What do you think about a little boy having a doll stroller?

nicolita14w · June 2011

I got James a doll stroller a while back because he loves to push our real strollers around. I know I'm not the only one (LIAngel actually inspired the idea because I saw she gave one to Nicholas).

My DH was against it because he thinks it's a girl toy. My dad came to visit a couple weeks ago and said the same thing. He actually said it could create "confusion" (I am very liberal and my dad is a very religious conservative so we disagree about a lot of things in general).

I can not wrap my mind around this. I don't see any problem with boys playing with "girl" toys or vice-versa in general, but I don't feel like this even falls into that category. It's a stroller. My DH pushes the stroller. My dad pushed the stroller when he came to visit. Men push strollers all the time.

So, just out of curiosity, what is your opinion on a little boy playing with a doll stroller, and would your DH's differ? (I'm not asking because I'm going to take it away. I'm very secure in my belief that it's a great toy and James loves it. But I'm curious whether other husbands in particular would feel the same way.)

stepgirl21 · June 2011

I think it is no big deal. My H would disagree and would not want our son playing with girl toys.

futrkingsley · June 2011

As a baby, DS loved other kid's baby dolls and their strollers. So DH picked out a doll and a stroller for DS's second Christmas (when he was almost 18 months old). I had absolutely nothing to do with either item. DS still occassionally plays with them, and definitely has many dolls. But at almost three he's way into trains (just like many kids his age). When he does play dolls, he is the mommy, not the daddy.

LVBlvd · June 2011

I'd be totally fine with it.

I know my husband won't care if our boys play with the toy strollers we have in the house. Now, if we just had boys, he might think it was weird if I bought them one. But it wouldn't go further than that. I don't think he would care.

laura1 · June 2011

nicolita14w:
I can not wrap my mind around this. I don't see any problem with boys playing with "girl" toys or vice-versa in general, but I don't feel like this even falls into that category. It's a stroller. My DH pushes the stroller. My dad pushed the stroller when he came to visit. Men push strollers all the time.

My DS has one and my DH totally didn't care - and that was his reasoning as well. We both know that kids like to model what the adults are doing. And if Daddy is pushing the stroller, than DS wants to push a stroller. My DS LOVES his stroller, also (and he puts his cars/trucks in it to push them around).

My father also thought it was a girly toy, but once I reminded him that he watches DS and DD at least once a week, and loves to take them out for walks in the stroller, so by his logic he would be girly too, he changed his tune.

We just moved to the suburbs and had NO outdoor toys. DS loved to push his stroller around on the lawn and pretend it was a lawn mower. Once he started doing that, we got him a toy mower, and his stroller has stayed inside Smile .

I really don't see how pushing a doll stroller around will cause "confusion!"

marcuej · June 2011

I'm very liberal too and I see absolutely nothing wrong with a little boy playing with dolls or pushing a stroller. It's natural to do want to do the same thing as mommy (and daddy). FWIW, does anyone think it's girly when they see a dad pushing their child in a stroller? That is just ridiculous!

Stella has trucks and other "boy" labeled toys and has just as much fun with those as she does with her babies and other "girly" toys. I think you should just let your kids play with what they want and not worry about stupid social stigmas that mean nothing to a child.

JustaKidAtHeart · June 2011

I would win and my boys would have the stroller if that is what they wanted. Then again when I paint my toes the boys get theirs painted too because "I want purdy toes too mommy"

ejgballerina · June 2011

I bought Jude one along with a Dora doll. He loved it........... for five minutes. I truly believe in nature versus nurture. We are very gender neutral when it comes to toys but he is all boy and is obsessed with trucks, sports, and matchbox cars. Dora is collecting dust in her pink stroller in the corner.

Mouseygail · June 2011

My big, tough, man's man of a father always wants to push DS's stroller when we are together...lol! that being said, I guarantee he would think it was weird if we got DS a toy stroller...men! (I think its great to have all sorts of toys! I never had barbies, but loved my stuffed animals and my transformers equally)

nicolita14w · June 2011

ejgballerina:
I bought Jude one along with a Dora doll. He loved it........... for five minutes. I truly believe in nature versus nurture. We are very gender neutral when it comes to toys but he is all boy and is obsessed with trucks, sports, and matchbox cars. Dora is collecting dust in her pink stroller in the corner.

See, you should have gotten the blue stroller. Stick out tongue And James is also obsessed with cars and trucks and has been since a very young age-- I was actually surprised how he was drawn to them so early on. But he loves his stroller too, and his cars and trucks get frequent rides in it.

KYRN · June 2011

DS is always playing with them at friends houses and loves to push his shopping cart around. I've considered getting him one too (am definitely not against it) but I'd prefer to find a blue one and all I see are pink ones.

Mouseygail · June 2011

nicolita14w:
ejgballerina:
I bought Jude one along with a Dora doll. He loved it........... for five minutes. I truly believe in nature versus nurture. We are very gender neutral when it comes to toys but he is all boy and is obsessed with trucks, sports, and matchbox cars. Dora is collecting dust in her pink stroller in the corner.
See, you should have gotten the blue stroller. And James is also obsessed with cars and trucks and has been since a very young age-- I was actually surprised how he was drawn to them so early on. But he loves his stroller too, and his cars and trucks get frequent rides in it.

it really is amazing, isn't it? I'm stunned at how interested DS is in trains and trucks, while his female cousins were all about their stuffed animals...

muppet.fan · June 2011

marcuej:

I'm very liberal too and I see absolutely nothing wrong with a little boy playing with dolls or pushing a stroller. It's natural to do want to do the same thing as mommy (and daddy). FWIW, does anyone think it's girly when they see a dad pushing their child in a stroller? That is just ridiculous!

Stella has trucks and other "boy" labeled toys and has just as much fun with those as she does with her babies and other "girly" toys. I think you should just let your kids play with what they want and not worry about stupid social stigmas that mean nothing to a child.

Yup, ditto this exactly. I think it's silly that it's considered OK for a girl to play with "boy" toys, but that it's not OK for a boy to play with "girl" toys. (not directing this to anyone on here, just making the comment about society in general.

The boys in E's daycare classroom play with the dolls and the play kitchen. And the girls play with trucks. At home, Elizabeth plays just as often with her tool set and her trucks as she does with her babies and her stroller. The other day, she was pushing the trucks in the stroller. If we had a boy, he'd have dolls and a stroller. Why wouldn't we want him to mimic nurturing behavior?

ETA: I realized I didn't actually answer your question! My DH would be fine with it.

nicolita14w · June 2011

KYRN:
I'd prefer to find a blue one and all I see are pink ones.

Toys R Us, $8.99!

laura1 · June 2011

KYRN:
DS is always playing with them at friends houses and loves to push his shopping cart around. I've considered getting him one too (am definitely not against it) but I'd prefer to find a blue one and all I see are pink ones.

Here you go! This is the one my DS has:

https://www.amazon.com/Castle-Toy-12544-Umbrella-Stroller/dp/B000CBWWO4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308681874&sr=8-1

Another thought from me, then I will stop - I think it is kind of a double standard. People have issues with boys playing with strollers, but no one has ever had an issue with my poor DD, who really has no girly toys of her own and plays with DS's cars and trucks. In fact, people think that is just fabulous.

perry7285 · June 2011

i think gender shouldn't be a consideration in picking kids' toys--they should get what they like, not what they stereotypically are expected to like. DH agrees.

DavezWife · June 2011

what do you think about a little girl playing with trucks?

;-)

nicolita14w · June 2011

DavezWife:
what do you think about a little girl playing with trucks?

;-)

Same thing. 100% fine. If I had a little girl, I would absolutely buy her cars and trucks.

If my boys wanted to wear feather boas and play with toy make-up and high heels, I honestly wouldn't find anything wrong with that either, though I know a lot of daddies would because they are toys that imitate adult women in particular (in general). It's just the reactions to the stroller in particular that surprise me a lot because I guess I just don't see it as being a "girl toy."

charmcitygirl · June 2011

I bought Jacob a stroller and doll for the holidays and I cannot tell you how many comments I got about it. What does your husband think? Well, he wants Jacob to be a good big brother some day and a caring and nurturing father like he is. So yeah, a stroller is just fine with my husband. Jacob loves playing with it and I want him to be happy. In the same respect, if I thought my daughter would like to play with trucks, I would be all for that too.

sara1014 · June 2011

Neither me nor H would care. M pushes around his sister's stroller all the time. However, if he didn't have a twin sister, I can't say for sure that he'd have one, just because we might not think to buy him one as a toy.

H also loves to push around his big Tonka truck too.

Of course, M also likes to wear her tutus around if he sees them or if she has one on. He calls it a bathing suit...though we haven't figured out why he thinks that since he has a regular bathing suit!!

KYRN · June 2011

laura1:
KYRN:
DS is always playing with them at friends houses and loves to push his shopping cart around. I've considered getting him one too (am definitely not against it) but I'd prefer to find a blue one and all I see are pink ones.
Here you go! This is the one my DS has:
https://www.amazon.com/Castle-Toy-12544-Umbrella-Stroller/dp/B000CBWWO4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308681874&sr=8-1
Another thought from me, then I will stop - I think it is kind of a double standard. People have issues with boys playing with strollers, but no one has ever had an issue with my poor DD, who really has no girly toys of her own and plays with DS's cars and trucks. In fact, people think that is just fabulous.

Thanks for the link! I may have to buy the bundle at the bottom (stroller, doll, and I'm a big brother book) now.

Carrie25 · June 2011

I don't have a problem with it nor does my DH. Playing with a stroller and doll is just fun in DS's eyes. He has no idea about gender toys yet.

More than likely, when he gets older he won't be interested in those types of toys any more. But it's fun now. I've been trying to use a doll as an example on how to touch and treat babies for when we have another baby.

kittylove · June 2011

DS has a stroller, a few dolls, and a kitchen all "girl toys" to some people. They are some of his favorites. I personally can't comprehend NOT getting him a toy because it was pink or ment for a girl. DH is 100 percent on board with this, thank goodness because I have zero tolarence for the "boys don't cry/play with girl toys" ideology, it is fine if that is what someone else does in their house, but you will not do it around my child.

laura&dan05 · June 2011

I don't have any problem with it at all and neither does DH. I'm sure J will play with a lot of H's girl toys including a stroller. On the flip side H has boy toys. She loves playing with cars and so we bought her a bunch of them as well as a Fisher Price garage/car ramp thing.

We're both very secure in our belief that playing with a wide variety of toys fosters their imagination and creativity and has nothing to do with gender or sex nor does it create any type of "confusion."

SeaSoul · June 2011

nicolita14w:
I can not wrap my mind around this. I don't see any problem with boys playing with "girl" toys or vice-versa in general, but I don't feel like this even falls into that category. It's a stroller. My DH pushes the stroller. My dad pushed the stroller when he came to visit. Men push strollers all the time.

Seriously! In what way is it a girly toy? How would/do your DH & Dad answer this question when you point out what you did above?? I don't get it.

And who cares? Gender and sexuality are not determined by the toys a kid plays with. Cal doesn't own a stroller but he LOVES to use his friend's stroller when we're at her house. I don't see it as any different from pushing his toy lawn mower around. He just likes to push things!

ETA: DH feels the same way...

CBL · June 2011

I don't care about it at all, but dislike that every doll stroller I've looked at is pink. Not that I really have a problem with him playing with a pink toy (he has a pink shirt and a purple one too). I just don't like the idea that they are directing what is essentially a role playing toy (and a parenting role that men indeed fill) solely towards girls.

That being said, I did buy him a shopping cart instead of the pink stroller when they were on sale. it serves the same purpose for him - just something to push around and he loves putting his toys and the dog (poor pup) in it. He still plays with our neighbour's pink stroller and his cousin's all the time.

epphd · June 2011

Neither DH nor I (and thankfully no men that we know) would have a problem with this.

A. how is it a girl's toy? men push strollers.

B. your child has no world view yet that some things are "boy" toys and some are "girl" toys, so it's irrelevant in that respect. All he knows is it's fun to push. It's something with 4 wheels - that it has a seat on top instead of a car body is, again, irrelevant.

C. one day, unfortunately, he probably will have that world view (that some things are for boys and some aren't), which is restrictive and dumb. Why push stereotypes on him any earlier?

somethingchangd · June 2011

DH has no issues at all with DS's pink stroller (or the crying, eating doll dressed entirely in pink that rides around in it). There is nothing wrong with teaching our men to be nurturing, caring parents.

As for the color pink, up until relatively recently it was actually considered masculine. Pink was seen as dilute red and red signifies blood. Most of our grandfathers probably wore pink a lot as babies.

ladychicago · June 2011

I say no big deal. I actually hope to get Anna some more "boy" toys like a toy tool bench and some trucks when we have more space. But I also know it is a whole different story to have girls playing with boy toys vs. boys playing with girl toys.

my DH would probably be uncomfortable with a boy having a stroller toy but he wouldn't take it away or not let him play with it. It just wouldn't be his ideal scenario.

nicolita14w · June 2011

Thank you, ladies, for confirming that, as usual, I am right and DH is wrong. Stick out tongue

We just got back from Target, where I let James pick which new toddler spoons he wanted. He picked the pink ones. Ha ha ha! I'm sure DH will love that too.

crystalgirl · June 2011

My DH would not have a problem with a stroller, I don't think. Generally, he humors whatever DS is interested in (for instance, choosing the pink car at Ruby's instead of a blue or red one). I do think he'd have trouble with some overly girly things, though...clothes for girls, for instance. DS has not learned that pink or purple are "girl colors" or anything like that. Also, DH is the one who cooks in the house, so he has no gender-related ideas about cooking/cleaning. I'm sure he'll develop them at some point (pretty unavoidable when there are things he sees all the time -- the teachers at school are all women, as our the house cleaners who come to our house; the yard workers and arborists are all men). We don't point it out, though.

I'd say, generally, I can understand limiting things that your child has in PUBLIC, but that is ONLY because there are so many people who are ignorant and will pass judgment. I don't want that for my child, so if he has anything pink or covered in flowers, it'll just be an at-home thing, for the most part. A stroller, though, I see as no big deal whatsoever.

ETA: While it's not exactly the point of this post, I thought I should add that I consider myself to be very religious and somewhat conservative...(I'm actually a very bizarre middle of the road-er politically -- very liberal on some issues and very conservative on others.) Stick out tongue So, to me at least, I don't think this is a liberal/conservative issue. But as I said, there are many ignorant people out there...

crystalgirl · June 2011

KYRN:
laura1:

KYRN:
DS is always playing with them at friends houses and loves to push his shopping cart around. I've considered getting him one too (am definitely not against it) but I'd prefer to find a blue one and all I see are pink ones.

Here you go! This is the one my DS has:

https://www.amazon.com/Castle-Toy-12544-Umbrella-Stroller/dp/B000CBWWO4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308681874&sr=8-1

Another thought from me, then I will stop - I think it is kind of a double standard. People have issues with boys playing with strollers, but no one has ever had an issue with my poor DD, who really has no girly toys of her own and plays with DS's cars and trucks. In fact, people think that is just fabulous.

Thanks for the link! I may have to buy the bundle at the bottom (stroller, doll, and I'm a big brother book) now.

Btw, we have that book... It is cute!

mommyof4boys · June 2011

Without seeing any responses, why can't a boy have a stroller? Don't boys need to know how to take care of babies as much as girls? Considering I bought a Cabbage Patch and stroller for Matthew a few Christmases ago I have no issue with it. Little boys should be able to play with dolls as much as girls should be able to play with trucks.

desabean · June 2011

I honestly find it offensive that a stroller is considered a girl toy.

It's like people who say their husband is "babysitting" their kids.

LucyPevensie · June 2011

I would buy Jack a stroller in a New York minute if he wanted one. Times have CHANGED - and now dads actually parent and push strollers too - LOL! It's wonderful for that side of a little boy to be nurtured and encouraged. Confusion? No. Love and support and the freedom to develop as a whole, well rounded, loving caring person? Yes. Yay!

Dochas · June 2011

Confusion? Tell your Dad my husband pushes Daniel in the stroller all the time and he's all man. lol

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