Lovelyish

Parenting: You’re doing it right.

So wonderful.

Wow.  I totally would do the same.

That’s so adorable and has restored my faith in humanity.

 I wish he was my father. Seriously though this is such a touching story. I baby-sit this boy and he likes to do splits and cartwheels and such and his step-dad told him he could no longer do that stuff because kids would make fun of him and he also told him he need to be tough and stop crying. So many parents have such an issue with boys doing anything that is seen as a “girl” activity but don’t they see that if they force the kid to hide who he is he is just going to resent his parents later on.

The world would be a better place if more parents did what this guy did. I think all kids wonder & go through phases & it’s a natural part of life that should be encourages. Standing with his son instead of telling him why he cant wear skirts is awesome! Dad of the year in my book! I’d do the same too!

Father of the year award goes to this wonderful man :’)

A man’s – or boy’s – masculinity should not be dictated by the clothing he wears. Kudos to this parent. 

Yup, I would do the same thing! Kudos to you dad!

Hmmm I wonder if the boy only chose to wear skirts for personal comfort. The dad kinda looks like he is wearing a sarong. 

Absolutely beautiful. There are some wonderful parents in the world. 

One might ask why the boy wants to dress like a girl. That in itself is a harmless enough question but may yield to less innocent history by his friends and family. And how far does the innocent 5-year old wearing a skirt go ? To adulthood ? I appreciate the fact the Father supports the boy. Φ ≡

Personally I think it’s fine and a show of independence – other pedestrians, especially long term may not agree, especially with the Father to reinforce the validity of it.

I think it’s unusual for a child to want to do this, though not wrong. 

I don’t at all believe the dad needs to go along. He can support his child without changing his own dress style. In fact, I believe it would be helpful for the dad to model traditional masculine clothing so his son can feel comfortable with it. 

I’m traditional and not afraid to say it. I believe in gendered clothing (to some extent), and I believe it will be healthy for the child to transition into more boyish clothes in the future. If he has a good relationship with his dad, then his dad could help by showing him that it’s cool to wear boys’ clothes, too. 
Unpopular opinion? Maybe. But I believe the father could help more by doing the opposite of what he’s doing. 

this is an epic win.  for most of human history, men wore skirts/tunics and leggings (what i usually wear nowadays).  

My son wore his sister’s dresses all the time.  He had to go by the same rules she did… no frilly ballet dresses or skating dress worn outside the home.  

@Pickwick12@xanga - but men DID wear tunics and dresses for thousands of years. It’s only pretty recently (in historical terms), that they’ve been deemed feminine. Take the bible – men wore togas, tunics etc. all the time, and even up until pretty recently, that was what men wore, and still do in places like Africa. So, if you’re going to to come out and say the man should be traditional, well, that’s what he IS doing.

My youngest son (4) plays dress up with his sisters, but that is where I draw the line. I prefer to support my children by guiding them in less dramatic directions. To me the ridicule this child was feeling was unnecessary and I would put it simply: if you don’t like how people treat you while you wear a dress, don’t wear it. In the same manner that I would stop my 18yr old color blind son from walking out of the house seriously mismatched, I would stop this too. I don’t want my kids growing up thinking the world has to bend to them, when you do something outside of your society’s norm you need to be prepared for the consequences. Being accepting of behavior that could lead one of them down a hard road over clothing is ridiculous. If it is just a matter of comfort then there are many options that dont look girly.

warms my heart, oh so much.

This is absolutely amazing.

awwwwwww <3

@Pickwick12@xanga - You can’t call yourself traditional if you’re totally oblivious to the fact that, really, men wearing tunics/kilts/togas is “traditional.” As a little girl I refused to wear skirts or dresses. My mom let me wear what I want because she grew up in a home where she was never allowed to wear pants. I don’t think that if the dad told his boy, “Look son, you can’t wear dresses because you are a boy. Be like everyone else. Then they won’t make fun of you” that would be helping him at all. That boy is so so lucky to have such an accepting, supportive dad. I hope his dad shows him that, throughout history, even many of the manliest men – hunters, warriors, leaders – wore bottoms that *gasp* were not pants. 

Seriously, just explain to me how telling a young boy to suppress his real personality, the things he really wants to say/do, and instead to conform is supposed to help him. Would you do that to your own child? Or are you just narrow-minded and unable to accept a boy in a skirt for some reason?

(Personally, I am so grateful to my mother for supporting me in everything I ever wanted to do, even if it broke her heart that she could never buy pretty dresses for me, her only daughter, as a child.)

@hatcherbee@xanga - Don’t you think that’s a sort of victim-blaming way to look at it? People are responsible for their own personal actions, not how other people treat them.

Clothing being gender exclusive makes no sense to me; it never has. Just a few decades ago, it was taboo for women to walk around in pants. Does that mean all of us present-day gals who love jeans are going through a gender crisis (not that there’s anything wrong with that)? Comfort is comfort and you should be able to wear what you want to if it doesn’t break any (reasonable) laws.

Parents who steer their children into what they believe are the “correct” directions are also teaching their children to lack responsibility and self-esteem. When a child makes a decision like this, it’s up to them to find the answers to the issues that come up. If the child comes to a parent and voices a concern, it is

then

up to the parent to help right the wrongs by following the child’s lead. This is exactly what this father is doing, and I applaud that.

When we direct children away from tough situations, we are not only making decisions for them, but we are stunting their integrity and future abilities to connect with others. As a child and teenager, I wore what I wanted when I wanted and though my parents voiced their concerns, I ultimately made the decisions about what happened to my body.

I wore pants and jackets so old they were covered with holes. I wore old sweatshirts. I eventually started wearing t-shirts that essentially broadcasted my sexuality. My hair was multi-colored, I had two pairs of shoes that lasted through high school and some of college, and you know what? No one bullied me about looking “poor” or “ratty” or “rebellious” the way my parents warned. You want to know why? Because I made the decision to dress the way I did and refused to make excuses, feel bad for myself, or allow other people to dictate what I should wear. 

I wore what I found comfortable and what made me happy. This kid, and all other kids, should have the same opportunities. Being able to take pride in yourself has nothing to do with what you wear, what cliques you belong to, or what other people say about you. It has to do with knowing yourself and living each day expressing and communicating exactly who you are.

@hatcherbee@xanga - “Being accepting of behavior that could lead one of them down a hard road over clothing is ridiculous.”

How about the fact that as a parent, you could be leading them down a hard road of body-image, self-esteem, and self-hate issues for the rest of their lives by teaching them that being themselves is wrong?

It’s possible these kids are just playing and that they are not body dysmorphic or transgender, but it’s also possible that part of what makes them THEM is the opposite gender’s clothes.

I applaud the father. In the mind of his son, wearing a skirt isn’t just for a girl. He just likes skirts. I like pants, and plan to wear pant suits instead of skirt suits when I go to work, even though it’s not “traditional”. 50 years ago, I’d be accused of trying to be a man or some nonsense. It’s like how “pink” is only a girl’s color. 

@blackspiders@xanga - @daydreams_nightmares@xanga - 

I never said the dad should tell his son he can’t dress like this, just that he doesn’t need to go along. When I say “traditional,” I mean it relatively, in the sense that men and women traditionally wear somewhat different clothing. Exactly what is worn has changed through the years, but traditionally there’s a gender distinction, and I support it, even if my position is unpopular Thanks for replying.

That’s so sweet! I love it when people are who they want to be– I just want everyone to be themselves & be happy in doing so

@daydreams_nightmares@xanga - I was about to mention that fact of toga, kilts, sarongs, etc, men to this day wear those things (okay maybe not togas but you know) It’s not a big deal. I’m not saying the father needed go to out in a skirt but it’s whatever.

there is hope for humanity after all  

This is so beautiful! I love it!

I LOVE THIS!! I cannot even say how exceedingly awesome I find this to be. I salute you Mr. Pickert.