{"id":3150,"date":"2013-03-04T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2013-03-04T16:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/?p=3150"},"modified":"2013-03-03T17:33:45","modified_gmt":"2013-03-04T01:33:45","slug":"pretty-pretty-princes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/pretty-pretty-princes\/","title":{"rendered":"Pretty Pretty Princes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Princes\"<\/a><\/h1>\n

It started on a rainy day many months ago. Disallowed from their preferred activity of stomping through puddles and rolling in nature\u2019s mud baths, Search and Destroy\u2019s teachers directed our favorite whirling dervishes toward the classroom dress-up corner.<\/p>\n

They went straight for the sparkling tutu costumes. (They clearly take after their mother \u2013 oooh, shiny object distraction\u2026)<\/p>\n

In the days of Dick and Jane primers, the stereotype was classrooms filled with children reading aloud to one another. Those days were followed by split groups \u2013 the lower level \u201cBlue Jays\u201d and the more advanced \u201cBlackbirds.\u201d In addition to a breakdown of academic skills, elementary school children begin to differentiate among themselves regarding gender. The children were assigned the roles that they then performed.<\/p>\n

(Blackbird singing in the dead of night \/ Take these broken wings and learn to fly \/ All your life \/ You were only waiting for this moment to arise)<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Today, they discover princesses in preschool.<\/p>\n

The other day I arrived home from work \u2013 still wearing \u201creal clothes.\u201d<\/a> Destroy decided he needed to follow me upstairs to watch me change. (Rumor has it someday I\u2019ll get to pee alone again\u2026) He looked at me thoughtfully.<\/p>\n

\u201cMommy you have long hair. You\u2019re wearing a dress,\u201d he observed.<\/p>\n

Then, after a thoughtful pause, \u201c\u2026Are you a princess?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Every time we watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (which is a lot), we get to see a preview of Disney\u2019s Sophia the First.<\/p>\n

\u201cMOMMY! PRINCESS!\u201d the inevitably shriek. \u201cCome snuggle with me. I need to brush your hair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet when asked if they\u2019d rather watch the princess show over their precious mouse, I am met with blank stares. \u201cMickey. We watch Mickey, mommy,\u201d they explain slowly and deliberately.<\/p>\n

See, toddlers view gender differently<\/a>. They don\u2019t grasp the concept of boys vs. girls. They just want to play. Or watch the cartoon they\u2019ve seen 873 times already. Because they know that one (Goofy has a ball!) or part of their diabolical plan to drive their parents just to the edge of insanity \u2013 at which point they will be bribed with a graham cracker. (Well played, small peoples. Well played.)<\/p>\n

When last taken to pick out their new kicks (dear god toddlers feet grow fast), Destroy was immediately drawn to pink glitter high top sneakers. That was an easy parenting decision. If you can\u2019t tie your own shoes, you don\u2019t get shoes with laces. Period.<\/p>\n

Search ran toward pink Chuck Taylors. Hmm, I wondered \u2013 is it the shoe he likes, or the color? He\u2019d just as swiftly grabbed the navy blue and black versions of the same shoe so he could have one on each foot. I was in the crossroads of questioning whether we were pushing our children toward their expected social class.<\/p>\n

At what age should the boys be allowed to truly make their own fashion decisions? When they are old enough to realize the potential stigma associated, or now, when no one cares \u2013 but then we will be doing the precise opposite, forcing them against their developing preferences to make a social statement?<\/p>\n

They\u2019re just kids who want to play. In the shoes that will fit them for about three months. And after all, Uncle Paul seriously rocked his red shoes with style in the first grade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I may have been overthinking things. My gender and parenting crisis ended abruptly when cool car shoes caught his eyes. All thoughts of the converse \u2013 of any color \u2013 were promptly abandoned. (To be fair, the cool car shoes light up.)<\/p>\n

\"Cool<\/a><\/p>\n

We headed home, where the boys cuddled with their stuffed lovies while smashing newly built Lego cities into oblivion. Destroy tip-toed over and plopped down in my lap.<\/p>\n

Destroy: My doggie is lying down. She\u2019s sleeping.
\nMe: Is your doggie a girl?
\nDestroy: No.
\nMe: Is your doggie a boy?
\nDestroy: No.
\nMe: Then what is your doggie?
\nDestroy: Mommy\u2026my doggie is a D O G.<\/p>\n

So here, little boyhood continues.<\/p>\n

As I write this, the muppets are supposed to be resting. Instead I am listening to two little monkeys jumping the bed. (BOUNCE! BOUNCE!)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a poo-poo head!”<\/p>\n

“No! You’re a poo-poo butt!”<\/p>\n

How regal. Perhaps we should watch a couple Disney princess flicks to introduce them to chivalry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It started on a rainy day many months ago. Disallowed from their preferred activity of stomping through puddles and rolling in nature\u2019s mud baths, Search and Destroy\u2019s teachers directed our favorite whirling dervishes toward the classroom dress-up corner. They went … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[13,23,377,10],"tags":[65,1197,1013,214,690],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-OO","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1564,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/babies-first-haircut\/","url_meta":{"origin":3150,"position":0},"title":"Babies First Haircut","date":"July 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The lady stared at the side-by-side double stroller for a good 30 seconds, making silly faces at the muppets. Suddenly she looked up. \u201cYou have two!\u201d she exclaimed. Congratulations stranger lady, you can count. She resumed cooing. \u201cBoy and a girl?\u201d she asked casually. Negative ghostwriter. Elementary mathematical skills notwithstanding,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baby Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/IMG_0246-e1311741692628-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3895,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/lord-of-the-flies-or-when-dozens-of-preschoolers-descend-upon-you-dressed-as-superheroes\/","url_meta":{"origin":3150,"position":1},"title":"Lord of the Flies (or when dozens of preschoolers descend upon you dressed as superheroes)","date":"May 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 The cake arrived at 9 a.m. Two tiers of Gotham City and Metropolis fondant bat-signaling that Search and Destroy\u2019s fourth year was upon us. We had to hide the cake in the office. The excitement was already building to a peak, and it wasn\u2019t even mid-morning. The party wasn\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birthday"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Welcome-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1732,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/ball\/","url_meta":{"origin":3150,"position":2},"title":"Ball!","date":"September 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Search has a new word. \u201cBall.\u201d He is very proud of his new linguistic acquisition. This morning, both boys came toddling into the bedroom together where I was getting ready for work. They were giggling and babbling incoherently to one another. (I\u2019m pretty sure they were plotting some intricate mischief.)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Destroy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4016,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/have-blog-will-post-cute-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":3150,"position":3},"title":"Have Blog. Will Post Cute Photos","date":"September 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Once upon a time, I thought this online web log space would be simply for sharing adorable photos of my children. So I'm going to take the opportunity to do so right now. Because I can. BEHOLD THE ADORABLE! \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Baby Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Caden_School-Picture_PreK_09-18-14-214x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":484,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/five-pound-fashion\/","url_meta":{"origin":3150,"position":4},"title":"Five Pound Fashion","date":"July 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"When the nurses originally told us it would happen, Jon and I found it very difficult to believe. Really? Three pounds in a month, we questioned. But Nurse Susan assured us that the NICU folks are experts at fattening up children. Well, today the muppets hit five pounds. Chunksters! This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baby Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/07\/logan_07-26-101.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2857,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/through-the-eyes-of-a-child\/","url_meta":{"origin":3150,"position":5},"title":"Through the Eyes of a Child","date":"October 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The following conversation just happened: Search: ITSY SPIDER! ITSY SPIDER Me: Oh! Are we singing Itsy Bitsy Spider? Destroy: No, mommy. What? The vocal styling\u2019s of Carrie Underwood I do not have, but come on kid \u2013 you\u2019re two. You\u2019re supposed to be entertained by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Miscellaneous"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3150"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3150\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}