Did any of you see this article? It’s about a couple who is not sharing with anyone, not even their parents, the gender of their baby. Not their unborn baby… their 4-month old baby named Storm.
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Parent’s Keep Child’s Gender Under Wraps
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I think it’s fascinating. I’d love to read a study about him/her when he/she grows up, hopefully a relatively normal person. I’m sure many of you have heard other people’s opinions on which toys little girls should play with or what hairstyles are appropriate for little boys. There is definitely pressure put on children to conform to what we expect of them, whether it’s right or wrong.
Looking back on the comments I heard when pregnant with my baby boy, I can almost understand why this couple is doing this. I had two sweet little girls standing by my side (listening!), but only heard over and over about how “Hopefully this one’s a boy” and “I hope you finally get your boy”. In fact, I hadn’t been waiting for a boy and would have been every single-teeny-tiny-little bit as overjoyed to have had another little girl. (Imagine dressing all THREE in matching dresses and hairbows?! *love*)
Of course, my adorable chubby little boy is exactly what my family was meant to have and we could not love him more. It’s just surprising how people feel so strongly about boy vs. girl, instead of just letting the person become whatever he/she will be.
Of course, this couple is taking their social experiment to the extreme, possibly to their baby’s detriment. I hope not, though. Maybe they will teach us all a lesson about the way we judge people from the second we know their gender.
What do you all think?
Melissa Cleaver says
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Ashley D says
I think this is ridiculous. I mean, seriously?! In my opinion, society should have a minor impact on how your child, boy or girl, turns out. You shouldn’t have to hide the gender of your baby because your worried about other people treating it TOO much like a boy or TOO much like a girl. I think those parents should focus on parenting their child to be the person they want it to grow up to be regardless of the sex. If it’s a girl and they don’t want it to be uber feminine then buy her a few Tonka trucks. If it’s a boy, buy him a baby doll. I think its better for children to play with all sorts of toys to explore who they are and who they are becoming. My daughter loves cars, trucks, and pretty much any type of moving vehicle thanks to her Dad who is a huge car guy. But, she still brings me her dress up clothes to put on her and wants to have tea parties. She is exactly the little girl I want her be.
merrin says
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Amber @FromTheHeartsOf says
I saw this yesterday on Yahoo and was intrigued at first and then confused. One of the comments on the article said, ‘we don’t chose to define ourselves as boy or girl, chromosomes do.’ I think it is fine to not force traditional things on children like pink for girls and blue for boys but this is pretty drastic. Why can’t you just say, ‘You are a girl, would you like to play with this doll AND this truck.’ It’s pretty ridiculous to me.
Jen says
As I read this post and write this comment, my 2 year old daughter is playing with dinky cars along with my 5 year old son. They are just toys. I am not sure if there will be a positive outcome for the child in this article. I guess it depends on how long it goes on for. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with encouraging a girl to be feminine or a boy to be masculine, and if they choose not to be those things, that’s fine too. I agree with letting your children become who and what they want to be, but I think this experiment is a little extreme. I live just outside of Toronto, a city known for diversity and acceptance, and where this family is from. I guess I am unclear about why they are doing this in the first place.
Thanks for posting!
Erin says
I saw this yesterday and was equally as fascinated by it. I took many classes in college that focused on gender roles in sports. While it’s not quite the same thing this demand for gender specifications came up A LOT. I’m all about being who you want to be and who you feel you really are. I feel that society does restrict individuals to fit into the pre-determined mold of this or that. I mean so many parents catch crap when they choose to not share the gender or their unborn child, heaven forbid the refuse to know until the little one is here… While I think this is a step further than I would take it, I can respect what the parents are trying to do. I think it’s pretty cool actually. Let kids be kids and don’t make them feel bad because they’re a boy who likes pink or a girl that likes Tonka Trucks.
Jeanette says
New follower from the Sock Hop!
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Twingle Mommy says
I think it’s silly. My kids have always played with boy and girl toys. My oldest is a girl and she always picked out trucks, cars, and other “boy” toys. We let her pick her own toys and didn’t care about gender roles. But I dress her like a girl. She looks so cute in dresses and bows. And my son looks cute in his clothes too. I’m not really sure what they are trying to prove. Why can’t they just give the kid all kinds of toys and let it (can’t say him or her since we don’t know) decide?
Raising Marshmallows says
I just read about this story! I think it’s totally nuts. I’m following you from the Wednesday Hop, nice to meet you. Love your blog title.
grace says
I’m with you and I would have been thrilled if my second child was a girl but am now glad I had a boy.
I think this is going a bit extreme as I had total control how my children were treated by the family members and everyone was treated the same.
I’ve visted before and am a GFC follower so today I joined your facebook page. We are both hopping on the Whimsical Wednesday hop.
Kristin- Take It From Me says
I think it’s a little weird. Aren’t we supposed to appreciate and celebrate them for whatever they are? Why would we try and hide that? I don’t force my kids to play with gender specific toys, they just like what they like. My son used to grab little girl toys and pretend they were cars. I had nothing to do with that. Hmmm… interesting article though.
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Stephanie says
I saw this & was fascinated! I can’t say I really understand their decision but I think what *you* said was very interesting! People squealed when I found out my 2nd was a boy and now say, “You have one of each & can stop.” Huh? Like somehow this was the goal?
No way would my family let me get away with not telling though. And hello, isn’t anyone going to change a diaper? Pretty obvious then…
Amanda T says
Stopping by from the Welcome Wednesday Blog Hop! 🙂
Amanda T
http://ratsandmore.com
Billie R says
I read this article as well and was fascinated. I think it’s up to them how they raise their child, but I would be very interested to see what the child says about this in say ten years. New follower here, feel free to stop by.
Billie
Michelle says
I think it’s such a disservice they are doing to this child. I saw this earlier this evening and couldn’t believe it. I firmly believe that this family is just shopping for a reality show or something equally disturbing, all at the expense of their child.
Kids kids play with whatever they want and have fun, it’s all in parenting NOT in society.