My son wants to wear a skirt.

[Thebestusernamesaretaken]

My son is 5 and has recently told me he doesn't want to be a boy any more, he wants to be a girl! He has gone as far as pointing out school skirts in asda and saying he wants to wear one to school. I draw the line at that but wibu to let him have a non school skirt?

If it was up to me both girls and boys would have a choice of skirt or trousers. It doesn't make sense to me to differentiate between them.

I'd let him wear a skirt in the house but wait until he's a bit older before letting him wear it to play out in it.

I say this as a former Steiner school pupil whose parents are continually disappointed by my inability to be gay, black or transgender.

My 5 yr old did this earlier this year. Not only did he want to wear a skirt or dress, but he wanted to be a girl. He was adamant about this. So I let him wear a dress. And guess what? After a week, the novelty wore off. And now only a few months later, it's ALL about being a boy for him.

Seriously, you're overthinking this OP. It's a piece of cloth. That's all. Whatever you or anybody project onto a small child wearing said piece of cloth is your problem, not the kid's.

so when DS2 was that age he too was determined he didn't want to be a boy, he wanted to be a girl and wear girls clothes.
At no time did we poopoo the idea, we were not dismissive or unkind, however, we did say he should wait till he was a bit older to make sure he didn't change his mind.
He is now nearly 9 and v definately happy being a boy, albeit a boy with mostly female friends and a very delicate nature.

"hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman

I have never quite understood why it is acceptable, in our society, for girls to wear trousers and shorts but it isn't acceptable for boys to wear skirts?"
I've always thought this dialogue from The Cement Garden (also sampled at the start of a Madonna song in case it sounds familiar!) sums it's up perfectly:

"Girls can wear jeans
And cut their hair short
Wear shirts and boots
'Cause it's OK to be a boy
But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading
'Cause you think that being a girl is degrading"

But I agree with other poster's who've said that 5 is too young to get tied up in knots over this. Treat it with the same innocence he does and see how it plays out over time.

I would let him wear a skirt, why not. He will like it and wants to. Just. Play it down, may be in days around the house.

Yabu it's just weird this only ever happens on MN and so many of these threads have been done.

I think that's a hard thing to say, as in YABU/YANBU. Personally, I would just want my kid to feel happy in himself, having spent the whole of my own childhood deeply, deeply unhappy in my own head. I would explain to my son the societal consequences of him wearing a skirt ie people might judge you because people can be judmental shits, but if he still wanted to I would. I wouldn't want to stop him being happy in case people might tease him. He might be the kind of kid who can deal with whispers/stares...if that's what happens. It may be that actually people react well with his choices. But ultimately if he feels strongly enough to want to do that, why not?

Yeah why not

It may be that actually people react well with his choices. A boy wearing a school dress is unlikely to have a positive reaction, imo. It could also haunt him for the rest of his schooldays...

When he's old enough to understand the potentional impact of his choices; let him choose.
But sometimes you have to save them from themselves. I'll probably be roasted for saying that, but I live in the real world; not MNland.

I was the first girl at my secondary school to complain about the inequality issue when it came to not being allowed to wear trousers. I used to cycle in and quite frankly skirts were a hinderence.
I can totally understand why boys would want to wear skirts - letting it all hang out, with a good breeze on your undercarriage is a wonderful thing! My family all wore the "wee willie winke" night shirts for years - the most comfortable items EVER! These days I float around in a kaftan.

With regards to the OP - I have colleagues (so not just an MN thing) who's boys want to wear what is traditionally girls clothes. They just let their kids get on with it. I do think a kilt would be a good idea - girls wear kilts too.

If these threads get any more common, boys will start to rebel and actually want to wear trousers just to be different!

Little boys have wanted to wear skirts forever. It's definitely not just a MN thing. It's completely normal and doesn't say anything about their sexuality.

For home, l don't see any issue.
For school though, he needs to wear traditional clothing. Not because he is wrong, but because society is yet to catch up.
One could argue that he could change how people think. In my opinion, l don't think many parents would want their Child to be the guinea pig.

Bob Hoskins wanted to wear a dress. I read him reminiscing about it once. Luckily the hostess of the party where he cried about it (aged 5 or so) found a spare one for him to change into.

I let my 4yo DS wear anything he picks. He chooses his clothes for the day, if they are impractical in any way that is his issue and he knows that, and he has a tendency to pick two different things and then carry one spare top/pair of trousers/pair of shorts/shoes in a little rucksack.

Honestly, I would see this as such a non-issue. And I bet so would the children in the school. I reckon any child that would give him issues has bigger ones regarding the parent. Clothes are clothes, toys are toys, colours are colours. None of this boy-shit girl-shit nonsense.

I think it would be extremely unusual for a little boy to be able to wear a dress in reception. Children of that age will definitely comment and they (unfortunately) will laugh. It wouldn't be their fault, and it would hurt the child in the dress. As l said before, l don't think society is ready for it. One day... :)