Back in November I (along with Carston!) made my writing debut in The Washington Post. I was thrilled to have a piece in the On Parenting section. I originally titled the piece "My Purple Train Boy," but it was retitled to, "My boy likes soccer and dance, trains and the color purple."
The lines I wrote that got the most attention on social media are, "And, just like parents of girls are encouraged to buy their daughters copies of Rosie Revere, Engineer, so should parents of boys. I bought that book for my guy because I think it is just as important for him to know girls can be engineers as it is to tell girls that they can be."
This ties into the biggest question all this raises for me, and for others, which I have discussed in the media before-- that when a girl plays with trucks (or something similar), we applaud, but when a boy plays with a stroller people may look askance and parents offer explanations. I don't think gender hybridity will always favor girls, but it certainly does right now.
Carston recently turned three, and as I wrote, I gave him both Iggy Peck, Architect and a personalized Thomas train-- a purple one with his name on the bottom.
I put glasses on the train even though Carston doesn't wear them [if he's like his mom, YET] and he is annoyed because he says *he* doesn't wear glasses.
He is nothing if not precise, but rest assured that "Carston" purple train is now one of the favorites who pulls other enjoys along on the train tracks...
And, for the record, we both prefer Rosie Revere, even though Iggy Peck is also fun!
I'm curious how long the purple, and the train, phases(s) last-- I can't wait to find out.