To dress my son in girls clothes

[SleepingStandingUp]

By which I mean things like leggings and tops that have shimmer and shine, mlp, the girls off paw patrol etc rather than dresses.

Ds is 2, loves pink and glittery and ask the above characters but people act like its child abuse.

Presumably no one would care if s 3yo DD wanted to wear Thomas the Tank Engine

[YerAuntFanny]

I must say I'm finding it bizarre that anyone could assume that a 2yo who wears practical toddler attire will become a grown adult who doesn't know how to iron or button things up...

It almost makes the trans comments seem rational :o

[stoneagefertilitydoll]

I can just about understand a woman who never has never worked in an actual work place/works asa personal trainer/sometjingvelse hyper specific like that not owning one, although casual shirts are so popular I find it dubious. But surely every man has shirts.

DP and I are both Director level managers at our respective companies. We bought an iron just in case, but it has never come out of its box. I can't honestly remember the last time I ironed anything. We wear jeans/t-shirts/sports tops to work which don't need ironing - not all offices require shirts, not all people like wearing them - DP probably has one somewhere, but it's packed up with his suit, which he similarly hasn't worn since the last job he had which required one, more than 6 years ago.

If we had to go to a funeral, we would go and buy DP a suit, and me something smart, we would wear it once, and it would be put into the wardrobe and probably never worn again.

My DS1 is dyspraxic. We avoid buttons and shoelaces because life doesn't need to include them, and he finds them hard to do (he can button a shirt these days, but why make him if it's not necessary).

Perhaps we're terribly unusual with our un-ironed, variously coloured clothes, but I really don't think we stand out that much compared to those around us!

[Winebottle]

I would not do it. I don't believe kids are born liking colours and having particular clothes preferences. Their preferences are shaped by their environment and as a parent, I am best placed to influence that.

We don't live in a gender neutral society and when it comes to fashion, I wouldn't want to. Men and women wearing the same clothes, having the same hair cuts etc would be a less interesting world.

I would have no problem saying to a 2 my old boy that dresses are for girls only because that is the social norm. If he wants to go against that as an adult, fine but I'm not encouraging it. He is not an ideological project.

[AssassinatedBeauty]

"Gender neutral" doesn't mean men and women wearing the same things and having the same haircuts. It means people being able to choose whatever they want, rather than being frowned on for choosing something against the current gender norms. I think it would lead to more diversity not less.

[RainbowGlitterFairy]

My sister is a few months older than DS and I used to look after her a lot because of mums health (sometimes for a couple of months at a time) Mum rather liked to buy Dsis sparkly girly stuff which she hated, DS loved glitter and sequins, so I often used to end up taking them out wearing each others clothes, my rule was as long as it was clean, fitted properly and was suitable for the weather they could dress however they liked. They are both 14 now and it doesn't seem to have done them any harm.

[PerfectlySymmetricalButtocks]

SweetMoon all my DC definitely cared what they wore at 2, possibly because I gave them a choice.

[AccidentallyRunToWindsor]

I don't own a shirt- they remind me of school uniforms. Still I manage perform my job, attend interviews and even funerals without scaring people.

OP- dress your DS in whatever you bloody like. My DNephew at a slightly older age loved nail polish, begged to be an angel in the nativity instead of a shepherd and wore a feather boa on a daily basis. He has turned out perfect.

[Oswin]

Out so do you really dress your four Yr old luke that every day. Actual shirts and trousers. Or just special occasions, weddings etc.

[MyNewBearTotoro]

Pity, I’m a teacher, so have a professional job, and I don’t own a shirt or an iron. I buy clothes in non-crease fabrics and hang them up to dry. None of the teachers at my school come to work in shirts.

I didn’t wear a shirt at school either as my secondary school in Wales just had a polo shirt and sweatshirt, no ties or blazers and no shirts.

[SleepingStandingUp]

He is not an ideological project
No, just a little boy who loves unicorns and its bloody hard to buy boy clothes with them because someone decided they were for girls

[PerfectlySymmetricalButtocks]

Outy I don't own a shirt. I live in t-shirts, jeans and jumpers.

[PerfectlySymmetricalButtocks]

I haven't been to a funeral since I was 21.

[NoqontroI]

I don't own a shirt and I have a proper job in an office and everything!

[Winebottle]

All social norms are like that though. Why do you need to say please and thank you or eat with knives and forks? There are no reasons really they are just what people do and it helps children fit in with society to learn them.

Ideological project was a bit harsh but my point is that you are making a deliberate choice to defy this particular social norm through your child. That is not necessarily a bad thing but it is a parenting choice and you shouldn't hide behind the veil of a 2 year old deciding for himself. How did he come to like unicorns in the first place? He wasn't born like that. Why are you a passive bystander on this issue when as a parent, you are bound to make countless other decisions on his behalf?

[TakeMe2Insanity]

We were in C and A in Germany at the weekend and in the clearly boys section were t-shirts with sequins on. The sequin pictures were all of diggers, tractors trucks. The world is clearly changing and boys can now wear sequins.

[okeydokeygirl]

Yes absolutely fine. Let him wear what he likes weather permitting. And if he still wants to wear them age 12 or 18 or 30 so what. They are just clothes. I don't understand why in the 21st century we still have boys and girls clothes/uniform/work wear. People whatever age shoild be able to wear what they like. If other people have a problem let it be their problem.

[Ivygarden]

I wouldn’t dress my son in girls clothes- I would tell him exactly that- they are for girls. Sorry not sorry.

[EfficiencyDeficiency]

I wouldn't. Just being honest,

[okeydokeygirl]

It is more imporrant that you help him decide what to wear that is practical for the weather or activity etc. so he does not go out in star spangled hot pants in the snow like my DD wanted to once when she was 3. Nb: this inappropriate outfit was part of a fancy dress kit someone gave her. She was steered towards a more appropriate Superman outfit instead.

[bobstersmum]

My 4 year old is a real boy through and through but his favourite colour is pink.
I would dress the kid in what he wants to a degree, just not every day!

[DickTERFin]

One of my DS's loved Lola and Dora the Explorer at that age and he had various bits of clothing with them on, some of it was pink.

He went through a My Little Pony phase when he was between 7-10.

He loves Stranger Things and anything about dragons or fantasy now.

Just let him get on with it - none of it means anything.

People will judge but it has ever been thus, it only matters if you take any notice.

[okeydokeygirl]

Winebottle .
100 years ago it was the social norm for women to be allowed to wear trousers. (Oh and they weren't allowed to vote either). Hopefully in the near future we will look back in shock at the idea of boys not being 'allowed' to wear pink or sequins or indeed dresses. Social norms change when attitudes change.

[okeydokeygirl]

*for women NOT to be allowed to wear trousers

[ReanimatedSGB]

It's also OK, if strangers comment on your DC's choice of clothes, to say loudly that some people are very silly and rude, and people can wear whatever they want to wear, particularly when they are little.
Because, you know, people who are obsessed with reinforcing gender stereotypes are stupid and ill-mannered, and if they can't keep their fucking gobs shut, it's fine to be rude right back.

[RingFence]

Leggings were never proper clothes. Nor were sparkly t-shirts. They're like babygrows. Practical, cute and, great for babies but they aren't ok for adults to wear. Children need to start getting used to wearing, putting on/taking off and, taking care of real clothes from a you age

This may have been true 30 years ago, not anymore. School uniforms are mostly a polo shirt and pull on trousers now. Learning how to button or iron a shirt isn't difficult for a young adult. Many will never need to as many jobs have a smart/casual dress code rather than formal.

I wear leggings with dresses or tunic jumpers, a slightly more fitted version for work. They are considered proper clothes now. They're great for kids as they don't bunch up, fall down, catch under their heels, and fit nicely under a snowsuit or rain trousers. Clothes should be about practicality and comfort. I think jeans look awful on toddlers- stiff, uncomfortable and unnecessary.