My tattooed snake/dragon kids

My kids love those fake tattoos, they are always sporting a few of them on their arms and hands.  And while most of the other girls have Barbie and Tinkerbell, Kate's tattoos are always dragons or snakes or something scary like that.

On Monday she skipped into school to show her one girlfriend her new snake/dragon (or dragon snake? It was a snake that looked like a dragon) tattoo that her father had bought for her at the airport (there was GREAT excitement about that) and the little girly-girl scrunched her up nose and said "Why do you like boy things and why do you always play with the boys? Are you a boy or a girl?" 

*crack*  My heart nearly broke. I felt so sorry for her.  Peer pressure already!  My poor little girl is getting ostracized for not fitting in the mold.

Fortunately while I was having 17 breakdowns (<- slight exaggeration for effect) about the exchange, Kate merely shrugged her shoulders and with a slightly bemused expression skipped off to play with the other (boys and girls) kids. 

Not sure if it's a boy/girl twin thing, or because I am not a girly-girl, or perhaps it is just a Kate thing.  Not that it matters at all. I am perfectly happy with whatever flavour my kids come in - girly-girl, boy-girl or anything in between.

Comments

[Jenn]

My daughter(5) is the same way. She's into boy things and prefers to play with the boys. The girls will give her a hard time about it sometimes as school but she could care less.

[Orange]

Kate is a badass girl. She's going to go far in this world! I hope she never gives up the strength of her convictions—shrugging off the loons who want to pigeonhole her is exactly the best way to go.

My son doesn't give a damn if other people are too dim to know that boys can have glorious, long hair and like the color purple. He likes what he likes.

[Stefanie]

How do adults react to those tatoos there? Here, it's considered trashy.

Glad Kate didn't worry over the comment.

[Beret]

Here in New York every boy and girl I ran into this summer had one of those tattoos. The kids LOVE them and no one views them as "trashy". My son got a racecar one at the fair and then got a beautiful flower one at a birthday party.

My 8 year old daughter has always been into "boy" things and sits with a group of boys at lunch at school. They're her best friends. Although she does have girl friends too, she prefers the boys. They're more fun and don't make her play Barbies or dolls which she hates. Girls can get so nasty and dramatic as they get older. I say, be with the boys if it's more fun!

[Chickenpig]

They make such an adorable pair! Long let Kate hold onto her individuality! The great thing about having a twin is that she'll always have someone, no matter how nasty the girls get. And since Adam is such a looker, there will always be girls a plenty that want to hang around ;)

How cool is it that she has the strength of character to remain herself at this age? It is rare, indeed. I always got a hard time from the other girls at school. Thankfully, boys are much cooler anyway. :) A very smart girl, that Kate.

[Lisa]

That's sad... I am not a girlie girl either, and I hate things in pink or typically girlie things. Kate handled it perfectly! It's great that she's so confident!

[ruth]

my 23 year old daughter flats with 4 guys at university, and is almost through her veterinary degree. she farts, burps, and laughs way too loud, and cries at the drop of a hat. she runs 5 ks a day, and her comfort food is licorice. she is smart, funny, slim with long amazing hair, has a hot body, and loves nothing more than wearing gumboots and overalls, and operating on sick animals. her car smells like cowshit and medicine, she has a stethoscope and rectal thermometer stored in the little well between the car seats, and the boys love love love her as she is, and she is HAPPPPPY being who she really is. at times, she dresses up like a princess, with make-up and bling bling, and her tatoos showing, and you would never know that she can wrestle a full size ram to the ground and take a blood test . . . and i wouldnt have her any other way.

kate is SOOOOO going to rock the party, and is already fully in her own skin - thanks to the awesome start she has had in life. the other little girl is just dead beat jealous because kate's life is way more interesting than her own.

[ruth]

oh yeah, and it looks like the 2 year old is heading the same way. we just spent a few days in venice italy where people kept saying 'che bello' (meaning beautiful boy), even tho she was dressed in pinks and purples. might have been the fact that she insisted on 'helping' me carry the stroller over every one of those goddam three thousand bridges we had to walk over, or that her hair grows naturally in what they call a 'soccer mullet' over there - long at the back and nothing at the sides.

she's gonna be who she is - gender aside . . . already is, and i will fight tooth and nail to let her stay that way.

[snickollet]

I have a 3yo boy who is into all things girl. So far, the peer pressure is not getting him down, and he sure does look cute in his princess nightgown! Stay strong, Kate, stay strong.

[Sarah]

My granddaughter's kindergarten teacher told her she could not have tatoos in school as they were too distracting. If she wore them on the weekend, she was to wear long sleeves in school, as other kids spent too much time admiring them. I did not ask her if she needed to wear plain clothes or sensible shoes.
Peer pressure starts as soon as they can talk in a group, so good for Kate, and she will get plenty of practice.

[stacey]

She'll be her very own perfect blend, I'm sure. Just check out that very girly tea-drinking-pinkie in the photo. There's some girly girl in there too.

[Amy]

Good for Kate! Not letting a silly comment bother her :) Great pic of the twins.

[tiah]

Where do you get these? My kids are obsessed with "body art" but the stickers are giving them welts. Looks like they got freakish chicken-pox. They'd go nutty over fake tattoos.

[Slim]

My son was tremendously proud of his multicolor manicure. Then I picked him up at school and he said he wanted me to take the polish off.
Eff you, son's schoolmate.

[Janet]

My niece was REAL little tomboy. One of three girls, my brother always teased and said she was the son he never had! Spy games and spiders, skateboards and soccer balls! Then she turned 12! Now she's the girliest girl I know! Peer pressure is hectic, as long as they can stand up for themselves - stuff the rest!

[Adi]

The ability to shrug of idiotic comments must be the biggest gift an adult can have - not to mention a child. She's gonna be ok, that one.

[Stacey]

Kate is perfect. I love hearing about her and what she's up to. I think she handled it so gracefully too. She's a winner.

[Lena]

Tough being a kid.My stepdaughter (11) is still very innocent and likes games, swimming, music and playing with the pets.She has a hard time too seeing that the other girls are way more grown up and into boys and stuff.Makes me sad too when she doesn't really fit in.I just try and emhasise to her that it is important that she does what makes her happy, and not to worry too much about the other kids.

[Alet]

Well done Kate!

Amazing how these kinds of things doesn't phase them and affects us so much!

[Kelly Louden]

I have an 8 yr old daughter, who, although sometimes wears dresses, etc. likes to be known as a tomboy, and I honestly think she is a little bit of both - part tom-boy, part girly-girl. As a teenager growing up, I was the same, and I think I still am, part of me, loves to go out with friends to dinners and parties all dressed up, but find me at home and camping I am in shorts and t-shirts and generally barefoot! The balance is good and keeps one more grounded! I prefer that, than to the teenagers of today who take their hairdryers and straighteners camping with them and spend hours in the bathroom doing their hair and makeup!

Enjoy her as she is now, it could all change so fast:(

[Mel]

Your little spitting licking billy goat has a much tougher hide than her mama. It's her brother who has the softest little heart on the planet so I worry more about him at school. Auntie Mellie will come and beat up any nasty little shits. Weird how I got the MAJOR girly-girls hey!
PS, how is Boom-Boom, we like him, he is a nice boy!?!

[Kristin]

Kate is a perfectly WONDERFUL little girl and I love her choice in tattoos.

[One of Two Mommies]

Isn't it amazing how protective we are of our kids? I am a child psychologist and love kids, but since having my own I have never wanted to beat up others people's children so much! :-)

[Erica]

My niece A is a tom boy. I think this is great. The "mold" sucks

[Kim]

Good for her! I was the same way as a kid! All my life I have had more guy-friends than girls...even now, as a married adult, i would much rather hang with the guys. Most weekends are spend play poker with the boy or hanging out with my (masculine) lesbian friends - and I love every minute of it!

But that being said - I wouldn't trade being a woman for anything! I love being a woman, I just don't like most other women...lol!!!

[Stella's mom]

Mean Girls. It starts at this age, and it affects everyone. So, while my daughter is a girly girl, when she flashed her sparkly princess shoes at a classmate and asked sincerely, "aren't my shoes pretty." The other said, "no, they are ugly." And my daughter was crushed. It's not about Kate in any way, it's about the other girl having the power to say something mean. And it's something girls this age are experimenting with. Some will like the power a lot and end up: mean girls.

[Serina]

Four year olds have no tact, but if she's not worried, you needn't be. I love how she reacted, actually! I think she's one of a kind!

[twitter.com/5minutesformom]

I would imagine since she has a twin brother who she is so close to, that it makes sense for her to like the same things he does.

I wouldn't worry about it at all.

When my twin sister and I were little we worshiped our older brother and didn't like our older sister very much, so we liked boy things more.

~Susan

[J]

Kate's just more cool than the other girl !

[MollyMorgan]

Kate rawks, love Kate <3
And look how much sweetie-pie Adam adores her in that photo!
She's got it made with him in her corner ;-)

[Elsabe]

My little one is two and a half years old and my heart aches at the thought of someone trying to make fun of who she is. I hope that she will stand tall and shrug it off like Kate did, I really do. We can't always protect them and in the end we all hope that they will be able to stand up for themselves and be their own person.