Anonymous wrote:I'm a female and I LOVED to play with my brothers' hot wheels. I'm still pretty girly as a grown-up. Your kid will be fine.

I really enjoyed playing with those tiny plastic soldiers you got by the bucketful. Like the ones on "Toy Story." Huge battles on the den floor. Yeah, I'm a woman.

I also had a Barbie airplane, no lie, that I liked tossing off the front steps to play "plane crash on a desert island." Rats--I invented "Lost" decades before the TV series came along! Royalties, please!

OP, I want to add that it's fine to vent and speak your feelings here. You're allowed to feel how you feel and to admit it in an appropriate place like an anonymous forum. You are not the devil despite what some posters here seem to think. You already realize that you shouldn't say anything to your son ever. You've owned the feelings and can now move on, like he will soon.

Poor Barbie, she is too male gaze/hetero-normative for girls and yet somehow at the same time when boys like her they must be gay.

Anonymous wrote:My 7 year old son loves Calico Critters. He asked for a big mansion for them this past Christmas and has a “kitty city” in his bedroom. It’s okay. I know he’s not like most other seven year old boys. That’s fine.

My son loves Hatchimals. He has an older sister and they play with them together. Whatever. My older brother sometimes played my little pony or cabbage patch kids (we each had our own!) with me and he's happily married. I think that this is not that uncommon among seven year old boys, and to the extent it is, it is because their parents have steered them away from such toys.

I'm a female and I LOVED to play with my brothers' hot wheels. I'm still pretty girly as a grown-up. Your kid will be fine.

My 7 year old son loves Calico Critters. He asked for a big mansion for them this past Christmas and has a “kitty city” in his bedroom. It’s okay. I know he’s not like most other seven year old boys. That’s fine.

Anonymous wrote:You. Are. Awful.

And by the way, if he’s even remotely aware of your disdain, it will only drive him towards feminine toys/activities, not away from it.

My super athletic, gender stereotypical pre-teen nephew wore princess dresses for like a year when he was six. To kindergarten. My sister lives in a very open-minded city in Europe, and no one thought it was more than a kid being a kid. And guess what? His interests changed, he moved on.

When my kid was in pre-K, Frozen was very big. Remember that? All the kids were into it, and they all fought over who got to be Elsa -- including the boys. There was quite a bit of boys wearing princess dresses then.

Uh, this kind of concern is out of sync with 2020. Get woke.

Anonymous wrote:OP, when my DD was about 7 she got a (her first) few Barbies as hand-me-downs. DS was 4 and seemed to take a sudden, keen interest in "playing Barbies" with his big sister.
DH was especially concerned because DS had never sat still long enough to do anything and was instead running and climbing.

I tucked DS into bed one night and turned out his light. Went by later and his light was back on and he was chattering away. There atop his bed was a pile of nude Barbies with all of their clothes on the floor. He was holding his favorite Superman action figure and beaming. "Mama! I'm pretending that Superman is taking a shower with the Barbies. This one's next!"

Sounds about right! Lol!

OP, when my DD was about 7 she got a (her first) few Barbies as hand-me-downs. DS was 4 and seemed to take a sudden, keen interest in "playing Barbies" with his big sister.
DH was especially concerned because DS had never sat still long enough to do anything and was instead running and climbing.

I tucked DS into bed one night and turned out his light. Went by later and his light was back on and he was chattering away. There atop his bed was a pile of nude Barbies with all of their clothes on the floor. He was holding his favorite Superman action figure and beaming. "Mama! I'm pretending that Superman is taking a shower with the Barbies. This one's next!"

OP, I’m a conservative who doesn’t believe in being transgender ( I think it’s child abuse) but I have no problem with kids playing with toys. It’s just a toy. I don’t see any harm in it. Playing with a Barbie won’t magically make him a girl or like boys. Let your kid have fun.

You. Are. Awful.

And by the way, if he’s even remotely aware of your disdain, it will only drive him towards feminine toys/activities, not away from it.

My super athletic, gender stereotypical pre-teen nephew wore princess dresses for like a year when he was six. To kindergarten. My sister lives in a very open-minded city in Europe, and no one thought it was more than a kid being a kid. And guess what? His interests changed, he moved on.

Your son doesn't have a problem and there is nothing wrong with him. Almost every little boy I've known has played with "girl" toys from time to time. They're healthy grown men now with their own families.

Anonymous wrote:It’s hard. I get it. Does not mean you don’t love or accept him if his interests are not what you expected. People will try and make you feel like a bad person/ mom for feeling this way. You are not! We all have ideas / expectations from our own frame of reference. Does not mean we can’t / won’t evolve.

We love our children and will adapt. It’s just we have moments where we want what we “thought “ we’d have. I really understand. Sending a big hug.

Listen to this thoughtful response OP

Anyone ever watch Party of Five back in the day? There was a really interesting episode where Charlie, the oldest brother/parent figure, was freaking out because his toddler brother kept gravitating toward girl’s dresses and shoes when they were shopping. He was upset and handled it poorly at first.

I think it’s a very common reaction, rooted in the fact that most people have an instinct to keep their kids safe from bullying and other harm, so want them to do “normal” things. You have to just focus on the fact that each child is a unique and uniquely interesting individual with a ton of potential and try very hard to turn of the judgmental voices of society in your head.

Are you afraid he will be a good father and supportive husband one day?