Tuesday 25 February 2014

Mummy....I Am A Boy


As a parent I would consider myself quite open minded and I am not easily embarrassed, However there are some times in a parents life when even at the delicate age of three a child can make your cheeks burn red and hold your head down in shame.

For the last few weeks or maybe a bit longer Liam has started to realise that we are not all the same, he is starting to differentiate between genders he tells me mummy you are a girl and me and Adam are boys.

realising that he is a boy


I hate that Liam has started to to say I love blue, blue is for boys, I will say to him that anyone can like any colour and he will say no mummy you like pink - its funny how even at his age he is conforming to the the rest of the world believing that blue is for boys and pink should be for girls, I don't think that I have ever reinforced sex-stereotyping with the boys - Liam had a doll and pushchair when he was smaller and they have had both pink and blue things. He also loved Dora the Explora this time last year, now Dora gets a long drawn out errrr Dora is for girls - I guess I thought he would stay neutral for just that little bit longer. Children have to grow up and learning about there gender and sex-stereotyping, goes hand in hand with growing up.

I took the boys out on Saturday to visit a friend with myself not driving it meant catching two buses, the boys love buses chatting away to people and watching the world go by. On Saturday as we ventured the second bus Liam had seated himself down next to an older lady, As the bus pulled out the little lady was asking Liam if he went to school and if he liked it, I could see Liam looking quite quizzical at the old lady and that's when the questions came,

Liam "Are you a boy or a girl?"
Lady "I'm a girl" 
Liam "I am a boy and so is my brother Adam"

At this point I can see Liam thinking about his next sentence and this is how it went

Liam "you don't have a winkle do you, you have a fairy"
Lady not quite sure of what to answer just said "that's right" 
Liam "I have a winkle and so does my brother Adam" 

at this point I sort of jumped in and said enough now Liam the lady doesn't want to know things like that sort of glancing at her apologetically. Only a child being a child Liam hadn't finished what he had got to say .....

Liam " My daddy has a big winkle"     

(face and palms was my initial reaction) Liam I sort of said in my mummy stern voice as he is trying to get his But in, I could feel my cheeks burning, luckily the bus was nearing the stop, as to where we were getting off, I sort of lowered my eyes and head towards the floor and ushered the boys off the bus - why is it when children ask things that put people on the spot their whole surroundings is silent, I am actually beginning to think there is an inbuilt  switch in children's minds - they know the exact timings of when to ask the most inappropriate questions or say the worst things!




So you see Liam is definitely getting to grips with gender and why men and women are different, it is normal that he is going to say this type of thing I guess he is making things clear in his own head, I just hope he doesn't say it to random strangers again.  

I am really hoping that little old lady seen the funny side of their little conversation, just like I have now! have your children ever embarrassed you with there inquisitive questions? I would love to hear your stories.


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7 comments

  1. I'm sorry but that really made me laugh! I'm not looking forward to when my little boy comes out with stuff like that!

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  2. Oh no! That did make me chuckle though! I'm dreading that stage...

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  3. Ooopsie! This did make me laugh though. Sorry!

    My little boy is only 1 so I have all of this to come!

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  4. Aww bless him Helen, this really made me giggle! Completely agree about that inbuilt switch, Ruby still chooses to ask the most awkward questions in public too! :-) xx

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  5. Hahaha, that's brilliant! Really made me smile :) #BinkyLinky

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  6. That made me laugh! Thanks for linking up #binkylinky

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  7. HAHAHA!!! Awww love him!!! I remember one (of many) incidents when Izzy was little, probably of a similar age... There was a large gentleman near us in a shop and she said at the top of her voice "Look Mummy!!!! That man has a baby in his tummy!!!!" ARGH! Swift exit from shop!!!!

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