Toy cars for girls

[Hipmummy]

Hi,
Just wanted to get some advice really. My two DDs have come home raving about these toy cars they played with round a friend's house. Apparently, they're quite girly - I think they're Polly Pocket ones and are all pink and glittery etc. I don't think there's any problem with them playing with the cars but their gran wasn't so sure. Just wondered what everyone else thinks? Does anyone else's daughter like playing with cars? Do you think that's a problem? I really don't, but maybe I'm in the minority???!! Any thoughts would be appreciated.... Thanks

[MrsSpoon]

TBH I've got two boys and they are completely different (one is very technically minded, loves all things electronic and the other is into action figures, imaginative play etc and can't even work the TV at age 5), nature -v- nurture and all that.

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

Filly - yes yes yes yes!

Or they show you a photo of the child as a baby and it is obvious from the clothing and fluffy things surrounding it that the conditioning has been going on a very long time....

[jeangenie]

filly - thought I was thE only one who had noticed that!

amazing how much people can hoodwink themselves about stuff like this

buy the child some cars fgs

[FillydoraTonks]

oh and I LOVE the way everyone always says "my boy and girl are so different and yet I've treated them exactly the same-they must be programmed that way"

and then you go to their house and the boy has an arsenal and every toy car ever made and the girl has barbie heaven and a wardrobe of pink clothes. .

or go to mothercare. they actually have pink and blue aisles ffs.

because of course women don't drive cars...

[FillydoraTonks]

seriously? you're worried that your girls want to play with cars?

[Danae]

Message withdrawn

[summerunderakaftan]

Oh yeah dd plays with cars and ds plays with dolls and prams.

In fact ds has even been known to wear a pink hearband, a crown and a big pointy princess hat when playing with dd.

[mm22bys]

Of course it's ok for girls to play with cars! And it's also ok for boys to play with dolls!

So many people just stereotype our babies from too young an age.

I have to say - when I go to the toy shop the "boys'" toys always look so much more exciting than the "girls"!

[KITTENSOCKS]

Surely playing with cars for a girl is mimicking real life? Women drive cars, taxis, buses, ambulances, lorries etc. etc., and are mechanics. They also drove vehicles during WW2 in case MIL has forgotten!
I had a red sports car for my Sindy when I was young - the envy of my friends!!!

[americantrish]

i see nothing wrong with girls liking cars and boys liking dolls. heck, my son (who's 3) has two dolls he loves to bits. as a child, i LOVED tonka trucks and matchbox cars i wasnt into dolls.

[MaryAnnSingleton]

nothing wrong at all - I had toy cars as a child and ds had dolls as a little boy

[Bellie]

i let dd have a choice in the toy shop today (i did set a price limit!!) and she chose a motorbike!

She loves cars and dolls and just toys in general really!

[Hipmummy]

Thanks all. Just find I'm doubting myself sometimes - quite an overbearing MIL. I actually thinks its great that they don't feel limited to just play with stuff that's supposed to be stereotypically girly!

[RosaLuxembourg]

This is a joke surely?

[mumeeee]

It's fine for girls to play with cars. My 3 girls all loved cars and trains when they were litle.

[rarrie]

I wouldn't worry. One of my daughter's favourite toys is her train set, she's having a scaletrix for her birthday and a car garage. She's 3 and just not do dolls. I don't see a problem with it at all. Whatever rocks their boats, imho!

[UniSarah]

I played with cars as a kid, my bro and I had a HUGE collection between us.
I have been giving toy cars to friends kids regardless of gender.

[lizziemun]

Dd palys with cars, has her own garage. Also plays with planes and trains.

She also has dolls, ironing board, kitchen e.t.c.

My sister always used to play with our brothers car when we were children. It didn't do us any harm.

We also used to argue with DB as to whether Action Man was a doll or not. In his logic Sindy was a doll but action man was not because it was a boy .

[sweetkitty]

I think it's an older generation thing, if a boy played with dolls he would grow up gay and if a girl played with cars she would grow up a lesbian. My Mums liek this too she was shocked when I bought DD1 those Fisher Price stacking car things. Now both DDs have a garage, a train set, various Bob the Builder things, golf sets, cars, tractors the works. Some minutes it's all dolls some minutes it's all cars, you know what children are like.

[lucyellensmum]

kathy6" - thats not really on is it?

I just think that older people do find it strange, implausible even that girls might like "boys toys" and heaven forbid, the other way around. Its quite sweet really.

My MIL is quite perplexed that DD has no interest in dolls whatsoever, i think she has picked up on my feeling that they are a bit freaky. She loooves pink though i hate it. She does have cars and a train set, and a cooker to balance the books. The only thing i ever did with my dolls as a child was cut off all their hair, use biro to paint their lips blue and tell my mum they died from plague. I was quite a strange child though.

Of course she can play with cars, if you want to put the cat among the pigeons though, buy her a train set too - she'll love it. They dont even have to be girly cars!

[flowerybeanbag]

PMSL Kathy!

[PrettyCandles]

Not only do both ds1 and dd play with cars, they also both play with the dolls-house, trainset, toy buggy, fancy dresses, footballs, playfood...etc etc

No reason to force gender-specific toys on chidren. No need to restrict them to any particular genres of toys.

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

Is your granny in the Taliban?

[MrsSpoon]

Both my DSs have owned a toy kitchen, an iron and ironing board set, doll and buggy, shopping basket and groceries, all toys that would be seen a typically girls things so no I don't see a problem at all in girls playing with toy cars as Budababe says presumably they will learn how to drive eventually, they might even want to be mechanics.

[coppertop]

Thankfully there aren't too many pink and glittery cars out on the roads.