5 year old boy loves dressing up as a princess

[Klj1214]

I will start by saying that this is fully encouraged in our home, my son loves his collection of princess dresses just as much as he loves his power rangers or paw patrol toys.. My issue is a disagreement with his dad, for jubilee celebrations at school he wore his crown and elsa dress, the way he skipped into school full of joy filled my heart ❤ 5 yo came home saying a couple of his friends laughed at him so he told them to stop, he's a super happy boy and loves everyone so this kind of stuff just seems to roll off him, his dad has immediately demanded I stop letting him go to school in his dress up outfits because he doesn't want him to be bullied! My response was that other children should learn to be nicer and I won't be stopping the 5 yo from expressing himself at all. He completely disagrees and says he should only wear them inside the house 🤨. The school support children expressing themselves and I'm sure if he felt the need to go to the teacher it would have been dealt with, but he dealt with it himself. Am I in the wrong?

@Bloodyunicorns - I never said anything about girls in jeans or boys in pink. Your mind leaped to that narrow gender stereotype. I expressed my opinion that a princess dress at school was not perhaps in the best interest of the young boy. I admitted that mine was a minority opinion. (It was also a concern of the boy's father).
Whatever happened to "spirited debate" and "agree to disagree"? Now the attitude is "I am right" and to quote StrychnineInTheSandwiches "you're an idiot".

@GeorgiaGirl52 - are you calling me an idiot?? That's not really open debate, is it?

I mentioned boys in pink as the next logical step - if you don't think a boy should wear a princess dress to school, then you have narrow gender stereotypes, which is old-fashioned and not always helpful.

Why shouldn't he wear a dress? It would be much better to teach other boys to be kind and not laugh at people who are wearing something different, wouldn't it?

Are YOU open to debate or new ways of thinking? It doesn't sound like it.

Why would his small child dressing up as one of his favourite characters make him bat an eyelid?
Show your DS what the Romans wore, and kilts! Just so he can make connections boys and men can wear whatever they want, it doesn't change anything or take anything away from them. In lots of cultures, men wore/ wear dresses....

Your DS sounds fantastic and confident. Don't let his dad bring him down!

It really isn't a big deal.

Well this was a whole load of 🦇💩 crazy

@Circumferences I do not know a single boy with an older sister who dresses up as a princess. I know around 25 boys under 7 with an older sister including my own 2 sons.

Oh no, I stand corrected. This is even fucking more insane.
How is changing gender the next "logical step" after dressing in a princess dress.
It's the most illogical conclusion ever.
My DS loves dressing up as Bowser and a T-Rex. Should I be worried that he's planning on changing species?

DD spent her childhood in a football kit … what’s the difference 🤷🏼‍♀️

Did you write a list of all the names of the boys you know with older sisters and then contact their parents to see if they’ve ever worn a princess dress before posting this? Seems awfully precise 😂😂😂

I bet you know all their parents income sources too.

Amazing thank you all for your opinions, obviously I have my own and just wanted to hear other people who may agree with my sons dad so that I can understand his arguments, dad however, was never bullied as a child I was.... I have 2 sons and one of their grandparents is disney obsessed which is where it all began, they watch all disney films not just princess ones, he also watches netflix where he fell in love with unicorns and power rangers... I do not believe he was being bullied and if he were he would tell me because we encourage honesty and openness in our home, I would then of course be on at the school about it, he plays in the role play area at school where they play hairdressers and dress up he also plays in the car area, he has not been forced into watching anything he does not want to and has a huge love for all different things whether they are 'girl' or 'boy' aimed. Some may believe I am 'evil' but I think it would be worse to tell him he can't do what he wants because other people don't agree with it, I would rather explain to him that people can be mean and make him understand that their thoughts should not make him feel like he is anything but an incredible, powerful and beautiful young boy ♥

@alpenguin yep that’s exactly what I did!! How did you know?

@Klj1214 if everything is so rosy as you've described why questioning it at all.

Good for you and your child if no one is bullied and everyone is as happy as you say.

My reference to "evil" was about mother who would deliberately dress a boy in princess dress and send him to school like this where he is bullied for such appearence.

I was asking for opinions because me and my sons dad had such a heated argument about it I wanted to hear others views, is there an issue with that, I thought that is exactly what this website was for, for people to share their views and opinions without being attacked?

@Klj1214 because it implies there is a problem.

Either your husband is worried completely unreasonably or you aren't describing the whole picture.

You shouldn't reply if you don't want.

But does your child have other hero-costumes or do you buy him only princess dresses?

I'm just trying to understand the thought process which would lead me to go and invest ££ in princess dress for my son.

Thanks.

It is the reaponsibility of a parent to teach a child social norms and encourage them to follow them for their own good.

What other social norms should we be teaching our children?
Should this extend to education and career choices? Should be teach girls not to choose a male dominated professions because it could be a challenging environment to work in?
Should we tell boys not to play with dolls because, god forbid, we teach boys that caring for children is something men and women should do?

Yes they have a huge selection of dress up items including super hero Knight and animals if they ask for it they get it within reason

Dressing a girl as a G.I. or an astronaut is not the same. Those are careers that a girl can aspire to
-- Anneleven is not bonkers. She is a traditionalist. Many of us are. We are just silenced by the "Woke" mob. For now.

I'm gender critical but I think it's completely ridiculous to prevent a child dressing up as their favourite character even when that means boys dressing up as princesses.
There is absolutely nothing to suggest this will result in them wanting to be a girl. It's fantasy and role play, perfectly normal for that age.

It should extend everywhere where it could in any way shape or form harm a 5 year old boy.

If you are ready to waponize your own child to make a revolution or make a statement of your progressive beliefs... then I'm sorry, nothing else to say here.

The sooner we normalise and accept that some boys like ‘feminine’ things, and some girls like ‘masculine’ things, the better. One of the main reasons we hear from children identifying as trans, is they didn’t fit into their expected gender stereotype role. If people can wear and do what they like, they are less likely to want to identify out of their sex.

Loads of boys enjoy dressing up in dresses and all manner of other costumes. He’s 5 so he probably won’t want to play dress up that much longer anyway
I do think you’re extremely naive if you think ‘he would tell me because we encourage honesty and openness in our home’. Children don’t end up suffering bullying because their parents are not providing a suitable home life

It should extend everywhere where it could in any way shape or form harm a 5 year old boy.

If you are ready to waponize your own child to make a revolution or make a statement of your progressive beliefs... then I'm sorry, nothing else to say here.

Are you okay? You seem to be overreacting a tad.....
at this age children engage in fantasy and role play. It's no different to child dressing up as a dragon. Or do you think that children who dress up as dragons or dinosaurs are going believe they actually are one when they grow up?

The thread was about a boy going to casual day at school wearing a princess dress.

Not about him playing dress up.

Could you please focus yourself on this paticular situation instead of calling me names?

The thread was about a boy going to casual day at school wearing a princess dress.

Not about him playing dress up.

I mean it's quite literally playing dress up.

He doesn't think he's actually a princess.

He's, you know, dressing up!

@AnneLeven

I thought you wouldn't be saying a word any more.

The thread was about a boy going to casual day at school wearing a princess dress

Yes, On a day where children were able to dress up and choose their own clothes. It's not like he's wearing it everyday.

Not about him playing dress up.

It's specifically is about him playing dress up. That's what 5 year olds do. My child used to dress up as a pirate. They never actually thought they were a pirate.

Could you please focus yourself on this paticular situation instead of calling me names?
I think you need to focus on the particular situation instead of trying to make it into something it isn't.
And I haven't called you any names.

"his dad has immediately demanded I stop letting him go to school in his dress up outfits because he doesn't want him to be bullied!"

What does this mean then?