Men............would you let it happen?

[Boudicca]

Oh hell no. Obviously she's trying to turn him into the daughter she never had.

Once she got done removing that from his toe nails I would have him down at the barber shop too. Summer is coming so I'm thinking crew cut. And get him enrolled with Pop Warner football on the way home.

Ken dolls? Gone. G.I. Joe is fine.

Crocs? Gone. Cowboy boots or Converse All Stars.

Sitting around the house watching Oprah with mommy? Done. Get outside and play baseball with the other neighborhood kids. Learn to ride a wheelie. Skin your knees. Build a tree fort.

No more of this metrosexual in training bullshit.

My son, when he wasn't ripping the heads off his older sister's Barbie dolls, was busy posing them face down with GI Joe humping them.  I didn't even "train" him that way-he just was.

[CactusCarlos]

http://www.jcrew.com/womens-clothing.jsp

Look at the above link and tell me would you have a problem with your wife/so painting your son's toenails pink like the ad in the link?

Whiskey.

Tango.

Foxtrot?!

[blitzkrieg_17]

puke-a-thon

and I mean it. Those pictures and caption are throw-up worthy.

[Gina]

My son, when he wasn't ripping the heads off his older sister's Barbie dolls, was busy posing them face down with GI Joe humping them.  I didn't even "train" him that way-he just was.

 

[true_blood]

puke-a-thon
and I mean it. Those pictures and caption are throw-up worthy.

Yup.
I don't think you would see an ad like that years ago.

[T-Monay820]

I wouldn't be happy with it, and by no means encourage it. But I'd probably let it slide. Once his friends at school start making fun of him and he doesn't like it, I'll let him figure it out.

[Karin]

I'd be concerned about it going a little farther that "making fun of him."  Kids are brutal, and I've seen kids not live shit down for years.  You know the nicknames that stick clear through to reunions.  This may be a kid who'll never go to prom, never get to be cool. 

We've got big enough bullying problems in the schools, and I don't think we need more fodder.  And those who say, "my kid's not going to get his ass kicked for having pink nail polish on," well, I think you're just delusional, and dangerously so. 

[Eupher]

I'd be concerned about it going a little farther that "making fun of him."  Kids are brutal, and I've seen kids not live shit down for years.  You know the nicknames that stick clear through to reunions.  This may be a kid who'll never go to prom, never get to be cool. 

We've got big enough bullying problems in the schools, and I don't think we need more fodder.  And those who say, "my kid's not going to get his ass kicked for having pink nail polish on," well, I think you're just delusional, and dangerously so. 

My youngest daughter is 24 years old, so my time as a kid-coddler is long past. One of the huge problems I see in today's world is parent over-protectionism.

Parents can't and shouldn't shield their kids from every possible issue that can confront them. That includes bullying. Bullying will inevitably happen; trying to prevent it is like pissing in the wind. You just get wet.

Best thing to do, IMHO, is to coach the kid what to do to defend himself against bullies or anybody else -- even if that means a suspension from school. As stupid as things are these days with "zero tolerance" policies, I'd much rather have a kid who is confident in his ability to deal with issues than a cowering victim of a bully who doesn't know what to do and does nothing but get his ass kicked -- and then gets kicked out of school anyway for being involved in a fight.

We've got to stop the kid-coddling. Let him take a few lumps along the way if he must, but having the balls to address issues along the way commensurate with his age and ability is key.

[IassaFTots]

My youngest daughter is 24 years old, so my time as a kid-coddler is long past. One of the huge problems I see in today's world is parent over-protectionism.

Parents can't and shouldn't shield their kids from every possible issue that can confront them. That includes bullying. Bullying will inevitably happen; trying to prevent it is like pissing in the wind. You just get wet.

Best thing to do, IMHO, is to coach the kid what to do to defend himself against bullies or anybody else -- even if that means a suspension from school. As stupid as things are these days with "zero tolerance" policies, I'd much rather have a kid who is confident in his ability to deal with issues than a cowering victim of a bully who doesn't know what to do and does nothing but get his ass kicked -- and then gets kicked out of school anyway for being involved in a fight.

We've got to stop the kid-coddling. Let him take a few lumps along the way if he must, but having the balls to address issues along the way commensurate with his age and ability is key.

My little brother was constantly bullied.  Boys would wait at the busstop just to grab him as soon as he got off the bus.  I kicked a lot of bully butt in the day.  I mean, they threw EGGS at him.     When we moved to Texas, the next door neighbor kid challenged my brother to a fight in the front yard.  Here I go to defend him again, and my stepdad grabbed me, held me down and made me watch my brother get beat on.  Said he had to learn to fight for himself, that I needed to stop fighting for him.  Danged if my brother didn't get a few punches in himself.  He was trained well.     Three years later, he grew up bigger than me, and in one of our punching bouts he right-hooked me and nearly broke my dang jaw. 

I never punched him again.  Ever.  He still gives me noogies when I see him, because he can, and my reign is long over. 

[Gina]

My youngest daughter is 24 years old, so my time as a kid-coddler is long past. One of the huge problems I see in today's world is parent over-protectionism.

Parents can't and shouldn't shield their kids from every possible issue that can confront them. That includes bullying. Bullying will inevitably happen; trying to prevent it is like pissing in the wind. You just get wet.

Best thing to do, IMHO, is to coach the kid what to do to defend himself against bullies or anybody else -- even if that means a suspension from school. As stupid as things are these days with "zero tolerance" policies, I'd much rather have a kid who is confident in his ability to deal with issues than a cowering victim of a bully who doesn't know what to do and does nothing but get his ass kicked -- and then gets kicked out of school anyway for being involved in a fight.

We've got to stop the kid-coddling. Let him take a few lumps along the way if he must, but having the balls to address issues along the way commensurate with his age and ability is key.

kid coddling sound so dirty, can he come up with a new word?   

[Eupher]

kid coddling sound so dirty, can he come up with a new word?   

Somehow I don't think "kid-fingering" would work too well........

[Gina]

Somehow I don't think "kid-fingering" would work too well........

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I did not think you would go there   

[Eupher]

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I did not think you would go there   

 

You've taught me well, Gina.

[Gina]

You've taught me well, Gina.

Yes, grasshopper.

[Boudicca]

Eupher, totally agree that kids are wrapped in lamb's wool too much today.  There, that's better than coddling!
My son had to fight 3 days in a row when he first entered K'garten.  At playtime, he was picked on by successively larger boys, until on day 3 he punched a third grader.  I was called to the school and told about these "incidents".  Told the teacher if she had a problem with my son defending himself, that was her problem, not mine, cuz he did good as far as I was concerned.  She actually quite surprised me by agreeing he needed to be able to play in peace, but could I please counsel him on TALKING first.

That was the last time my son was picked on while we were stationed at Ft. Benning-he went to the on post elementary school with his big sis.  She used to walk him up the street holding his hand until they got there.  Sigh.  The good old days.  My son still gets in confrontations but they're verbal in nature, which is a damn good thing since you can get arrested for saying boo these days.

[Karin]

Well, I hope you got my point...I don't believe in over-protection either, but I also believe in giving the kid a fighting chance by not putting girly makeup on boys. 

[Eupher]

Well, I hope you got my point...I don't believe in over-protection either, but I also believe in giving the kid a fighting chance by not putting girly makeup on boys. 

Agree with you about the makeup thing, absolutely.

[MP_Sarge]

The David  Reimer case (and the personal testimony of plenty of intersex people) was pretty compelling evidence that you can't change a kid's gender by raising them a certain way.

After a horrific accident during circumcision, doctors told his parents to raise David as a girl, so he could have a normal life that was consistent with his new genitalia.
He was raised completely as a girl, given medication to completely change his endocrine makeup to female, and never told about the circumstances of his birth.

Despite all of that, he completely rejected the reassignment to female, and nearly killed himself before his parents finally confessed and allowed him to live as male as a teenager.
(He grew up, married a woman and identified as straight.)

David's case, and those of many people who were arbitrarily assigned into a certain gender after being born intersex, demonstrate that even when a person is raised in in a specific gender and not allowed to deviate from the "normal" behavior of that gender, they will always know internally who and what they are.

Despite wearing dresses, playing with only girl's toys, being told he was a girl and being named Brenda, David always knew he was a boy.

Nailpolish isn't going to make a boy transsexual or gay anymore than teaching a girl to shoot will make her transsexual or lesbian.

[Gina]

The David  Reimer case (and the personal testimony of plenty of intersex people) was pretty compelling evidence that you can't change a kid's gender by raising them a certain way.

After a horrific accident during circumcision, doctors told his parents to raise David as a girl, so he could have a normal life that was consistent with his new genitalia.
He was raised completely as a girl, given medication to completely change his endocrine makeup to female, and never told about the circumstances of his birth.

Despite all of that, he completely rejected the reassignment to female, and nearly killed himself before his parents finally confessed and allowed him to live as male as a teenager.
(He grew up, married a woman and identified as straight.)

David's case, and those of many people who were arbitrarily assigned into a certain gender after being born intersex, demonstrate that even when a person is raised in in a specific gender and not allowed to deviate from the "normal" behavior of that gender, they will always know internally who and what they are.

Despite wearing dresses, playing with only girl's toys, being told he was a girl and being named Brenda, David always knew he was a boy.

Nailpolish isn't going to make a boy transsexual or gay anymore than teaching a girl to shoot will make her transsexual or lesbian.

I don't recall anyone even saying that putting nail polish on this boy's toes would turn him gay (maybe I missed it). 

[MP_Sarge]

You missed it.
Allusions to "making" kids gay are throughout the comments.

[Gina]

You missed it.
Allusions to "making" kids gay are throughout the comments.

sigh    it wouldn't be their first time.....

I don't think painting a kids toenails pink would make them gay but I do just think it's turning our nation into a nation of twats.  We need men with backbone, not manicured nails, imo.

[MP_Sarge]

I don't think the two [nail polish and assertive masculinity] are necessarily mutually exclusive.

The problem is more with people foisting their agenda on their kids, regardless of the agenda.
It seems like it is becoming increasingly popular to "encourage" boys to engage in traditionally feminine pasttimes, who haven't shown the slightest inclination to seek them out on their own.

There's a huge difference between giving your children the space and freedom to pursue their own interests, and vicariously living your own social agenda through them.
Sometimes it can be pretty difficult to delineate which is which, based on the media reports we get.  My personal opinion is that if the parent allows their child [or a picture of the child that would make the child identifiable] to be shown in a news report, you can damned near bet the parents are pushing an agenda.

I have corresponded with a couple of bloggers who have sons with traditionally feminine interests.  You don't see them on the news making a huge stink every time someone mistakes their son for their daughter because he's carrying a Barbie.  Most don't even post pictures of their kid, or if they do, it's a picture with the face blurred or cropped out of the shot.  

The failure to protect the child's identity in a lot of these "boy who likes x" stories makes it pretty obvious who, and what, they are really about.

Frankly, it seems like a lot of straight, white, upper middle class liberals trying to opt in on minority status by misrepresenting their sons as being gay.  [All the while failing to realize what an incredible disservice they are doing to ACTUAL gay men, who don't appreciate being stereotyped as universally effeminate... but then, the far left has a longstanding tradition of actually ENFORCING the very prejudices they decry.]

Not only will their sons grow up to be straight [you can't *make* a kid gay], but probably with some pretty serious resentment at having been exploited and made a spectacle of.

[Gina]

I don't think the two [nail polish and assertive masculinity] are necessarily mutually exclusive.

The problem is more with people foisting their agenda on their kids, regardless of the agenda.
It seems like it is becoming increasingly popular to "encourage" boys to engage in traditionally feminine pasttimes, who haven't shown the slightest inclination to seek them out on their own.

There's a huge difference between giving your children the space and freedom to pursue their own interests, and vicariously living your own social agenda through them.
Sometimes it can be pretty difficult to delineate which is which, based on the media reports we get.  My personal opinion is that if the parent allows their child [or a picture of the child that would make the child identifiable] to be shown in a news report, you can damned near bet the parents are pushing an agenda.

I have corresponded with a couple of bloggers who have sons with traditionally feminine interests.  You don't see them on the news making a huge stink every time someone mistakes their son for their daughter because he's carrying a Barbie.  Most don't even post pictures of their kid, or if they do, it's a picture with the face blurred or cropped out of the shot.  

The failure to protect the child's identity in a lot of these "boy who likes x" stories makes it pretty obvious who, and what, they are really about.

Frankly, it seems like a lot of straight, white, upper middle class liberals trying to opt in on minority status by misrepresenting their sons as being gay.  [All the while failing to realize what an incredible disservice they are doing to ACTUAL gay men, who don't appreciate being stereotyped as universally effeminate... but then, the far left has a longstanding tradition of actually ENFORCING the very prejudices they decry.]

Not only will their sons grow up to be straight [you can't *make* a kid gay], but probably with some pretty serious resentment at having been exploited and made a spectacle of.

SERIOUSLY, this is the best explanation I have ever read.  It's dead on accurate, especially the bolded.