"Girl things" for boys - nail polish on a toddler boy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, nail polish is for girls and women. But, if you’re OK with your son using it then that’s your business too.

Last I checked, we still live in a free country. Nail polish is for anyone who wants to wear it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woke signaling aside -- which this is by the way, conscious or not -- this always ends poorly.

You say you can't believe someone would give a three year old a hard time about something as silly as nail polish.

I say I can't believe a parent would set their child up for bullying or embarrassment over something as silly as nail polish.

I wear nail polish sometimes and my young two sons ask about it. I respond, "Nail polish is for girls. Are y'all ready for your snack?" Case closed.

I agree their interest in it is purely innocent, but because I love and care about them, I wouldn't open them up to ridicule.

How so? I always let my son wear whatever he wanted, nail polish and princess costumes included, when he was little and it ended fine. He grew out of it before kindergarten and was never bullied.

There's a spectrum. On one end is a total ban on cross dressing from they day he's born and on the other there's parents goading their elementary school aged boys to wear glittery bows and matching nail polish at school. Somewhere in the middle is a reasonable approach that allows little kids to experiment and play pretend without restriction with an understanding that at some point it needs to be confined to the home and not put on display for the public.

When my son was 2, I let him take a baby doll out and about in a little doll stroller. He did it with his older sister and it was fine. By 4 we kept that kind of play at home. By 6, he lost interest. Kids understand that if mom and dad restrict certain activities to home-only, it means the activities are not widely socially acceptable.

Why brag about teaching this (probable) future dad that it’s too girly to care for kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woke signaling aside -- which this is by the way, conscious or not -- this always ends poorly.

You say you can't believe someone would give a three year old a hard time about something as silly as nail polish.

I say I can't believe a parent would set their child up for bullying or embarrassment over something as silly as nail polish.

I wear nail polish sometimes and my young two sons ask about it. I respond, "Nail polish is for girls. Are y'all ready for your snack?" Case closed.

I agree their interest in it is purely innocent, but because I love and care about them, I wouldn't open them up to ridicule.

How so? I always let my son wear whatever he wanted, nail polish and princess costumes included, when he was little and it ended fine. He grew out of it before kindergarten and was never bullied.

There's a spectrum. On one end is a total ban on cross dressing from they day he's born and on the other there's parents goading their elementary school aged boys to wear glittery bows and matching nail polish at school. Somewhere in the middle is a reasonable approach that allows little kids to experiment and play pretend without restriction with an understanding that at some point it needs to be confined to the home and not put on display for the public.

When my son was 2, I let him take a baby doll out and about in a little doll stroller. He did it with his older sister and it was fine. By 4 we kept that kind of play at home. By 6, he lost interest. Kids understand that if mom and dad restrict certain activities to home-only, it means the activities are not widely socially acceptable.

Why brag about teaching this (probable) future dad that it’s too girly to care for kids?

+1 very backwoods

[Anonymous]

Is there a father in this child’s home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to ask yourself why you really want to have your toddler boy show off painted nails outside the home. Signaling that you are progressive is not a good reason.

You should of course tell the child care provider that she is out of place for wiping the polish off and telling him it's only for girls. That's not her place at all, I agree. That's your place. You should cut back on this activity until he is old enough to choose for himself whether he wants to challenge social norms and be an accessory to your need to signal.

Please go back to Truth social, or whatever it's called. Your Trumpy incel friends miss you.

That very mild opinion must hit a nerve with you. Sad!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woke signaling aside -- which this is by the way, conscious or not -- this always ends poorly.

You say you can't believe someone would give a three year old a hard time about something as silly as nail polish.

I say I can't believe a parent would set their child up for bullying or embarrassment over something as silly as nail polish.

I wear nail polish sometimes and my young two sons ask about it. I respond, "Nail polish is for girls. Are y'all ready for your snack?" Case closed.

I agree their interest in it is purely innocent, but because I love and care about them, I wouldn't open them up to ridicule.

How so? I always let my son wear whatever he wanted, nail polish and princess costumes included, when he was little and it ended fine. He grew out of it before kindergarten and was never bullied.

There's a spectrum. On one end is a total ban on cross dressing from they day he's born and on the other there's parents goading their elementary school aged boys to wear glittery bows and matching nail polish at school. Somewhere in the middle is a reasonable approach that allows little kids to experiment and play pretend without restriction with an understanding that at some point it needs to be confined to the home and not put on display for the public.

When my son was 2, I let him take a baby doll out and about in a little doll stroller. He did it with his older sister and it was fine. By 4 we kept that kind of play at home. By 6, he lost interest. Kids understand that if mom and dad restrict certain activities to home-only, it means the activities are not widely socially acceptable.

Why brag about teaching this (probable) future dad that it’s too girly to care for kids?

Playing or not playing with dolls as a child doesn't have any bearing on parenting skills.

[Anonymous]

This thread has put the song "William's doll" in my head LOL https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwisoeOnyciAAxXbI0QIHS19AwEQwqsBegQIKhAF&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyermxRnxIDc&usg=AOvVaw0Tvzy_y-Q0aPyeNYpKj0KP&opi=89978449

Seriously I've seen more boys with nail polish than girls recently and even among my adult students nail polish is not uncommon in the young men. Nail polish is for everyone who wants to use it. Personally I don't so my daughter is not growing up with it.

And discouraging a boy from playing with a doll?? OMG did we regress to the 1950s or something?

[Anonymous]

My 2 year old daughter has recently asked to paint her nails. Where she got the idea? Our 5 year old neighbor who couldn't be more stereotypically male, aside from his love of nail polish.

[Anonymous]

I am so puzzled by these threads. Do parents not understand demographics? Andrew Tate is for nerdy young men who want to feel masculine and women who want to be outraged. Heels are for women and for men who want to look like them. Are parents just pretending to be this dense or do they seriously not understand why nail polish codes female?

[Anonymous]

Or maybe little kids of all genders like things that are bright and garish and being able to wear them on your hands/feet is even better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am so puzzled by these threads. Do parents not understand demographics? Andrew Tate is for nerdy young men who want to feel masculine and women who want to be outraged. Heels are for women and for men who want to look like them. Are parents just pretending to be this dense or do they seriously not understand why nail polish codes female?

Nope in 2023 plenty of men and boys use nail polish. You are just stuck in the past and out of touch with current trends.

https://www.rollingstone.com/product-recommendations/lifestyle/best-nail-polish-for-men-1165620/?sub_action=logged_in

[Anonymous]

NP. So many ridiculous takes in this thread. First of all, boys can wear nail polish just fine. My now college athlete DS liked painting his nails when he was around 8 because he liked the colors. Nobody ever gave him trouble, though admittedly he was also the large, strong kid who put himself physically between bullies and the smaller kids, so a kid willing to tease him for his nails had to be willing to take him on at the playground. As far as I know, none of the bullies were willing to risk it. In any event, he wore fingernail polish of various colors freely for awhile then stopped and has never done it again. I didn’t praise it, I didn’t criticize it. I didn’t warn him people would tease him. I just let him do it while he was interested, just like I let him wear Pokémon shoes or monster truck shirts. It was really NBD.

But secondly, I’m skeptical that a three-year-old is doing this without it being parental virtue signaling. Three-year-olds aren’t generally asking for this or having these conversations without parental prompting. So, I’m a little skeptical of the whole story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. So many ridiculous takes in this thread. First of all, boys can wear nail polish just fine. My now college athlete DS liked painting his nails when he was around 8 because he liked the colors. Nobody ever gave him trouble, though admittedly he was also the large, strong kid who put himself physically between bullies and the smaller kids, so a kid willing to tease him for his nails had to be willing to take him on at the playground. As far as I know, none of the bullies were willing to risk it. In any event, he wore fingernail polish of various colors freely for awhile then stopped and has never done it again. I didn’t praise it, I didn’t criticize it. I didn’t warn him people would tease him. I just let him do it while he was interested, just like I let him wear Pokémon shoes or monster truck shirts. It was really NBD.

But secondly, I’m skeptical that a three-year-old is doing this without it being parental virtue signaling. Three-year-olds aren’t generally asking for this or having these conversations without parental prompting. So, I’m a little skeptical of the whole story.

That is just silly. My kids ask for nail polish anytime I am putting some on myself or they notice that I have a fresh pedicure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. So many ridiculous takes in this thread. First of all, boys can wear nail polish just fine. My now college athlete DS liked painting his nails when he was around 8 because he liked the colors. Nobody ever gave him trouble, though admittedly he was also the large, strong kid who put himself physically between bullies and the smaller kids, so a kid willing to tease him for his nails had to be willing to take him on at the playground. As far as I know, none of the bullies were willing to risk it. In any event, he wore fingernail polish of various colors freely for awhile then stopped and has never done it again. I didn’t praise it, I didn’t criticize it. I didn’t warn him people would tease him. I just let him do it while he was interested, just like I let him wear Pokémon shoes or monster truck shirts. It was really NBD.

But secondly, I’m skeptical that a three-year-old is doing this without it being parental virtue signaling. Three-year-olds aren’t generally asking for this or having these conversations without parental prompting. So, I’m a little skeptical of the whole story.

That is just silly. My kids ask for nail polish anytime I am putting some on myself or they notice that I have a fresh pedicure.

So do mine. I say no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. So many ridiculous takes in this thread. First of all, boys can wear nail polish just fine. My now college athlete DS liked painting his nails when he was around 8 because he liked the colors. Nobody ever gave him trouble, though admittedly he was also the large, strong kid who put himself physically between bullies and the smaller kids, so a kid willing to tease him for his nails had to be willing to take him on at the playground. As far as I know, none of the bullies were willing to risk it. In any event, he wore fingernail polish of various colors freely for awhile then stopped and has never done it again. I didn’t praise it, I didn’t criticize it. I didn’t warn him people would tease him. I just let him do it while he was interested, just like I let him wear Pokémon shoes or monster truck shirts. It was really NBD.

But secondly, I’m skeptical that a three-year-old is doing this without it being parental virtue signaling. Three-year-olds aren’t generally asking for this or having these conversations without parental prompting. So, I’m a little skeptical of the whole story.

That is just silly. My kids ask for nail polish anytime I am putting some on myself or they notice that I have a fresh pedicure.

At age three?