(Why #ThrowbackThursday? Because this piece originally appeared on my previous blog www.grrrlwithboys.blogspot.com on March 10, 2013.)

While I sit here at my local Starbucks pondering my next move in my discussion with my 3 1/2 year old, I’m reflecting on some of the other conversations I’ve had with Jackson since the Toys R’ Us incident. He and I were playing legos in his room and he said something about the little man sitting up in the lego tower. I asked him if he had a little woman that could sit up in his tower too. He said “I’m a boy and I only play with boys toys. Womens are girl toys and only girls play with girl toys.” Realizing my explanation to him in the toy store that “toys are for everybody” didn’t sink in, I continued down this path with my fingers crossed.
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(Why #ThrowbackThursday? Because this post originally appeared on my previous blog www.grrrlwithboys.blogspot.com on March 3, 2013. It’s now December and we’re officially in the holiday shopping season. I imagine many other feminist parents are grappling with what to buy that won’t heap more of the same tired and oppressive stereotypes on their kids.)

Yesterday I took my oldest son Jackson who is almost 4 years old to Toys R’ Us.  I had promised him that if he was good all week that I would get him some “Mighty Beans” that he had seen on Youtube.  More on my Ok-ness with a little bribery every now and then later.  Jackson has gotten very good at using an iPad and we let him watch child-appropriate videos on Youtube.  He discovered these “Mighty Beans” while watching Toy Story videos.  In the store we walked around looking at all the toys trying to find these tiny beans in a sea of colors and catchy names.  Finally an employee asked me if we were finding everything ok.  I told him what we were looking for and he easily directed me to them.  The themes for these beans that they had in the store were Cars, Spider Man and Darth Vader.  I guess Mighty Beans aren’t advertised to girls.  The name should have been a dead give away.  When was the last time you saw a toy for girls that referred to it as “mighty”.   Keep Reading