Something To Consider.....

Hi it's DAve - the wandering bard, itinerant photographer, husband, author and other interesting (well to me anyway) bits and pieces.

Sometimes things happen, articles may be read, something might have appeared on TV that makes me think "what on earth???"

                              

Now I don't think that I am refusing to "move with the times"!  However, the subject I refer to in the video above really had me shaking my head "in despair" - children are children!, they learn by experimenting and possibly (or more importantly), through play.  Their imagination fuels that process and allows them to broaden their horizons.

In fact, if we take that thinking one step further.....  what if a little girl wanted to dress as a boy, would anyone call that sinister, strange or odd? I very much  doubt it!

So my feelings are this:- if a child wants to experiment with clothing then we should let them, we should let them use their imagination and as such grow.  I believe that we should not attempt to imprint adult biases onto their already impressionable minds.

So before I close this post I would like to provide you with an insight from my own personal experience.

Some years ago, we had a friend who was married with a young family (a boy and a girl) - she, like me believed that children should be able to experiment with clothing if they so desire.  In this case the little boy (I shall call him "Theo" for the purposes of the illustration) used to like to play "dress up" as did his sister "Katy".

Sometimes there would be a knock on the door and when we opened it Theo would be standing there in a Fairy Dress, sometimes a Ballet Tutu or he could be dressed as a Commando complete with black stripes on his face (his camouflage) while Katy may be standing there wearing a tiger suit or some other costume from the "dress up box"

Now, in later life they are both parents and Katy is a policewoman while Theo is a teacher.  More importantly, two more well rounded individuals you could not find.

So, it is my belief that children should be permitted to experiment and grow and I  hope that such experimentation is encouraged so that in later life the games are seen for what they were. Nothing more and nothing less!  

Overall!  I firmly believe that it is unlikely that children will adopt the character(s) they chose to be during their childhood games. 

And I further hope that if you have read this you will adopt a more flexible approach (if necessary), and allow children to be imaginative, playful, experimental and not gender stereotyped. 

So thank you for taking the time to read this post, have a fantastic week!

Be safe, be careful and above all remember

Don’t Predict The Future - CREATE It !

DAve x

PS. if you wish to connect with me please send an email to:- davethemerlin@mail.com