A five month old baby girl can be ladylikereally Prince William.

[goodiegoodieyumyum]

Am I being unreasonable to find this the most ridiculous thing to come out of Prince Williams mouth. Princess Charlotte may be a very different baby to Prince George but ladylike at 5 months old that is utter tosh.

I would expect them to be just like a 5 month old baby and possibly think they dressed them in dresses?
I wouldn't be overthinking it TBH.

I was described as "ladylike" when I was a child, by my Grandmother - now, considering that I refused point blank to wear dresses, had hair that resembled a birds nest, have permanent scarring upon my knees to this day from the amount of times I fell over, was usually covered in mud, eschewed dolls, played with my older brothers discarded toy cars and building blocks... it simply meant that I was quiet. I rarely spoke up for myself, because I had a much older brother to do that for me. Perhaps all it means is that William and Kate have noticed that their daughter is an observer, in comparison to her older, apparently quite rambunctious brother. Who will probably be fighting for the full attention of everyone around him, now he's expected to share it with his little sister.

I remember being appalled when my DS was born, and my own mother encouraged me not to comfort him when he cried. By comforting him, and carrying him around in a sling (for the first 5 months or so of his life, he refused to be parted from me - that sling was a lifesaver!) I was "spoiling" and "ruining" him. Funnily enough, she'd said the complete opposite 8 years earlier when my DD was born - when every time she cried, or even just wrinkled her nose, I was expected to run to her side (I did, of course I did, but... was in the wrong for doing exactly the same for my DS!). My children are chalk and cheese - DD's extroverted, whilst DS is quieter. They've both been raised as the individuals that they actually are, and I truly hope that George and Charlotte (whose lives will be picked over for the slightest of indiscretions as they got older... anyone remember a certain Prime Minister's son's drunken arrest? George and Charlotte will have that in spades!) will be, too. Children don't neatly fit into labelled boxes - and nor should they be expected to.

Give the guy a break.

I remember observing that my daughter, aged three days, was not very ladylike when she was sick over me. I was joshing, not making some sexist comment.

www.rachelriley.co.uk/product/636/Baby_Girl

George had clothes from here.

There's very little you can say about babies. Five months into the wrangling of them, you just open your mouth and let something fall out. You try not to compare them to aliens, cats or potatoes and hope you're saying something suitably positive about your own offspring.

I can't get worked up about whether one word implies some sort of gender inequality or stereotyping in the royal family. Not with the weight of centuries of history glaring me in the face.

I think I might just file this under "Dad says some words" and move on with my life.

But how would you define ladylike? At the age of 5 months.

Assuming that PW actually believes that Charlotte was ladylike, which I doubt very much is the case - I would guess it means dainty and quiet, and probably having 'rosebud' lips (all babies do). Perhaps she is less gassy/grunts less than Prince George did.

But, again, I'd guess this is just something he said when someone asked him (is it fair to say for at least the thousandth time? I think it is) about Princess Charlotte.

This all boils down to the fact it was Prince William that said it. If MN favourite Benedict Cumberbatch or some such had said it there would not be such angst.

Not a chance. it's all down to it being Prince William.

Ohhhhhh, people like to rip apart things said by Benedict Cumberbatch. They do. I've seen it.

The vast majority of people stereotype babies by sex (another poster referred to some of the research above). Many people try not to- including me - but I don't think many of us manage it. Not in the face of a society that so directly pigeonholes them from the point of conception.

He said a word. It was almost certainly a useless description of a human baby. It probably doesn't matter in the slightest.

I have never read a BC thread. I don't get the appeal. I just know he's popular. What's he said to be ripped apart? Hopefully nothing as heinous as Prince William.

I think Sparkling's right.

It's because Prince William said it.

If it was said by someone much more popular (whether Benedict or someone else), I doubt anyone would give it more than a quick eye roll.

DD has been acting "girly" and "dainty" since that young. Getting upset when dirt is on her hands, tilting her head for pictures, enjoying getting her nails trimmed or hair done.

That sounds a lot like my son - it never occurred to me that any of things were 'girly' - why is not liking having dirty hands 'girly'?

Yes and apparently the public need to pick it all to pieces and dissect it all.

Oh FFS! It must be at least 5 minutes since we had a "bash the Cambridges" thread.

The guy was speaking at a child bereavement charity founded by his mother and I think William knows all about child bereavement. Yet the headlines are about an off the cuff remark he made about his beloved children.

I think all he meant was that William is a lively, robust personality and Charlotte is calmer and gentler. Do we really think she is scarred for life by this remark? Or that it makes William a less good father? Give the guy a break.

I knew there would be a thread about this and I knew exactly what the tenor of it would be.

PW is perfectly entitled to say whatever he damn well likes about his own daughter. Find something else to practice your feeble attempts at feminism on.

On MN nobody is above criticism it seems.

On a positive note : Did anyone see William and Harry on DIY SOS this week?

Daft as it may sound, my daughter was a fairly "ladylike" baby or "girly" baby for want of a better word.

My son used to make grunting baby noises, throw his head around (gave me a black eye once the little bugger), make greedy nom-nom noises when he was drinking milk, etc.

Whereas my daughter made "girly" sweet noises, was very delicate with her hands (when she did her moro-reflex she would then gently place her hands back down in her lap, one on top of the other and when she was drinking milk she used to place her hands gently on her bottle with her little finger sticking up slightly as if she was drinking tea out of fine china.

It sounds daft but we used to joke about it and call her Her Ladyship.

Even now (she's 6 today!) she has some very ladylike gestures, and sits with her legs together and her hands folded in her lap with excellent posture, whilst my son flounces around and slobs about playing Minecraft, leaving a trail of crumbs and banana skins and fart gas in his wake

But its not necessarily a girl thing, I was more like my son apparently, and I am female (apparently)

Anyway sounds like small talk, poor Willy, he can't win really.

"Find something else to practice your feeble attempts at feminism on."

What's the non-feeble version, then?

This is one thing I completely cannot stand on this website there is nothing wrong with calling a little girl lady like if being compared to her brother. Argh not every wee girl wants to play with bloody truck etc.

I know lots of little girls who are quiet and gentle, but I'd never describe them as ladylike. Being 'ladylike' suggests a concerted attempt to act a certain way.

Soup Yes, I was a bit underwhelmed. It was good of them to take part and raise the profile etc, for sure. But were led to believe that they made a significant input, rather than a fleeting hour or so long visit!