General Chat

People frowned when they saw my small son come back from a neighbour's child's toy sale with a little buggy, he wanted for his doll he had asked for a while before. He played with it as much as he played with his 'boy's toys' but it hasn't done anything to alter his masculinity. I didn't like the idea of buying him guns but he made a shape of a gun from lego and used it as a toy gun. It's much easier to let a child chose their toys 'within reason of course' . like letting them use their right or left hand, no forcing these days.

My son is very good with young children so maybe the buggy and doll brought out his nuturing side.

I think it's good that the young girl noticed the mistake and with the help of her Mum, did something about it. Teaches her how to go about challenging some sterotyping etc.

Lizx

As there's 4, 6 & 7 years between me and my siblings, sister had to 'look after' me during term time, brothers (who went to boarding school - there's sexism) during the holidays.
Brothers regularly left me to my own devices, but if we turned up for dinner at different times - it was my fault for wandering off!
Sister was made my legal guardian when she was 19, I was 15 (parents moved abroad). I moved out within the year.

Three of us moved around a lot in adulthood, - sister to Ireland, me to Shetland, eldest bro to Thailand, but now we live within 50 miles of each other and are lucky in that we now get on really well.

We have a family get together at least once a year.

I'm the only girl, oldest child, four brothers, 14 years between me and the youngest.

Parents thought they'd make us "close" by making me & the oldest brother to look after the rest of them. Bad idea. It didn't make us close at all, we resented having to look after them, and they STILL resent us "bossing them".

I'm close with oldest brother, but have nothing to do with the others. Two middle ones are feral bullies (a bit like our dad), and the youngest one went from a spoiled rotten brat to a ... putting it nicely...... a complete nutcase who smokes too much dope.

I could go on and on for weeks about hating being a child, I couldn't wait to get out of that bl**dy house.

My memory of a childhood Christmas is similar

I got a big baby doll whilst my slightly younger brother received a Johnny Seven Gun.

He spent the whole of Christmas Day with my new doll placed on top of the box that his big gun came in... firing bullets, grenades, rockets and all the other ammo at my dolly.

He wouldn't let me have a go :-( :-( :-(

I, who had hardly any contact with babies, was given dolls. Didn't know what to do with them.

My cousin had a magnificent train set and a go- cart and I used to love visiting him. His toys were played with all the time (value for money), mine were heaped in a box because I didn't really even know what to do with them.

Oh, how I longed for Meccano!

I was the youngest of 4 - 2 brothers and a sister.
My brothers got meccano, train sets etc - I wasn't allowed such things as I was a girl. I got dollies and prams. Sister was happy with this but I, like LadyScozz was branded 'ungrateful'.

I wasn't too keen on my 'toys' so compromised.
The poor cat was dressed in dolls clothes and pushed around in the pram - I still bear the scars :-(

After a while, my pram was 'adapted' by my brothers into a go-cart - which I wasn't allowed to use!!

My own children weren't allowed to do such things to their childhood pets - but then they didn't get dolls unless they wanted them.

you were unlucky.then,.......I only had bruvvers.......I didn't know what it was like to have a sister...... :-(

I hated getting "girly" things! :-(

I remember Santa brought me a toy kitchen. I would have been 7 or 8. I hated it. Santa brought my brother a train set, and I wasn't allowed to touch it..... because it was for BOYS!

I gave up trying to tell my parents what I'd like when I was 10, and got a bl**dy doll for Christmas. Never touched it, and was told I was ungrateful.

That's me, the ungrateful, spoiled rotten one.

:-(

Men (and boys) were wearing make up in the '70's.
'Glam Rock' certainly confused my mum!!!

Forgot to mention, with a 12 year old sister, my 4 and 6 year old grandsons regularly turn up wearing nail varnish!! :-D
Their view is, their sister wears it - why shouldn't they?

........could be part of the reason my daughter is desperately discouraging my grand daughter from wearing make up :-D :-D :-D

Marion?

Yes, I can see that you are right there Maggie and that carries on when they are older and some become homophobic.

We do live in a very difficult age where those of us who are older have had to accept the modern ways of life. I was surprised at my OH yesterday who has not always shown tolerance to people born the wrong s*x.

We were shopping and on the checkout was an extremely pleasant beautifully dressed (Jacket, trousers etc very smart), beautifully spoken, young man who was also extremely well made up, but not heavily, and who had absolutely gorgeous nails painted deep purple.

OH didn't blink at all and never even commented. I was actually really not sure if the cashier was female with a deep voice but OH just said (later), not if his name is M...........

Now ten, maybe even five years ago that would not have been accepted and to me that can only be a good thing. A bit off topic but sort of connected. :-)

The problem is, if a boy gets a toy from a shelf labelled 'girls toys', his schoolmates will also have seen that sign.
The poor boy is then likely to be teased/bullied for playing with a 'girl's toy'

I agree that children should play with whatever they like. My daughter loved matchbox cars when she was little and that was in the 60s. She liked boys and girls toys. When I was young (many years ago) I loved to play with my friend's meccano and we spent many a happy hour building roads in mud. Yet I loved dolls as well. I had a dolls' pram and also a 'milk' truck that my Dad made. i played with both equally. I think the main thing is that they have a choice.

However I think we can go over the top and complain about things that shouldn't worry us. Although I do understand that it was the little girl who complained here.

so Catwoman would be feline person......?

Danny Kayes' ugly duckling ?

"not a very pretty waterfowl adolescent.........."

nah! wont work in a song, methinks


where's me knitting?

I do rather sympathise with this, having worked in toy shops it did used to annoy me that some toys were assumed to be 'for boys' or 'for girls', and that it made some customers feel bad that their son wanted a hoover and their daughter wanted a train set, I can't count the number of times I was asked "Do you think it's ok?" :-0

Désolé! Ne pas connaître la réponse à cette question.

Wonder what the French aristocrats would say about that Dermot ;-) ;-)

We have been told that people's protest is pointless & achieves very little.

In my opinion, Toys - and for that matter, colours shouldn't be gender specific.
My daughters ex MiL really annoyed me (and other members of my family), by asking 'Who on earth gave him a pushchair for Christmas?', when my (then) 2 year old grandson was actually just playing with his elder sisters out-grown toy pushchair.
As my daughter pointed out - he's just doing what his dad does - pushing a pushchair (that happened to be pink).
His little brother (now 4) has always loved pink, and has a fine selection of pink t-shirts.
When they stay here, they have their own doll's house to play with - because they relate to that more than soldiers/Action man. They LIVE in a house, they don't understand war/fighting etc.
Why shouldn't boys also play with dolls? Chances are they will come across a baby at sometime in their life - may even become fathers.

Likewise, a girl may want to be a truck/train/crane driver, so would like those sort of toys.
My eldest didn't have one single (realistic) doll - she had a 'raggedy Andy (male rag doll) that I'd made her - until she was over 2. The only reason she got THAT doll was because her baby sister was born.

She played with dolls later on - but only because she asked for them. She also had Power Rangers, cars, meccano etc.

Waiting for the film, Superperson, The book, Offspring of a royal couple and the pea, and M&S store guide. This way to bras for whoever may need them in our gender non specific department...................