Toddler Clothes Set Bad Example
Ugh! Really Gymboree?
Here we go again right?
Clothes for our kids which encourage gender stereotypes to live on our society. One we have been trying to break for women… well forever!
Now Gymboree is jumping on the bandwagon with their Smart like Dad and Pretty Like Mommy t-shirts. Yet in the same line of clothing there is nothing along the lines of handsome like Dad or intelligent like mommy.
I don’t know about you, but I am worth more than my looks in our family, and I certainly want my daughter to feel the same way as she grows up. I don’t want her to feel like she has to be pretty, or make an effort to do more to change her appearance so she can live up to t-shirt stereotypes.
Same goes for my boys, of course they are handsome like their daddy, and they are incredibly smart, but I don’t want their clothing to teach them they can be smart while their little sister is going to have to be a super model to get through life.
Maybe I am just looking into these shirts way more than I should be, but come on Gymboree! How about we start getting some shirts that encourage little girls to go to college, and get great grades? Do more than just be pretty.
Of course we should encourage them to take care of themselves, and I absolutely love to feel pretty, but there is also a brain in my head! Just like most women!
What do you think about the growing trend of child clothing along these lines?
photo: gymboree
Bad parent: Clothing Optional (I let my kid run around naked)
I would hope a onesie for a baby that can’t even read yet wouldn’t teach them they are ONLY pretty or ONLY handsome. Those slogan shirts are not my cup of tea for children that have yet to put across a verbal thought of their own. They are simply “cute” and not something I would buy, but I know plenty of parents who would. I don’t think their children will necessarily be harmed by it LOL
I didn’t think there was any harm to the cute sayings on baby clothes until my daughter was old enough to talk. Then when we’d say, “You’re silly” or “You’re smart” she would answer, “No I’m not! I’m cute!” I realized that people are always reading baby outfits out loud to the baby, and my daughter absorbed it. If she has siblings, I’m going to have to try hard to find either plain clothes or ones with a wider variety of messages on them.
I’m glad you focused on this. I was pretty disgusted when the petition came to me thanks to momrising. I know people will continue to say “It’s just a shirt, blah, blah, blah”. No, it is not just a shirt. It is not just a cute little saying. It is not harmless. We have elementary aged girls dieting and wishing for plastic surgery. We have pre-teens sexting and getting caught up in trying to be sexy. We have high schoolers committing suicide because they are bullied. And we have women who are beaten into submission and feel they have no way out. There are many factors that lead to these horrific things. There are also many factors that prevent these things. Instilling a sense of self; feelings of worthiness help to teach young people that they are important and that they have value. When we teach a young woman that the only thing that matters is whether or not she meets certain criteria of appearance, we are also teaching her that she is worthless and unimportant. And a woman who feels unimportant is more likely to harm herself and allow others to harm her, whether it be through drugs or abuse or suicide. I realize that these are shirts geared towards babies, but the messages we receive in childhood stick with us for a long time and they set the stage for what values (or lack there of) are passed to us.
You can find Smart Like Mommy onesies on CafePress!
http://www.cafepress.com/smartlikemommy
I agree that there are a lot of clothes for small children that send subtle (and in this case not-so-subtle) gender messages. It sometimes seems that every item of clothing for girls MUST contain at least some pink – until they are old enough to have grown their hair out (heaven forbid a stranger can’t tell if it’s a boy or girl at first glance). My daughter just turned two, and it has been hard to find clothes that don’t reinforce stereotypes – girls should be pretty princesses, and boys should be rough-and-tumble badasses. Nothing wrong with being strong and active, and nothing wrong with looking good – but I want to validate all these traits in my daughter (with the emphasis on what she does, not how she looks).
The smart like Daddy one is really cute! It looks pretty gender-neutral as well. I would put it on my daughter. Are you afraid to shop in the boy section for your daughter?
Suicide because of a onesie that someone gave you as a baby? Some of the people on here need to lighten up!!! It is ridiculous to be “disgusted” and all upset because of something clothing says. Don’t buy it for your children if you don’t want to. It is that simple. I think it is adorable for children to wear clothes that say “too cute” or “handsome.” If children grow up never being told anything like “you are so cute, pretty, handsome” etc…how do you think that will affect their self-esteem? Blowing something way out of proportion seems to be part of the problem with parents these days and it is only going to get worse when people can’t take something for what it is and just MOVE ON!!
Everybody who is ACTUALLY angry about this is joking, right? It’s a t-shirt…
If your child grows up to be superficial and sexist, I can ASSURE you, it had nothing to do with a t-shirt they wore when they were a baby.
wow. Some people have too much time on their hands. If you don’t like the shirt… don’t buy it. Problem solved.
While I may not agree with the sayings and they could expand on the sayings. This is absolutely NOTHING new. Clothing like this has been around for at least 30yrs.
I am a toddler teacher and find that the real problem with these shirts is that parents who buy them treat their children accordingly. It’s not just gender stereotypes either. I don’t know how many children come in wearing things such as “I rule the roost” or “King of the Castle”. These are the ones who truly believe that they are smarter than the teacher and do not have to do anything that they are told. And no, that does not describe every toddler out there. Given the proper guidance and respect (and demanding it in return) a toddler is very capable of learning good manners and proper etiquette.
To be honest, I can agree with the disgusting part. And actually my mom shopped for my 2 older brothers and most of my clothing was boys, and boy did I get the worst of it. It doesn’t matter to other children if it’s just a shirt and lightening up isn’t going to helpe. @Holly- I went through most of elementary school wearing boys clothes and being called fat and ugly because they were 2 sizes too big. All the other girls had pretty pink dresses and such. It literally killed me until Junior high and I got boobs. @Rae, I don’t think it’s a joke to be angry about this at all. I may not be a mother and I may only be 21 but I’ve seen people get thrown out of stores because of their shirts and how offensive they are. T-shirts these days perpetuate what my mother used to tell me not to do. and that’s be rude and disrespectful. Honestly I was a tomboy because I rebelled against the fact that the other girls in my class thought I was ugly because I had my brother’s power ranger shirt or something, but when I got older I got a huge lecture about how girls need to dress and act. I was to be prim and proper. I had to were things that were flattering and delicate. Screw that. Some girls don’t take that thing lightly.
I don’t mind my kids hearing “Smart like Daddy,” because their Daddy IS smart; I certainly wouldn’t have married a stupid man! I want my children to respect their father. I personally don’t like the shirts (and shows, and commercials) that teach children to disrespect their fathers, to look on them with scorn or contempt, to view them as bumbling idiots. I don’t buy anything that says, “I’m in charge,” etc., because they already think that, and my job is to teach them NOT to!
As for girl clothes always having pink or purple… It’s annoying, yes, but not nearly so annoying as trying to find church-appropriate clothing for boys! Most clothes for boys are either shorts and sleeveless tanks, or t-shirts and jeans, or cargo pants and bizarrely-striped or plaid button-up shirts. Want a plain white dress shirt and slacks for church (no, not a wedding tux!) and you have to pay at least twice as much at a department store. Ties – what a joke. If it weren’t for the internet I’d despair. The girls section overflows with fancy, frilly, adorable dresses, but the message for boys seems to be, “Why bother making them look sharp or attractive?” So they’re going out in the world rather casually dressed, and that sends a message, too.