| No Images? Click here  I’d never spent much time thinking about or praising companies that make gender neutral clothing until my nearly 5-year-old son became obsessed with rainbows — rainbow-colored shirts and socks, in particular. You try finding rainbows for pre-K-age boys. It’s damn near impossible. And it’s annoying and, honestly, heartbreaking.My son (and most of his friends) are not even 5 and they already have all these gender norms thrown at them. He has no idea that liking rainbows is, apparently, for girls. He mentioned this weekend that “Frozen” was too “girly” for him to watch, and before I could open my mouth to say there is no such thing, he said that the girls at his school told him so. I’m sure this will become a familiar feeling: Hating to think what he’s learning from other kids that I’ll never know.I want my sons to grow up to embrace differences, stand up for others who are not like them, be sensitive and not be afraid to cry. I want the toxic masculinity epidemic we have in this country to not infiltrate my kids. Which is why it always gets me when I can’t find something as simple as a rainbow T-shirt that will fit my son (though I did find a great company on Etsy, more on that below!). It’s an infuriatingly simple example of the way we treat gender, and more to the point, how we treat boyhood.What do you do in your house to “set the record straight”? Any tips you’ve heard and used over the years? Share them with me and I’ll let others know: katea@huffpost.com.Funniest tweet from parents this week  The cutest T-shirt for boys AND girls
For when your kid is keeping you awake We put such a premium on birthdays in the US — the exorbitant party, the cake, the presents! But how do other cultures handle young kids’ birthdays? We asked HuffPost International editions about their cultures’ celebrations. More stories from the trenches:  A guide to helping you raise the kind of person you'd like to know.Love what you see? Send it to a friend. Did someone forward this email? If so, subscribe here. Can't get enough? Check out (In)formation and The Good Life. |
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