HE LIKES GIRLS’ CLOTHES!

Q: My six-year-old daughter dresses my two-year-old son up in girls’ clothes. She also does his hair and make up – and he loves it! Is this normal? A: Auckland psychologist Jo Bowler replies; Perfectly normal. Your children are at different stages of understanding gender. At two your little boy is still very early in the process of learning that he’s a boy and always will be, whatever he wears. Gender constancy develops slowly in the context of the messages children get from parents and the big wide world. He will learn soon enough about how boys are supposed to behave and dress. It’s impossible to escape gender stereotypes that expect little boys to be staunch and play like little action men. For now he’s just a toddler enjoying his sister’s attention and she is just playing. By six she has already learned about what girls do, and that there is an expectation for them to be pretty. This play is much the same as doing her doll’s hair – she’s experimenting but she’ll eventually tire of this game and he won’t even remember it. You might however consider taking the make up away – especially if it’s yours!