Parenting

SHRED

(28,136 posts) Sun Oct 14, 2018, 03:07 PM Oct 2018

My 7 year old grandson fractured his elbow [View all]

He's gonna be okay although it did require surgery to place a set screw to hold the fracture in place.

Contacting my son in-law he assured us he is recovering fine and then he said, "He's tough".
This struck me the wrong way and got me thinking...

I have seen comments on FB, and heard in person, comments about my young grandsons.
Terms like this are expressed, "He's gonna be a heartbreaker", "little man", "stud muffin", etc..

These bother me.

It just seems, as a society, we can't let little boys be little boys. Would we tell a little girl to, "shake it off" if she fell down and skinned her knee? Or call her a "little woman" or a "sex kitten"?

I have seen, in my 62 years, a great emphasis on little boys being essentially told that anger is about the only viable emotional option. Anything else isn't "manly". Anything else is "weak".

Am I being too sensitive?
Does anyone else notice this?

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11 replies

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Highlight:

My 7 year old grandson fractured his elbow [View all] SHRED Oct 2018 OP

Giving any child the mental tools necessary to "shake off" lifes ups and downs... ret5hd Oct 2018 #1

The "tough" and "stud muffin" seem to go hand in hand SHRED Oct 2018 #3

I have a son and a grandson, and I have never used those terms with them -- and haven't Nay Oct 2018 #7

i dont have brothers, sons or grandsons.... im no help here... samnsara Oct 2018 #2

You're not being "too sensitive." You're being aware. n/t NNadir Oct 2018 #4

Good for you snowybirdie Oct 2018 #5

Thanks SHRED Oct 2018 #9

I started calling my niece "little woman" DURHAM D Oct 2018 #6

You're not being too sensitive, IMO. MontanaMama Oct 2018 #8

I think you're correct SHRED Oct 2018 #10

Message auto-removed Name removed Nov 2018 #11