I want to tell you a short story. It's a true story and one that each of us can live, every day.
A mother of two children, a girl and a boy, found it very convenient to divide toys, books and clothes into pink and sky blue: these for girls, those for boys. Much less fuss: the sky blue ball is for the brother, you have the pink one… the pink T-shirt is for the sister, you have the blue one… you take the sky blue striped towel, the other one the one with the pink flamingo…
Until one day, when they went on vacation... the 4-year-old girl refused to go swimming in the sea... because it was blue... it belonged to her brother.
Yes, this is just one case... many do this... even pink or blue is an incredible business trend worldwide.
-"For the girl you love? Pink, that is..."
I'm counting how many times I've heard this question in every store for almost 15 years... better not, it's not worth wasting that time.
Just go into a children's toy store, or even clothes, notebooks, toys... in the vast majority of cases, things for girls are pink... at most, some purple...
Good luck to those who created "Frozen" (very educational in some ways considering the fairy tales that come from the past) and we can buy something blue for little girls like Elsa and Anna... how bad we had to deal with the aunts at the park...
-"Why do you dress the girl in gray, she's so pretty, why do you make her look like a boy (?!)
Let alone this great fear of the influence of colors on children's sexual inclinations... (but I'll talk about that another time)
My concern this time too is: why do we try to "fall short" of a child's education?
In this case, perhaps the saying "The short way makes the long way" is truer than ever.
Why not educate children to choose what they want by listening, supporting, and correcting their ideas? Wouldn't it be better to find another way to give children the belonging of their things? To try to understand the inclinations and interests they have? To start a conversation with children about the rights and all the freedoms that a color can never prohibit?
Isn't it better to teach children to share things with others, to interact and to respect each other's space and requests, regardless of color? Why don't we encourage children to understand personal space, personal freedoms and those of others? Wouldn't it be more natural to let them fill their lives with color and be the ones who would choose which color they like?
We need to think of slightly more efficient mechanisms for managing their behavior on a daily basis, which will impact their long-term education.
This is a longer path, but a sure one. It requires attention, patience, and dedication to spending quality time with children. But if we, their parents, don't start, who can do a better job of educating our children?
"Raising a child is like digging a well with a spade," my grandmother used to say...but I'll tell you about that next Saturday.
