My soon to be 5 year old boy loves all things bright and shiny. He has always gravitated towards the “girl section” when it came to the toy aisle. Sure, he went through the Mickey Mouse and Cars phase as well as the Tsum Tsum, Shopkins and the dreaded FROZEN phase (so thankful that one ended).
While he changed and evolved one thing remained the same. He has always been a super happy, kind and caring little boy. He has always treasured his special toys and he carries them everywhere. He has always liked tiny figurines he could clutch on to while sliding down a slide, or in his car seat on a long drive. In every photo he always has his tiny hands full. His sense of security has come from those special colorful pieces of plastic. When he turned four last year, he found his next favorite show. My Little Pony. There he met Rainbow Dash. A superhero version of the ponies I grew up playing with. She’s badass, as are the other ponies. They’re all bright and colorful and full of funny humor. He is enamored with them. Everything and anything revolves back to “pony power,” “the magical this,” “equestria,” and “cutie marks.”
This year, he also started VPK, which meant he was going to meet kids outside of his close friends who may or may not pick on him for liking these “girl shows” and toys. Sure enough, he has had many kids state that he was playing with “girls toys.” He was even made fun of by a close friend he grew up with. These challenges have been explained to him by his father and I. It’s unfortunate that we have to talk to him about what he likes being considered “different” because that’s bull….
I was born in 1985 and on my sixth birthday, I had a ninja turtle birthday party complete with the turtles in costume and my face painted like Donatello. I also grew up wearing a backwards hat and baggy jeans. So why can’t that gender neutral rule work for my child who wants to play with toy horses that happen to be mostly pink or purple?!?!
He has continued to not get discouraged by his preferences and not being accepted by all, which makes me proud as a parent.
So when he saw that there was a BOYS shirt with rainbow dash on it IN THE BOYS SECTION of Target stating “Current mood … awesome,” he was over the moon!!!! Finally he was able to feel included and not judged or made fun of for loving these ponies. #targetrocks
And for the record, he’s having a My Little Pony birthday party this year for his 5th birthday. He has made the guest list and all the details of what he wants and he couldn’t be more excited . If anyone has a problem with that don’t come.
Joey, I love this post, and score one for Target! The current flux in society is Breaking boundaries everywhere, so why not start with our children? I for one witnessed Cayden play with all the children on the playground, no matter who they were, being totally inclusive. And what a hit he made when he took out that purple sticker book of my little pony stickers, and shared with everyone! He is a sweet, generous, sensitive silly lovely little boy!
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