dd is only going to use gender neutral stuff for her dd?

[ioliverielinor]

hiya,

just looking for views really. is this the new modern parenting? dd2 is expecting a dd herself and has said she would only like gender neutral gifts, i was a bit upset because i think there are some lovely girls clothes, i said will she never put her in dresses, she says no. im a bit surprised really, but yet she is happy to have her hair long, etc.??

just curious if this is the norm now? i have never really heard of it before, dd1 has 3 dc different genders and never had an issue buying them boys and girls items.

im not judging, but think its slightling strange? aibu?

What's strange about not wanting to conform to stereotypes?

Very pregnant here and I am doing this, at least in the early days. 1) I haven't seen any girls' clothing that I like (ie things that are clearly for girls and attractive) - it all seems to resort to stereotype. 2) I may have a boy next, who knows? 3) There is so much beautiful, bright, Scandi-style gender neutral stuff about that I'd rather go for that.

I think it's much less strange then allowing the baby's sex to dictate how you dress them or what colour you paint their room, to be honest. I applaud your daughter, she'll be fighting an uphill battle in our increasingly gender stereotyped society.

Great and good luck to her. It will be bloody hard work though sticking to it!

Not that a weird. I had a girl first then a boy. Wish I'd stuck more to gender neutral stuff instead of having to fork out twice for new baby clothes.

Although DS does still occasionally rock a pink baby grow. He wears it well.

It's also really really practical if you are planning on having more than 1 child. Hand me down central!

im not judging, but think its slightling strange?

I dont understand it. Some girls clothes are nice some boys clothes are nice surely dressing them in what you like regardless of supposed gender of the clothes is surely better? Will we have an army of beige children ?

My dd wore blue hand me downs from a friend for ages. They are just clothes. Good for your dd for finding out the sex and not rushing out to buy everything in pink.

Good on your DD. (Also, dresses are a PITA for babies)

Having watched that programme on the BBC I definitely think gender neutral is the way to go. It's so much bigger than a pretty dress it's all about instilling confidence in girls that they are more than just their appearance and allowing boys to express their emotions by exploring their creativity. A lot of clothing promotes gender stereotypes and I believe we need to start to break them down.

Her baby, her rules. It's just clothes.

Her DC will be able to express their own preference soon enough.

I don't think I could get wound up about it tbh.

I get that it might be easier if you have more than one child so buy all the beige yourself but to actively ask people not to buy a certain colour or style seems strange to me.

She's having a baby and you want to stick her kid in dresses straight away? I don't blame her really. Leggings and tshirts are much better for both genders to wear as they are comfy and practical.

I hate seeing babies in poofy dresses just like I hate seeing kids in unforgiving jeans. They always look so uncomfortable.

Yes- we had just white, yellow and green stuff for our first too, so we could pass it down without knowing what we'd get next. DD never had any pink clothes ever, though plenty of dresses. Toys are toys- why would you buy a blue version or a pink version?

Dresses are a fucking nightmare on babies.
I bought only gender neutral for dd but that was more because we may have had another we split up instead and I didn't want to fork out all over again.
I do think it's rude to dictate to what others gift though

dress your kid however you like... nobody actually cares what you're doing.. kids grew up becomes adults and leave home.. leaving their Parents and their choices behind...

best wishes to all gender neutral families

New modern parenting nope, just trying again what we tried to do back in the 70s.
With mixed results, but no regrets.
It's a kind of 'people are just people' thing. Just because someone is a boy or a girl doesn't mean I automatically know what they are like, I'd rather find out what they're like and let them tell me, as they find out for themselves with as little stereotypical input as is possible. Does that make sense?

Its fine in the baby days. However, most little girls will beg for pink, frills and glitter when they are toddlers. Not all, but most girls love girly stuff. I teach at secondary level, and most of the girls still love things like pink stationery etc

What was the BBC programme JulietNeverMetRomeo?

I don't get it either.

I understand not putting her in outfits, like dresses, while she's tiny because they aren't practical. Baby will just be lying down or carried and they end up in a huge clump around their neck. But all this gender neutral stuff baffles me. When my kids were little we just dressed them and got on with it.

There are some really lovely neutral clothes out there for babies. The word neutral makes me think of dull and grey, but you could buy a whole load of different colours and be neutral. You have a whole rainbow of colours to choose from if it's gift buying you are worried about

Dresses when she was older, not as a baby! You can't crawl all that well in a dress.

I agree that dresses on tiny babies are ridiculous. And jeans on tiny babies must be so uncomfortable and look horrible. Gender neutral is such a bad idea on the whole as long as people aren't silly about it.