WWYD if your little boy wanted this backpack?

Cuppycake · Guru

RE: WWYD if your little boy wanted this backpack?

Michele · Senior Member

Ugh, I hate that kids can be so mean. I think what you are planning to do is the better choice. I personally love that Cole doesn't care that the backpack is pink but it just isn't worth the risk of letting his feelings get hurt. Maybe buy it for him to have at home to keep his cars in or something that way you aren't necessarily being gender specific in his eyes.

crystal · Guru

oh man, i have dealt with this so much biggrin

mason loves girly things too, and it will usually be his first pick. depending on the situation, i either let him have it or not, but i HATE not letting him have it.

if it were just me, he would be walking around with princess and my little pony stuff non-stop, lmao. but, dh is not cool with it.

i have used a trick on him for his b-day before when i told him they were all sold out of that one, and he had to pick something else. now, i tend to not let him pick whatever he wants and just give him options of what he can get. otherwise, it can be bad. haha.

crystal · Guru

Michele wrote:

Ugh, I hate that kids can be so mean. I think what you are planning to do is the better choice. I personally love that Cole doesn't care that the backpack is pink but it just isn't worth the risk of letting his feelings get hurt. Maybe buy it for him to have at home to keep his cars in or something that way you aren't necessarily being gender specific in his eyes.

that is a good idea. maybe he can have that for home, and you can buy him another for school and tell him he can only take this one because of the size of it or something.

daisy · Guru

Michele wrote:

Ugh, I hate that kids can be so mean. I think what you are planning to do is the better choice. I personally love that Cole doesn't care that the backpack is pink but it just isn't worth the risk of letting his feelings get hurt. Maybe buy it for him to have at home to keep his cars in or something that way you aren't necessarily being gender specific in his eyes.

ita with this, and what tracy suggested too. i'd hate to see him get made fun of. as a mom, we can protect our kids a LITTLE while longer from that - but just a little

at the same time, i'd want to project the message that he should be who he wants, and he should have what he loves. this is something that i try to be loud and clear about with my girls. plus you dont want him to walk around telling OTHER kids that their stuff is "for boys" or "for girls" - i wouldnt want to flat out teach the gender stereotypes.

R is very gender stereotyped (like, she told me i looked like a boy in my jeans the other day, and i had a blue dress on yesterday and she told me that was for boys) - and i had to have a talk with her about how that sort of thing can hurt people's feelings, and we're all boys or girls regardless of what we're wearing, or how short our hair is, etc.

i'd get the bag, let him use it at home, and tell him that he was supposed to have whatever-other-kind-of-backpack for school (maybe like, "darker colors are better for school so they dont get dirty" or whatever).

what a sweet little coley.