Quick Hit: Peter & Jane

My folks have been renovating their house, which in turn means lots of boxes and bags of stuff end up at my house because, "we don't want in anymore - get rid of it! we thought you'd like it."

And for the most part, I do! They've given us a bunch of great cookbooks and a ton of books that either my brother or I used to read all the time. However, in the latest batch of books I found this gem:

A reading primer from 1964 that I had never seen before.

My love for all things nostalgic kicked in and I immediately started flipping through it, leaving the pile of Curious George and Magic School Bus books to be sorted through later.

It's not that I'm surprised, really. I kind of assumed Peter and Jane were going to hit those stereotypical gender roles over our heads something fierce, but I held out a little hope that maybe...just maybe, Jane would toss on a pair of overalls and Peter would pick out a stuffed puppy.

Thankfully, only five minutes after I had flipped through Play With Us, EZ ran up to me and insisted we read from the stack of Eric Carle books that had also shown up in this particular box from my mom.

Bugs in my kids literature? Sure. That, I can get behind.

Quick Hit: Transgender Child

Katie, a reader of this blog, sent me a link to a video clip about a 7 year old transgender child almost week ago, and I've sat on it, trying to figure out the best way to approach it.

In the end, I think it's best if I just share it and allow you all to take from it what you will. I will say that (in my own family) while EZ loves pink, painted nails & dressing up like a princess, he is also very adamant that he is a boy and is both comfortable and confident about that point.

For me, having a son who just happens to dig traditionally feminine things and dealing with a transgender child are two wholly different sides of a similar coin. I'm not trying to compare or contrast, just simply passing along this video (that - for me - is bittersweet)... eager to hear your thoughts.