Bikes and Ballet

I've read books with experts that talk about raising a "gender-neutral" child, i.e., little boys playing house and little girls playing trucks. Let me tell you, it's not possible! No matter how you try to avoid stereotypes, little boys will act like little boys, and girls will do girl things. There are some exceptions, of course, but not in our house! Garrett plays with his action figures as if they were soldiers in World War III. Paige takes those same figures and wraps them up in a washcloth (guns and all), and rocks them to sleep in her arms. Garrett takes the trucks and rams them into blocks, sand mountains, or any available obstacle. Paige takes the trucks and loads up her baby dolls for a ride.
Another example of our "stereotypical" children is their favorite Christmas gifts. Garrett received a "big boy" bike from "Santa" (wink, wink), and my mom gave Paige a ballet leotard and a little dance set. They play with them all the time. Garrett is dying to learn how to ride without training wheels. Paige wants to wear her leotard 24/7, and she dances around on her tiptoes, humming to herself. Now, because they are buddies, they are each trying the other's activity, albeit with different results. We took Garrett to a nice flat parking lot to work on his riding, and Paige took her new little scooter and rode all around while Garrett practiced. And when Paige does her ballet, Garrett jumps right in with his version, which is a slightly more hip/hop/wildly flailing around style than Paige's. So, we are enjoying two different worlds: one of sugar and spice and everything nice, and one of snips and snails and puppy dog tails! And, we're loving it!

bikes and ballet