First, I want to expose you all to a link of a blog by an absolutely fabulous mother. Her son is lucky to have someone like that in his corner, and handling "mommy war" issues with grace and humor is something that I admire so much. So take a look if the spirit moves you: http://nerdyapplebottom.com/2010/11/02/my-son-is-gay/
Which leads me to my big idea: I realize I'm not a parent or an expert on child rearing, but I plan on being both of those things in the next decade, so listen up. IT'S TIME TO LET OUR KIDS BE KIDS, DAMN IT. It honestly makes me sick that so many parents and educators waste valuable time trying to force kids into these unnatural, grown up roles. They're kids! Let them be!
If your son wants to paint his fingernails, who cares?! I promise you, there are bigger and more important things in this world and your children's lives than what color their nails are today. Furthermore, being exposed to things in different colors and shapes is an ENRICHING experience for young minds. So it makes sense that little ones would want something colorful they could look at any moment! Does it mean they're gay? No. It means they like colors. Who the hell DOESN'T like colors when they're 4 years old?
Kids are supposed to be energetic and imaginative, and instead of embracing that and nourishing it, we try to stamp it out of them. If you look at the young in absolutely ANY SPECIES, nowhere will you find them sitting calmly and doing the same work as adults. So why do we expect that from our kids? If they want to play, LET THEM. If they want to be imaginative, LET THEM. They're going to be grown ups for the rest of their lives, so why start them the moment they enter kindergarten?
The pressure we put on our children today is absolutely insane. I know of a student who didn't even know it was his own birthday until halfway through the school day. How, as a parent, could you let something like that happen? Today, I had a third grader break down in tears because he was so stressed out by the volume of work he was assigned. How, as educators, can we allow this? Children are so unique and amazing in their individuality, we should be encouraging that in them, not disciplining it out of them or pouring pills down their throats!
When you think of the leaders and the geniuses of our generation, and past ones, do you think they were like little robots as children? Definitely not. Something to think about...
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