Children interested in movies/games/books geared toward opposite gender. Opinion?

[BunnyLove89]

I am a nanny for a 4 year old boy who I adore. I've been watching him for 7 months so I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly and everything in between. Recently he has started expressing interest in things geared towards girls. He is interested in boy things too (cars, super heroes, sponge bob, etc.) as well as gender neutral things like animals. But lately he's been into girl games, movies, and books, like Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, Barbie, My Little Pony, Princesses, and Fairies.
Is this something I should discourage? Should I mention it to his parents if they're not already aware? I haven't done anything about it yet because as long as it's age appropriate it doesn't bother me. I don't want him to feel like he should be embarrassed about the things he likes.
What are your opinions?

 

[PwnzorsNTittylwinks]

i saw let him do what he likes doing, if its not hurting anyone (and last time i checked care bears and my little pony arent dangerous..lol) then he is okay my little brothers boy have 'girl' things they enjoy doing, just like my sisters both have 'boy' things they enjoy. it doesnt hurt anyone. and who can blame him? some princesses are pretty freaking cool.

 

[degrassi]

Would you tell a girl she couldn't play with trucks or super hero action figures? Kids take this time to experiment and just play.They don't see things as gender specific. Who cares what hes playing with as long as its age appropriate and he enjoys it.

I grew up hating most "girl" toys and preferred ninja turtles to barbies. My brother played my little ponies with us. My niece and nephew play dress up with both "girl" and "boy" costumes.

I personally hate how gender specific toys are being made. Let kids play with whatever they want and don't let us, or society, put any pressure on them. They will get enough of that when they grow up. I would say let him be, making a comment about it tells him there is something wrong with what he's doing.

 

[whitelop]

As a parent, I say that I agree. My son is almost 2 and if he wanted to watch something that was "girly", I would let him. I put on shows and movies and are geared towards boys because he likes that stuff. He he also likes to cuddle with stuff animals and the cats. He always has a stuff animal near by, he loves them. To me, they're sort of girly, but it doesn't bother me.
If when hes older, he decides that he wants to watch girl movies or shows or play with girl things, thats cool too. Kids are kids and they don't understand the difference between boy and girl or see the pink vs blue. They just like what they like and play with things that are fun and watch things that are catchy with bright colors. I highly doubt that its anything to worry about.
And like what was mentioned before, to say anything to him might make him think he's done something wrong or bad, and thats not good.
Let the kids be kids and let them play and explore!
I put on Beauty and the Beast because thats one of my favorite movies and my son loves it! I also put on the Aristocats today, because he likes cats and I like Disney movies because they have good morals.

I was a nanny for a long time and its a tricky situation when you're pretty much "raising" someone else's child. Because its not your kid, but you feel close to and love that kid, but its still not yours. I would mention that he is interested in more of the "girly" things but make sure to tell them that it isn't inappropriate or anything. I hope that they wouldn't be close minded enough to scold him for wanting to play with girly things. They might already know about it and just haven't said anything. But as their child's caregiver, I would tell them because its your job to let them know whats going on with their kid.

 

[Pipsqueak]

My little brother watches all those things too, we don't see it as a problem, he likes to imitate his 9 year old sister so that's part of it.

 

[missyscove]

I'm sure this sort of thing is more accepted where I live in southern California than it is in Arkansas, but as far as I'm concerned there's no more problem with boys liking the care bears than there was with me watching batman when I grew up.

 

[Kipcha]

I don't see anything wrong with it. I was always more into boy things then girl things.

 

[HolyHandGrenade]

I'm not a parent, but I was a little girl who was discouraged from liking "boy things" by my mother, and I say WHO CARES. Your (or whoever's) kid will only think something's wrong with them if you give them that idea. I'm different than other girls, and I was only afraid to admit it because my mother made so many discriminatory statements regarding boy things, girl things, and people who "swing that way". She sings a different tune now that I've explained how those things hurt me. I never would have thought I was doing anything wrong if she didn't have that attitude. I mean, what the bunnybutt is wrong with liking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? I learned it wasn't worth the embarrassment to ask for action figures, so i just asked for Barbies, and played in the mud when she wasn't looking.