Dear Ann Landers:
My daughter attends a preschool for children between the ages of 3 and 5. One of the little boys in her class has beautiful, curly hair and wears it long. He also wears ruffled and frilly dresses and stockings with designs on them. He plays with dolls and other "girl" toys. This is very confusing to the other children. They can't figure out whether this child is a boy or a girl.
One of the other parents says it's probably easier for the boy's parents to let him wear his sister's clothes than argue with him every day.
This child's parents are very accepting of his behavior, and don't seem to think there is anything wrong with it. In my opinion, they need to have their heads examined.
Ann, do you think this is OK, or will it hurt the boy in the long run? Shouldn't those parents be dressing him in gender-appropriate clothing? I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.
NO NAME, NO CITY
Wearing girls' clothing and playing with dolls will not make the boy gay. We now know that homosexuality is a matter of genetics. In other words, they are born that way. Most experts believe children should be permitted to have a say in what they wear. When the boy is older, he may be uncomfortable wearing "frilly" clothing and rebel. Meanwhile, MYOB.