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Mum attacked after revealing she is considering dressing her newborn son in dresses.

Sharing on the online parenting forum Mumsnet, the mum says she’s determined to dress her only child in dresses despite his gender.

“He is my first & last (traumatic birth),” she wrote on the forum.

“He’s only 10 weeks so is still quite neutral [That is], you can’t necessarily tell he’s a boy yet!”

“I think dresses are lovely & as I don’t follow this gender society crap of girls wear dresses & pink, boys wear blue & trousers… I don’t see the issue in putting my DS in a dress. However, everyone else thinks it’s wrong! Is it??”

mumsnet

Commenters on the post were quick to point out that the new mum might be projecting her own issues onto her baby.

“It sounds to me like you wanted a daughter,” wrote one commenter. “If he was asking for a dress, that’s one thing. But that’s not what this is.”

“As much as you don’t buy into the gender crap, by putting him in a dress you’re sort of taking that decision of whether to follow it away from him?” wrote another. “If you want to dress him gender neutral then dress him in white baby grows.”

“Sounds to me like you’re just doing it to make some sort of point,” wrote another.

Meanwhile others argued, ‘Would you think it was weird to dress a girl in trousers and a top?’ one asked.

Another made a similar point saying that baby girls are put in frilly dresses every day and can’t voice an opinion about it.

The mum soon hit back saying.

“I am not projecting onto my DS,” she replied. “I simply would like to dress him in various different clothing which includes dresses as I very much like the way they look.”

Many mums did point out that it is really not practical dressing little ones in a dress anyway and that growsuits are much easier.

I remember for both our boys we had a couple of little plain white gowns. They were certainly not the easiest outfit to put on though. Especially the one with buttons at the back. What was I thinking?!

I did have a pumpkin patch one that I flogged to death though. It had the press studs all down the front you could either do it up with or without the legs. It was so easy for quick nappy changes.

What advice would you give this new mum?

Share your comments below.

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  • In years gone by baby boys would often be dressed in nighties. and clothes that resembled dresses. In the first few months it really is a non issue. Just do what is easiest and concentrate on you both being healthy and getting enough sleep.

    Reply

  • let the child dictate and don’t steer them towards the opposite gender role. it is fine for a boy to still dress like a boy and vice versa!

    Reply

  • In the 1930s – 50s all small babies wore the same style of tops and pants. Tops were often smocked regardless of sex.

    Reply

  • Not so much of a problem now he’s so young, but might be when he’s older.
    My girls prefered a legging and a top and now they’re a little older it’s often a jeans and a checked shirt. I consider a legging/trousers and a top gender neutral. My boy loved pink when he was 3-4 years old and I let him wear whatever he wanted when we were around home, even dresses. When he was in kindy he and his friend dressed up in dresses one day, with necklaces and make-up. When the dad of his friend came to pick him up he was not very pleased, lol. I didn’t mind if he dressed like that around the house. Now my son is 11 and doesn’t dress himself in dresses anymore.
    Reading the story it might be this mum has some gender issues. She could buy a lovely natural looking doll and change it in the most pretty dresses.

    Reply

  • Does it matter what a baby is wearing. My oldest sons all had dresses to begin with as they were easier and it was what most babies in the 80’s. My younger children did have grow suits but still wore nightgowns to make changing at night. This little boy is only 10 weeks old and no harm would be done while young.

    Reply

  • I don’t think this matters too much when the child is a baby. Might be a problem as he gets older though and then his mum may have to ask herself what her motivations are.

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  • I am not sure about this. Even if I understand the reasoning behind it.

    Reply

  • My girls hated dresses – so my girls and boys were dressed the same – pants and tops for years till they went to school. Then the girls couldn’t wait to change back into pants and top. And my girls are very much feminine and use their wiles whenever they can get away with it.

    Reply

  • She needs to think about how her son might feel about it in future.

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  • Just be careful not to make your child a target to achieve your goal of it being “normal” for boys to wear dresses. I think there is definitely a bit of gender disappointment happening but babies aren’t dolls and this kid is going to have his own opinion one day about what his mum is doing and it might be that he’s not too thrilled if he’s gone through years of bullying because of this.

    Reply

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