tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21139816.post478189145600604006..comments2023-10-25T09:08:19.361+01:00Comments on This good life goes on...: Cars, kids and conventionMephitishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10989129223761426698noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21139816.post-71103638504511399592008-11-09T16:15:00.000+00:002008-11-09T16:15:00.000+00:00I say indulge your children, even if they are hide...I say indulge your children, even if they are hideously gender-stereotyped in their desires. If you're raised by a feminist mother who sneered at feminine clothes and toys, (as I was) and you were brought up to look like a boy with short hair your whole childhood, and you only learnt aspects of femininity way too late in the game, you end up cherishing conformity and "being just like everyone else" as the best thing in the world. If your child *wants* to rebel and be different, great, but let it be his or her choice and not yours. Conformity is great, it's such a relief to blend in with others of the same gender. There are all sorts of things about being a girl that you can only learn by being allowed to be feminine as a child, you can't catch up later, and I think my daughter misses out on some things because I just haven't got a scooby. Like, doing interesting things with long hair, I'm keen but I know nothing about it. I will have to teach myself. My nephew C used to wear Disney princess balldresses around the house. His Nana didn't make a big deal of it but indulged his desires happily. Nowadays, he dresses as either James Bond or David Tennant as Dr Who when he gets home from school. We think it means he is going to be an actor one day. It's possible, that if Nana had said no and acted upset about the balldress stage, he may have got all screwed up about it. I think she did the right thing. :) Abster xAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com