I came home to find my 9 year old son and his friend in girly dresses thanks to his older sisters should I?

Question

do anything to stop this they are stating to put makeup on the boys and curling their hair or just let them enjoy their girly time ?

The boys seem to be enjoying the attention!

Answer 1

I'd let them go, It probably is a attention thing..

No doubt they will get bored of it themselves.

Answer 2

i guess you dont have to do anything, just dont let them get used to it

Answer 3

That's hilarious! Go ahead and let them have their fun, it's not hurting anyone. And make sure you take some pictures to show their future girlfriends!! LOL =]

Answer 4

LOL this is so funny! I think you should play along and help do the boys hair and makeup! Dont forget to take pics for the album!

Answer 5

Don't worry about it, my sons had this experience with their older sister and they grew up fine, totally normal and just a tad embarrassed when you bring it up in conversation.  The boys are 16 and 17 now, their sister is 19, and everyone has turned out fine.  It is pretty funny tho huh?  Lol!

Answer 6

haha. let 'em have fun, but don't let it get too far.

Answer 7

I would make a big deal this time, but I wouldn't encourage it.  Good Luck!

Answer 8

Im curious if you get some thrill out of asking these questions? =/ You make up scenarios and post the question 5 times, you could ask a question without the made up stuff and still get answers you know..

Answer 9

It's perfectly normal for boys and girls to play around with dress up at a young age.  At 9 there is no sexual recognition (unless things are out of the ordinary) and will not affect in any way their preference for a future mate.  While most boys begin to realize their tendencies around 12 and 13 for the majority, even then sexual identity isn't set in stone sometimes until the early 20's and definitely should not be labeled as such.  Your concern stems from our cultures current state of homophobic reaction.  Just because a boy is emotional or acts "girly" from time to time when they are young, has nothing to do with his future choices.  Like it's been stated, any boy with older sisters or cousins has probably gone through this.  I would highly recommend a couple books for you to explore in regards to help with raising boys in todays culture.  They help clarify what is normal and what is not, which is especially important in todays culture where what it means to be a man by todays standards is hardly definable by most people.  The first is "Real Boys" by Dr. William Pollack.  He is psychologist at Harvard Medical School and explores our generations "silent crisis" and challenges parents to open their eyes to what boys are really experiencing as they grow up.  The second, not quite as in depth, but a great read none the less is Micheal Gurian's "The Wonder of Boys".  He matter of factly puts out there what boys are looking for and need, despite the changes in culture and society.  Having worked with boys in various contexts for the past 11 years from ages 5 through 19 I highly recommend anyone who works or parents boys of this generation and the next to learn more about what it means to be a boy and a man in the context of today.  Some things have changed, while others have remained the same.  It's important to be able to identify what those needs are if we are going to be able to bring responsible, self assured young men into tomorrow.  At 9, it's perfectly normal.  At 13, maybe its time to be concerned.  But each boy is different and we need to realize that no matter how good our intentions may be, there are some things that are true whether we believe them or not.  Your son, and his friend, are perfectly normal little boys despite what some people here offer as opinions.  But it does go to show how little our society really knows about masculinity and sexuality for that matter.  Hope this helps.

Answer 10

From a male perspective I would put a stop to it. There are other ways to get attention from older siblings than to allow them to dress the boys up. And if you continue to allow the girls to do it, they will get more and more unrestricted into possibly parading them in the streets in front of friends and possibly even family.

Answer 11

awww! that's so cute. it's just dressup. who cares if tehy're boys?

Answer 12

It's no big deal. My and my sister in law did this to our nephew and he grew up just fine. Same with my husband. He has 4 sisters two older and he is perfectly normal. This wont hurt them in any way. Or effect their sexuality.

Answer 13

Um no, that isn't right and you should and need to put a stop to it. If you don't find anything wrong with it , fine, let them play dress up with your son, but stop it with his friends. If i was the parent of one of those boys, you'd be hearing from me.

But it isn't right. If you daughters want to play dress up, tell them to buy dolls.

Answer 14

just let them play! its fun for kids, they can pretend for a while.

I remember when i was kid i dressed my little brother up as a girl haha he enjoyed it!

its perfectly harmless until they want to start wearing that all the time.

Answer 15

this is completely natural. Almost every young boy I know that has an older sister has done this and the boys are all completely normal now, 10+ years later. Let them have fun.

Answer 16

lol I have a 9 year old boy and girl. I wouldn't be worried. They are just having some fun. It is better than them fighting. Mine are in bed because it is the first day of the holidays and all they did was fight. By 7pm I was fed up with them niggling each other so sent them to bed with instructions that if it happens again they will be in bed even earlier tomorrow.

Answer 17

let them have girls

Answer 18

they are kids, let them play..heck  my husband is a big ole redneck guy and even he will let our daughter and his little 12 year old sis put make up on him and play "dress up" sometimes lol

he let our 9 year old daughter paint his toenails and then was called out of town to work where he rooms with he rest of his crew (2 other guys)  she never took it off and he took some ribbing over that one lol. ...we even have a pic of him in eye shadow and a feather boa...beard and all   lol.  its all in good fun.

break out the camera and save the pics till they are older  and know to be embarassed by them lol.

Answer 19

This is just fine... First of all - dress up is fun... The girs probably thought it was hilarious and 9-year-old boys tend to be curious.  I have a six-year-old son who walks around in my heels and has the girls at daycare paint his nails.  I have no concerns about his sexuality (and nor would I care)... If it's any consolation, my little brother put on one of my dresses for the first day of kindergarten because he thought that's what people wore to the first day of school (because my mom always dressed me up).  We laugh about it to this day... with his wife... Children explore gender roles and boundaries... If he were hiding in the closet trying on his sister's clothes, there may be reason for concern, but something like this sounds like play, and it sounds like they were having fun!!! And of course they are enjoying the attention...

Answer 20

There is nothing wrong with it.  Boys and girls both go through a "gender bending" phase that has nothing to do with their sexuallity.    My oldest brother has a trunk of old clothes at his house that all of the kids in the family take from or "donate" to from time to time, his son used to get out my older sister's "mini dresses" and go go boots, put on an old blonde wig from the 60s and prance around the house.  We still have vidoes of him like that.  Who would have known that he would grow up to be a decorated Marine who saw action in Iraq, came home got married and is awaiting the birth of twins any minute now...

Relax, homophobe, it's a normal phase.