Well op I hope your daughter wasn't wearing pants/shorts. Because those are for them men folk. Teach your daughter right, have her in a dress every day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was at a playground today (in NW DC) and our babysitter tells me that a little boy around the age of 3 was there too. He was wearing a skirt. My daughter approached his mom and asked her why he was wearing a skirt because boys aren't supposed to wear skirts. The mom apparently asked my daughter, "well why can't boys wear skirts? who says they can't?"

So tonight my daughter was full of questions and I wasn't sure how to respond. We are fairly liberal FWIW. Should I tell her boys can wear skirts and some choose to? I'm a bit conflicted on this one. We are friends with gay couples but none of them cross dress.

Just tell your daughter the truth. Some boys were skirts. If she asks why it's because their moms are attention seeking idiots.

Hahahaha perfect response.

Yup! When I was teaching, we had a mom who sent her son in with nail polish and a bow in his hair. Sometimes sparkly pumps. She said he wanted to wear it and she believed in allowing expression. Bullshit. She was an attention seeking drama queen and every teacher and parent in the school saw it. The things that were said behind her back were pretty awful. The kid did not care about wearing bows in his hair. And if he did, she could have easily allowed it at home.

That mother would walk into the classroom with the stupid "I dare you to say anything" face. Thankfully, the kid was likable.

God you suck.

Steer them the right way, you wouldn't let your children eat like a cat or eat their own vomit like a dog, like their own butt. Being a parent means letting them know social norms.

Steer them the right way, you wouldn't let your children way like a cat or like a dog eat their item vomit

Anonymous wrote:"Most boys in the United States wear pants. In some countries, like Scotland, boys wear skirts. They call them Kilts." And then leave it at that. No need to get into anything else.

Agree with above. No. Red to get philosophical.

"Most boys in the United States wear pants. In some countries, like Scotland, boys wear skirts. They call them Kilts." And then leave it at that. No need to get into anything else.

We're talking about a 3-year-old. He's not cross dressing, he just wanted to wear a skirt. Why not let him? Doesn't make his mom attention seeking that she didn't see a reason to tell him no.

It’s those damn culottes you made him wear.

They were shorts.

It looked like he was wearing a damn skirt.

I’m sorry Jerry.

Ma, I'm not gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Some of the responses on this thread make me so sad. Should girls only wear skirts and lace and pink sparkly stuff? Once upon a time, there was an expectation that women only wear dresses or skirts and fortunately that expectation has disappeared now. There was also an expectation that women stay home and raise babies and take care of the home and not work. Gender norms evolve and - at least from my perspective - that is a desirable thing. I try to teach my boys that there is nothing boys can do that girls cannot - AND VICE VERSA. And they play with super heroes and legos and magnatiles but sometimes they do play with dolls or pick pink shirts and seriously WHY WOULD ANYONE CARE? We cannot have it both ways - expect women to be treated equally and have access to traditionally male domains, but then still insist some things are reserved only for women.

I think OP is a troll, but just for the record the answer to the question is: boys can wear whatever they want, just like girls can. The question of what is appropriate dress in terms of skirts, skimpy clothes, nail polish etc. is between kids and their parents/schools/etc. Not strangers on the playground. And when your daughter has questions about someone's appearance in the future, they should be subtly directed to her parents outside the presence of the person in question, because that is what good manners dictates.

this original post cannot be real. I have way more things going on in my life to worry about what to say about a kid wearing a skirt. Who cares? He's wearing a skirt because it's what he wants to wear. Any gender can wear skirts or whatever. This is dumb. Why would you even mention that you have gay friends and none of them cross dress? Who uses that term cross dress? God help your child!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
How about, "I guess he liked it! Mostly girls wear skirts, but there's no rule that says only girls can wear skirts."

Perfect. Just state the facts. No need to explain why, which you really can't since you don't know the boy and his habits.

This is what I would say.

There was a guy in my high school, over 20 years ago now, who protested the fact that boys were not allowed to wear shorts, even when it was really hot, while girls could wear skirts, by wearing a skirt (which complied with dress code length requirements) to school every day. The administration (at my Jesuit high school), was like, "Go for it, kid." No one cared. If you had seen that boy, you would have made all kinds of incorrect assumptions about him. When you see a boy in a skirt, the only thing you know about him is that he wanted to wear a skirt that day. With a little boy, it might well be nothing more than that. Tomorrow he might want to wear a superhero costume. Don't make little issues into big issues.

Bravo to that other mom! I think it's awesome that she didn't lecture your daughter and instead just asked thoughtful questions. She is right. Though it's a societal norm, who does say they can't?