Do you encourage age/gender atypical interests?

[Zapdos]

NC for this, but I am a long-time poster.

DS1 is 7 and is obsessed with a particular game/TV character. It's not particularly mainstream, but is clearly designed to appeal to younger girls. All of its characteristics point to this - it's small, pink, cute, a baby. He talks about this character constantly, wants to take a cuddly toy version of it everywhere, has posters, toys etc that he LOVES.

I am generally supportive of this. I can see how happy it makes him. I buy him the toys and clothes with the character on. I role play games about it. However, I am worried that it is making him out of sync with other 7 yr olds - particularly boys (he's in yr 3, so all his classmates are turning 8 this year). It's hard to have a conversation with him about any other subject, and he tends to put on a very high, babyish voice when he does talk about it.

He struggles with friendships anyway (doesn't seem that interested in his peers, very happy to play alone at school).

Before I get flamed, I am in NO WAY implying that he shouldn't be friends with girls, or that girls toys/interests are inferior in some way.

I am just not sure how far I should be encouraging his interest in something that is so out of sync with his peers...

Thanks

It is a phase and they all do it. Some more openly than others. My Ds1 went through a huge My Little Pony phase. Posters, toys, backpack etc. We never made anything of it, same as the minecraft phase now.
They are just toys

My 4 YO DS is very into shimmer and shine. His favourite colour is pink. Whilst I agree with Ruby, I try and discourage him from anything that might get him picked on. He struggles socially as it is, I don't want him to have an even harder time.

It's really hard, op, I understand completely.

But kids will be picked on for anything. My DS1 picks random things to like but they are so random no other 5 year old knows or cares... currently embracing Edgar Allan Poe... and i know nothing about him or care but know it will last about a month then it'll be some other random..i don't even know where he gets it..but the other boys in his class coukd not give two hoots about The Raven...

Thanks.

He has had phases before, but this one seems much more persistent and all-encompassing. I'm worried that he's reaching the age when children start to notice 'difference' - at 5 most of his classmates were probably quite oblivious to it!

Bump

I wouldn't do anything to discourage it, as pp say it's most likely a phase. How much will his class mates really know anyway? Surely if it's toys and posters they will be mainly at home so only friends would even see them?

Just let him be himself. The most important gifts you will ever give him is the one of acceptance, support and appreciating who he is. It is so damaging to children to make them feel what they love is "wrong" somehow. Life is hard enough without your own parents instilling self-doubt and insecurity. It may be that he never shares the typical interests of boys his age, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just love him to bits.

That's definitely the approach I have been taking Aquamarine but then I saw the boy 'gang' in his class all with their arms around each other making plans for football at the park and DS1 was skipping behind them pretending to be a baby Pokemon. It made me worry about it all!