Defy Stereotypes

I’ve always said and thought that children should be people, not genders, and to that end, Luke has had dolls and stuffed animals in his room along with trucks. It didn’t make a difference, though, because he was stereotypical ‘All-boy’ from about a year on. Trains, cars, and trucks are his favorite things. He wakes up in the morning asking for the ‘Choo Choo Show’. I’ve frequently lamented that I got such a stereotype of a child.

Until the past few days.

Luke has a stuffed plush duck that’s about 15 inches high. It usually just sits in his crib, but he’s taken to carrying it around a bit, and calls it ‘baby’. Oddly, the monkey stuffed animal is still a monkey, but the duck is a baby. I’ve been encouraging this baby phase, because it’s nice to see him nurture something, and, you know, we’re going to have to deal with a live, screaming, pooping, eating baby in four months.

This morning we were playing in his room, wrapping the ‘baby’ in a blanket, and I asked Luke if we should put the ‘baby’ down for a nap. He said ‘yeah’, grabbed the ‘baby’ by the arm and dragged it out of the room. Thinking he was heading to his bed next door, I followed, only to see him standing in our room, chucking the ‘baby’ into the dog crate and slamming the door.

We may have a bit more nurturing to work on.