Would you let your SON dress up as a princess at Disney?

[morethananyonex]

If your 3 year old wants to express themselves by wearing a pair of underwear as a hat outside of the house (which harms no one), what would you do? Would you stop them because underwear does not belong on your head or would you allow it because the placement of underwear is just a societal norm?

 

[NikitaZee]

If your 3 year old wants to express themselves by wearing a pair of underwear as a hat outside of the house (which harms no one), what would you do? Would you stop them because underwear does not belong on your head or would you allow it because the placement of underwear is just a societal norm?

LOL!!!

 

[Magpie]

Because I can't imagine any reason to need to shrug when looking at a kid's costume. That seems about the same to me as someone SMH.

What's SMH mean?

Something unusual caught my eye. I quickly decided it was not actually anything surprising or worth commenting on, after all. I shrugged and kept moving.

Perhaps the difference is that I'm not a huge costumed child aficionado. I tend not to pay much attention to children who aren't mine. Most of the time I forget to compliment them when they come to my door for treats.

Ninjas make me shrug. Superheroes - another shrug. Princesses - definitely worth a shrug. I am somewhat fond of platypuses, but I've yet to see a child dressed up as one.

 

[Goofyluver]

I'm sorry, but why WOULD you let your son dress up in public in a princess costume? IMO, there is nothing normal about it, and I would probably be the stranger staring.

Now if your son was a teenager and openly gay, then I think that is a totally different scenario. But you are definitely setting him up to be made fun of and stared at to let him dress up like a Disney princess. Why not get him a PRINCE costume?!?!

Only gay boys get princess costumes?

so what if said three year old wants to wear a swasticka shirt...is that expressing himself as well?

Comparing symbols of oppression and prejudice to a princess dress?

Three year olds aren't generally aware of prejudice and oppression. Well, at least most of 'em aren't. Some of the poor kids whose parents would shame them for wanting to dress up in a costume, they may be different.

 

[kydisneyfans]

The only way my 3 year old boy would dress as a princess at a character breakfast is if his suitcase got lost on the late night flight and the first gift shop hasn't opened to buy some clothes yet. Even then, I might let him go naked first.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

How about "having a character meal"? After all, that's what the OP is about.

Frankly, Zippa, I'm surprised that you would choose to ridicule the boy this way, even if on a message board, and not in person. I've had enough discussions with you to expect that our opinions here would differ, but you usually state your position much more respectfully than that.

Sheesh, talk about reading waaaay too much into a post. I guess what I quote above is what PeterPan09 would call a lecture post?

At any rate, how would one comport one's self through the MK dressed as a princess? Would it be a solemn march? A stroll? An aimless stagger? A plodding walk? What in the world is wrong with prancing?

 

[TwistGrl101]

The only way my 3 year old boy would dress as a princess at a character breakfast is if his suitcase got lost on the late night flight and the first gift shop hasn't opened to buy some clothes yet. Even then, I might let him go naked first.

LOL

For those of you who WOULD let your SON wear a princess DRESS in public...are you doing it because you just don't want to tell your child no? I don't understand the reasoning...it is not normal. In the society that we live in, (and if you don't believe me walk into any store, you will see a boys' section and a girls' section) boys and girls are distinctly different. For example, boys usually have short hair and girls usually have long hair. Girls wear makeup and dresses. Boys don't. You need to teach your children how to act appopriately in the real world. It would be okay to let them dress in a princess costume in the privacy of your OWN HOME, but NOT out in public.

Just like Europeans go naked on the beach, but when they come to say, Disney, that is not normal for us here in America so that is not how they should "dress."

Would you allow your child to stand up on the table screaming in a restaurant? No, because it is proper etiquette, and that is not how our society acts when in a restaurant.

I get the whole argument of why can't boys do it, just because it's a girl thing. And there is no right answer, but the truth is that there is a such thing as normal behavior and abnormal behavior in society. If you are allowing your 3 your old boy to wear a dress, you are not teaching them proper social skills to survive in the real world. When your son turns 25 and shows up on a business interview wearing a Snow White dress, I guarantee it he won't get the job!! So why allow him to wear it at 3? Seriously, when he sees the pictures in like 10 years he is going to be MORTIFIED!

 

[HonnyDipp]

No one has a problem with a little girl dressing up as Spiderman or Harry Potter, and I hate double standards, so sure, I'd let my son dress as a princess if he wanted to. If it's the first time he did so in public, I'd probably warn him (in an age approprate way) of the judgemental looks and possibly even comments he might get, but remind him that if he gets any, it says more about the other people than it does about him and his choices.

 

[Goofyluver]

LOL

For those of you who WOULD let your SON wear a princess DRESS in public...are you doing it because you just don't want to tell your child no?

No.

I don't understand the reasoning...it is not normal. In the society that we live in, (and if you don't believe me walk into any store, you will see a boys' section and a girls' section) boys and girls are distinctly different. For example, boys usually have short hair and girls usually have long hair.

I have short hair.

Girls wear makeup and dresses.

Not this one.

Boys don't. You need to teach your children how to act appopriately in the real world. It would be okay to let them dress in a princess costume in the privacy of your OWN HOME, but NOT out in public.

Agreed. I'd take a well-behaved boy in a princess dress any day over some of those beasts wielding pirate swords who swing them at their parents and anyone who comes near.

Just like Europeans go naked on the beach, but when they come to say, Disney, that is not normal for us here in America so that is not how they should "dress."

We have laws against indecent exposure here in the states. Would you like to legislate princess dresses?

Would you allow your child to stand up on the table screaming in a restaurant? No, because it is proper etiquette, and that is not how our society acts when in a restaurant.

I'd like to see the research connecting imaginative play or creative expression in 3-year-olds to bad behavior.

I get the whole argument of why can't boys do it, just because it's a girl thing. And there is no right answer, but the truth is that there is a such thing as normal behavior and abnormal behavior in society.

You're absolutely right.

We're forced to accept many "abnormal behaviors" in our society.

Bigotry, prejudice and ignorance just to name a few. (as long as those individuals hanging on to their unevolved selves are not targeting others)

If you are allowing your 3 your old boy to wear a dress, you are not teaching them proper social skills to survive in the real world. When your son turns 25 and shows up on a business interview wearing a Snow White dress, I guarantee it he won't get the job!! So why allow him to wear it at 3? Seriously, when he sees the pictures in like 10 years he is going to be MORTIFIED!

I'm pretty sure if you showed up dressed like Snow White, you wouldn't be hired either.

 

[Magpie]

LOL

When your son turns 25 and shows up on a business interview wearing a Snow White dress, I guarantee it he won't get the job!! So why allow him to wear it at 3?

He won't get the job if he shows up dressed like Spiderman, either.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Sheesh, talk about reading waaaay too much into a post. I guess what I quote above is what PeterPan09 would call a lecture post?

At any rate, how would one comport one's self through the MK dressed as a princess? Would it be a solemn march? A stroll? An aimless stagger? A plodding walk? What in the world is wrong with prancing?

LOL!! I knew I'd get the "lecture post" comment. Sorry, can't help it. I usually feel much less strongly about the actual subject at hand, than I do about the way people treat people whose opinions differ. So, yea, you'll often see a lecture post from me. (I know I did it before in this thread, too.) Sorry PeterPan!!

Anyway, I did not picture the boy walking through the MK in his princess dress in any manner. My girls never walked through MK (or Epcot) in theirs. We brought them with us, they put them on over their shorts/T-shirts quickly right before we walked in, then took them off immediately after the meal was over. I've seen many little girls do the same thing, so I assumed this boy would, too, and would thus be eating and greeting characters in his dress, not strolling, marching, plodding or prancing.

Would you allow your child to stand up on the table screaming in a restaurant? No, because it is proper etiquette, and that is not how our society acts when in a restaurant.

No. Again, that would be disruptive and disrespectful to the people around us. A boy wearing a princess dress is not. Apples and oranges.

If you are allowing your 3 your old boy to wear a dress, you are not teaching them proper social skills to survive in the real world.

That's a pretty huge leap. I've seen lots of girls in batman, spiderman, Harry Potter costumes, etc. Are their parents also not teaching them the skills to survive in the real world?

When your son turns 25 and shows up on a business interview wearing a Snow White dress, I guarantee it he won't get the job!! So why allow him to wear it at 3? Seriously, when he sees the pictures in like 10 years he is going to be MORTIFIED!

If 3yo girls aren't expected to continue wearing princess dresses into adulthood, why would you expect a 3yo boy to?

 

[fastergoofy]

I, for one, would NEVER allow my child to wear a pirate costume! That is not what our society is about. We should be teaching our little boys restraint. I mean, it's just not socially acceptable. I understand if they want to be a pirate in someplace like Somalia, where it is common, but here in the United States we believe in something called RULE OF LAW and ETIQUETTE.

And by allowing your little boy to dress as a pirate, what's that trying to teach them? That it's okay to play with swords? Pirates steal from people, do horrible things to women and coastal towns, download music without paying, think nothing of turning into the undead or blowing people away with powder kegs or dunking them in town wells, to say nothing of buying redheaded women. That any parent would allow that in this day and age, when we are supposed to be civilized, is simply wrong. I won't say they can't parent how they choose in their own home, but they should never be allowed to go "Yarrring" in public.

Besides, aren't you parents doing more of a disservice to them by allowing your little boys to dress up and exposing them to possible hangings? What if someone *gasp* makes a face when they see them???


... what? Why are you looking at me like that?

 

[Goofyluver]

I, for one, would NEVER allow my child to wear a pirate costume! That is not what our society is about. We should be teaching our little boys restraint. I mean, it's just not socially acceptable. I understand if they want to be a pirate in someplace like Somalia, where it is common, but here in the United States we believe in something called RULE OF LAW and ETIQUETTE.

And by allowing your little boy to dress as a pirate, what's that trying to teach them? That it's okay to play with swords? Pirates steal from people, do horrible things to women and coastal towns, download music without paying, think nothing of turning into the undead or blowing people away with powder kegs or dunking them in town wells, to say nothing of buying redheaded women. That any parent would allow that in this day and age, when we are supposed to be civilized, is simply wrong. I won't say they can't parent how they choose in their own home, but they should never be allowed to go "Yarrring" in public.

Besides, aren't you parents doing more of a disservice to them by allowing your little boys to dress up and exposing them to possible hangings? What if someone *gasp* makes a face when they see them???


... what? Why are you looking at me like that?

I'm just smilin' and givin' you a high five.

 

[cornflake]

For those of you who WOULD let your SON wear a princess DRESS in public...are you doing it because you just don't want to tell your child no? I don't understand the reasoning...it is not normal. In the society that we live in, (and if you don't believe me walk into any store, you will see a boys' section and a girls' section) boys and girls are distinctly different. For example, boys usually have short hair and girls usually have long hair. Girls wear makeup and dresses. Boys don't. You need to teach your children how to act appopriately in the real world. It would be okay to let them dress in a princess costume in the privacy of your OWN HOME, but NOT out in public.

As much as you can't understand people's reasoning (and no, it's not just because people don't want to tell their kids 'no.'), I have trouble understanding this.

Why conform or force your kids to conform to that kind of idea, especially one that's so narrow, so geographic, so ... old.

Really? Boys wear short hair and shop in the boys' section and play with trucks and girls wear makeup and dresses and shop in the girls' section and play with dolls? I just... and what if your little girl liked trucks and wanted her hair short and preferred the clothes in the boys' section because they were more comfortable?

Would that be ok because it's more socially acceptable or would she have to wear a dress?

Would she have to wear makeup? What if she doesn't like makeup? It's just... perpetuating these stereotypes does have an effect. There are still, I'm guessing here as I don't live in one but based on the posts, areas of this country where people will go out of their way to ridicule people for dressing or acting not in line with an old, outmoded stereotype.

Someone mocked what some of us were connecting stuff to in the thread but this is connected. This is what leads people to suggest Hillary Rodham shouldn't be president, because she's <insert narrow gender stereotypes here> or that it's weird for a guy to stay home with his kids, there must be something wrong with him because <etc.>. It's just holding us back as a people, honestly.

Did you see the Pelosi documentary about the last presidential election? Clinging to stereotypes because that's just the way society is in places isn't helpful to anyone. What does it get you, really? I'm genuinely asking what following societal norms to this extent (what to wear, how to cut one's hair, etc.) gets you? Is conformity comforting? Less chance of being mocked by ignorant bullies? Is that a just reward?

 

[Magpie]

I, for one, would NEVER allow my child to wear a pirate costume! That is not what our society is about. We should be teaching our little boys restraint. I mean, it's just not socially acceptable. I understand if they want to be a pirate in someplace like Somalia, where it is common, but here in the United States we believe in something called RULE OF LAW and ETIQUETTE.

And by allowing your little boy to dress as a pirate, what's that trying to teach them? That it's okay to play with swords? Pirates steal from people, do horrible things to women and coastal towns, download music without paying, think nothing of turning into the undead or blowing people away with powder kegs or dunking them in town wells, to say nothing of buying redheaded women. That any parent would allow that in this day and age, when we are supposed to be civilized, is simply wrong. I won't say they can't parent how they choose in their own home, but they should never be allowed to go "Yarrring" in public.

Besides, aren't you parents doing more of a disservice to them by allowing your little boys to dress up and exposing them to possible hangings? What if someone *gasp* makes a face when they see them???


... what? Why are you looking at me like that?

You forgot to mention that it's perfectly fine for teenagers and grown men to dress as pirates, if that's the lifepath they've chosen. But 3yos can't understand the consequences of choosing a life of lawlessness and marauding and mistreating of women. 3yos need to be protected from deviant lifestyles, and responsible parents understand that.

Not to mention, in ten years he'll be mortified to see pictures of himself swashbuckling.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

It seems like the same 6 or 8 ppl have hung around this thread and especially the last 10 pages or so JUST to argue with anybody that said they would not let their kid wear a dress.

The question was asked WOULD YOU let YOUR son wear a dress to lunch at Disney.

I guess just to answer with your opinion is too simple. It's a quest to convince everybody else your answer is the only right answer.

I had one arguing with me over and over that YES one side had to be right and one side had to be wrong.

It got kind of stupid for about the last 1/3 of the pages.

But I appreciate all of you who have come and given your honest opinions on whether or not you would let your boy child wear a princess dress at Disney and especially all the WHYs and WHY NOTs.

It's been a great thread.

 

[Goofyluver]

It seems like the same 6 or 8 ppl have hung around this thread and especially the last 10 pages or so JUST to argue with anybody that said they would not let their kid wear a dress.

The question was asked WOULD YOU let YOUR son wear a dress to lunch at Disney.

I guess just to answer with your opinion is too simple. It's a quest to convince everybody else your answer is the only right answer.

I had one arguing with me over and over that YES one side had to be right and one side had to be wrong.

It got kind of stupid for about the last 1/3 of the pages.

But I appreciate all of you who have come and given your honest opinions on whether or not you would let your boy child wear a princess dress at Disney and especially all the WHYs and WHY NOTs.

It's been a great thread.

Here ya' are right along with the rest of us!

This posting thing gets addictive, eh?

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Here ya' are right along with the rest of us!

This posting thing gets addictive, eh?

Yup. It's an itch I've been scratching since April 2003. No use to try and hide that fact.

*Good to see ya around, BTW.

 

[fastergoofy]

I'm just smilin' and givin' you a high five.

You forgot to mention that it's perfectly fine for teenagers and grown men to dress as pirates, if that's the lifepath they've chosen. But 3yos can't understand the consequences of choosing a life of lawlessness and marauding and mistreating of women. 3yos need to be protected from deviant lifestyles, and responsible parents understand that.

Not to mention, in ten years he'll be mortified to see pictures of himself swashbuckling.

EXACTLY. At three, do they really understand the horrors of piracy? Think of the damage it could do to their delicate psyche at that age.

It got kind of stupid for about the last 1/3 of the pages.

But I appreciate all of you who have come and given your honest opinions on whether or not you would let your boy child wear a princess dress at Disney and especially all the WHYs and WHY NOTs.

It's been a great thread.

What? The thread's over? But I just got here! I have lots more material! Come baaaaack!

 

[Uncle Remus]

It seems like the same 6 or 8 ppl have hung around this thread and especially the last 10 pages or so JUST to argue with anybody that said they would not let their kid wear a dress.

The question was asked WOULD YOU let YOUR son wear a dress to lunch at Disney.

I guess just to answer with your opinion is too simple. It's a quest to convince everybody else your answer is the only right answer.

I had one arguing with me over and over that YES one side had to be right and one side had to be wrong.

It got kind of stupid for about the last 1/3 of the pages.

But I appreciate all of you who have come and given your honest opinions on whether or not you would let your boy child wear a princess dress at Disney and especially all the WHYs and WHY NOTs.

It's been a great thread.

Thanks for startin' it, it's most enlightenin'.

I love discussion boards!!