Before I had kids, I knew I would raise them without any gender biases. I didn't want them to think that they could only play with gender appropriate toys. I didn't want my son to think he had to play only with "boy toys" and that baby dolls and such were out of the question. I always say - I am raising a husband and not just a man. He should learn to be nurturing and loving to a baby, have a play kitchen (which J does), know how to push a stroller, etc. I believed that gender was socially constructed and that if I didn't push my son to be a "boy" he would just be himself... whoever that was. Of course that was pre-J. Now I understand what it means to be a boy... he is a species entirely separate from his girl cousins in his boyish energy, interests, antics, and sound effects. I now realize that "boy" is genetically coded into him.
His energy is NO JOKE and sometimes I get tired from merely watching him run around the house and jump off of things all day. Then there are the sound effects. Everything has a sound effect... eating, jumping, coloring, playing, shooting laser, etc. He wants to wrestle, karate, jump off of things, and run around like a cave man. He also likes to play with pretend swords and guns. So far, we have been able to keep violence-ish toys out of our house. J knows mama doesn't play and to not even ask. So, he turns his own hands, drum sticks, legos, play dough, branches, etc. into guns and swords. Obviously I am not doing any good by not allowing these toys in the house. But no one I know has these toys in their house. As parents, there is an unspoken rule that play violence is frowned upon so we just continue to ignore our sons as they wrestle, karate chopp one another, and shoot non-gun objects at one another.
What's a mother to do? Don't get me wrong, I am not going to give in to the violent toys BUT when will he be ready for the fun water guns like those nerf shooter thingy's? What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments section.
