4 year old boy wanting to act like a girl

[anagh]

My 4 year old son likes color of pink and prefers anything that is pink.  He puts a blanket on his head pretending to have long hair. He also acts out having nail polish on his fingers etc. we keep reminding him that he is a boy not a girl. Today he told my wife that he is half boy and half girl.  We do not know what to do and say anymore and our concern is about him acting feminine at times. Will this go away or continue to expand...


This discussion is related to 5 year old boy prefers girls toys, clothes, and play acting, hair, and Etc..

[RaveWolfie]

That is not how you should respond to him. Respect his interests and let them flourish so he can grow as a well rounded happy person, think of someone important to you disapproved of what you liked and pushed you away from it, especially as a child.
And you should note that looking feminine things does not mean he wants to be or act like a girl. He can like feminine things, let him. It's fine.
It may go away or it may continue, it could easily be a phase or it won't be, but support your child the whole way and it will be fine

[CJCR0824]

Posted this below but just figured out how to send to you. Almost 10 years later, did he remain feminine or grow out of it. Just curious as I have a very feminine son who is 4. Does the same thing as yours did and my fear is him being teased in school. We’re in a very small town and kids can be cruel.

[lolatel124]

Did your son grow out of this? I have a four year old who is doing the same.

[specialmom]

What is your son doing to act like a girl?  All people, male and female, have hormones of both sexes.  It's okay for a male to be feminine and a female to be masculine in varying degrees.  Truth, when I was young, I loved boy stuff.  I had a belt that was my cousins that had a bit buckle that said MIKE on it that I wore all the time.  That with a football jersey.  I mean . . . if you saw me now!  Not anything to do with me as a person but a phase.  My older son loved his barbie and would dress up in things we had that were lady like.  He also dressed up in things like super hero costumes and cowboy costumes.  He's now an older teenager. Not a memory of any of that. Other kids for their whole lives feel like they are a different sex verses the one they were born to though. This becomes apparent more and more as they get older. My suggestion is to just let your little one enjoy life right now and not worry about these things.  What happens will happen over time. Very good chance that it is just a phase.  And if not, that becomes more apparent later. And then you still love your kiddo for being who they are.

[LRM1021]

Agreed -- he is most likely just role playing. This is nothing to be concerned about. By the time he is 7, he will be most likely be into an "anti-girl" stage.

The time to be concerned is if he is 8 and he talks about how much he HATES being boy, and WISHES he was a girl, or insists that he is a girl-- then you need to take him for evaluation.

But for now-- sounds like he is having a good time:)

[jd1419]

It is okay for him to like girl things at this age...he is trying to find his true self--and it is probably a stage that he is going through...My boys love to do boys things but they were given a doll to take care of for a few days and they wer very gentle and very caring just like a girl would be...I found nothing wrong with them taking on some female characteristics toward the doll.  Just try and balance his life with what he likes doing--he will find his perfect nitch.  Also is he around a lot of little girls or girls in the house....for if he is he is just imitating what he sees.

[CJCR0824]

Just curious if he grew out of this or if he continued to be feminine. Figuring he is 13 now, just wondered how he is now.