all and I think it's inevitable especially if you have two opposite-sex kids.  Right now DD's favorite toy is a stuffed mahi-mahi fish from Bass Pro.  Her babysitter had two older boys so she's always played with trucks and cars.  And when her little brother is older, I'm sure he'll be playing with her dolls amongst other things.  When they are this little, toys are toys, at least IMHO.

madladybride

I only have a girl, but I find it interesting that a play kitchen is still considered a girl's toy. I mean, aren't there a lot of male celebrity chefs ? Guys also cook, right?Guess I never really considered that a girl's toy.I can also see how one might think a stroller is a girl's toy, but shouldn't guys learn how to take care of their kids, too?

On the flip side, what about little girls who like to build things? Why should a tool bench/belt be considered a boys-only toy?

 To respond to Kathryn's original post, right now we buy DD general toys. I really only plan to buy her gender-specific toys if she requests them. Also, I think that dad is an a$$hole.

mrs. remy

madladybride:

I only have a girl, but I find it interesting that a play kitchen is still considered a girl's toy. I mean, aren't there a lot of male celebrity chefs ? Guys also cook, right?Guess I never really considered that a girl's toy.I can also see how one might think a stroller is a girl's toy, but shouldn't guys learn how to take care of their kids, too?

I agree with this. My H has been cooking his whole life-he worked in restaurants starting at age 14 through his late 20s. I mentioned getting DS a play kitchen once and he was like "ok, cool".

jadebaby

LoveLossHopeRepeat:

Shame on that father for taking away something that was making his son happy and wasn't hurting anything.

I so very highly agree with this statement!

jadebaby

madladybride:

I only have a girl, but I find it interesting that a play kitchen is still considered a girl's toy. I mean, aren't there a lot of male celebrity chefs ? Guys also cook, right?Guess I never really considered that a girl's toy.I can also see how one might think a stroller is a girl's toy, but shouldn't guys learn how to take care of their kids, too?

On the flip side, what about little girls who like to build things? Why should a tool bench/belt be considered a boys-only toy? 

And I agree with all of this, too!

I was the girl in the neighborhood playing with He-Man and GIJoes. Never once did either of my parents try to sway me to play with Barbies/MLP/Cabbage Patch Kids over the "boy toys". Don't get me wrong, I had/still have those toys. And I did play with them. But I got to choose what I wanted to play with.

Also my brothers both had their own Cabbage Patch Kids. I think all kids should be exposed to all different types of toys whether they be tools, "real-life" like a kitchen, taking care of dolls, etc. IMO it is healthy!

But then again I don't have boys nor am I a mom (yet)!

madladybride

LoveLossHopeRepeat:

I thought this was amusing too. 

The field of being a professional chef is hugely male dominated. I'm not even talking about celebrity chefs, which are probably more evenly split - I'm talking about trained chefs working in kitchens. It's a boys club if there ever was one.

This is what I was thinking!