I'm taking a one-day break from the giveaways for three reasons:
- I'm getting burned out on reviewing items every single day.
- I'm really not feeling too well and cannot wait until summer gets here, so this ongoing "cold" can "go on".
- I had a response to my question on Facebook: Should I do an extra week of giveaways (I only planned to do 2 for Valentine's Day)...or go back to blogging? The one answer that I received (thank you, Andrea!) is that I should go back to blogging, because she misses my blog posts. Awww!
So, with that said, this goes out to Andrea (because she misses my *real* blog posts!)
I was simultaneously watching
What Would You Do? last night on
ABC - and if you've never watched this show, you should really sit down one Friday night and check it out!- and trying to put Dakoda down to sleep. The producers of WWYD set up real-life situations that are controversial and secretly video tape the reactions of the people that are within earshot (or sight).
Well, they set up this Dad and Son in a toy store, where the son was begging Dad to buy him a Barbie doll. The women that piped up and threw out their opinion (LOL) were all fairly supportive of the Dad buying the Barbie for the Son. One even wrote down the name of a book,
William's Doll, and put the small piece of paper in the Dad's hand.
William's Doll is about a little boy with a doll..."William wanted a doll, he wanted to hug it and cradle in his arms..."
And? What's wrong with that? Maybe he wants to practice being a good Daddy when he grows up. Maybe he's a sensitive nurturer...don't we want a husband like that?
I have a 3 year old son who runs around saying, "I'm the girl!", referring to the television show the kids are watching or the games that they are playing, or simply because he feels like playing the girl...who cares?
I don't have doll-loving boys, but I do have an 8 year old who loves his little Bean Baby - isn't that what they are called? - teddy bear.
I don't discourage my sons from playing with Zu-Zu Pets or Little {whatever} pets that my daughter plays with. They're toys! They're overly commercialized toys that children see all over tv...and they're fun to play with!
Seriously, I'm not going to discourage my sons from finding their inner sensitivity...because there's nothing wrong with that! You cannot force your child to be a certain way. And, let me ask you this: if you keep a child from playing with someone or something, don't they want it more? If you don't allow your sons to play with dolls, they will feel unfulfilled. They will continue to want something that you keep from them.
But, if you let them
have what they want...just like every other toy that your child plays with, it will get tiring and they will most likely move on...so what's the big deal?
Should Boys Be Allowed to Play Dress Up?
Okay, so the same segment of the show had the little boy dressed in a dress (staged, of course) and it showed the reactions of people. For the most part, people said, "Let the boy play!" And, that's how I feel. If my boys want to dress up in a dress, we can all have a good laugh...because that is what would happen. Make it fun...it's no big deal!
Let them be kids, you know?
My Son Is Gay
Oh, yeah, and then the storyline of What Would You Do went here: there is a blog called
Nerdy Apple Bottom. If you didn't watch the show and you have never heard of this blog, you need to go over there and check it out - *ahem* after you finish reading my rant! So, the mother let her son dress up as Daphne from Scooby Doo...and she caught {bleep} from the other mothers at the school Halloween function. Then, she posts a blog post on her blog: "My Son Is Gay". Yes, she did.
But, she did it to be facetious. And, the blog post went viral and stirred up a ton of controversy. She certainly got her 15 minutes of fame!
Needless to say, she said nothing wrong. Nothing. Okay, you can take a break and go read it...go ahead and come back...
You Can't Avoid It...
You can't make your boy gay. You can't make him un-gay. (Or your girl, for that matter.) Hopefully, what you
can do is make him/her the best, well-rounded, intelligent child that you can raise them to be. And, hopefully, you will allow them to fulfill their curious - and possibly nurturing - personality by permitting them to play with dolls and dress up like princesses. Or let your daughters play with army trucks and shoot those brand new awesome Nerf Stampede guns that Santa brought for Christmas.
I will never feel the urge to do anything but giggle when I hear my 3 year old say, "I'm the girl!" (It makes me giggle inside now).
There is absolutely nothing wrong with imaginative/creative play! He knows that he is a boy, and that's that.
And, regardless of how my children turn out,
I will never turn my back on them! Would you?
