“There are developmental stages in kids and it is not unusual, particularly for young boys, to experiment and get stuck on certain stimulus items. Particularly because the little boy has two older sisters, he says, it’s not unusual."
“This is not a precursor to your son being gay, He’ll know that in time, but this is not an indication of his sexual orientation."
“Direct your son in an unconfusing way. Don’t buy him Barbie dolls or girl’s clothes. You don’t want to do things that seem to support the confusion at this stage of the game … Take the girl things away, and buy him boy toys.”
“Support him in what he’s doing, but not in the girl things.”
“And if your son is gay, he’ll learn that when he passes puberty and gets into a lifestyle and determines what his orientation is, and his lifestyle will flow from that. It won’t be a choice; it will be something that he’s pre-wired to do, and he’ll know that in plenty of time if he’s an adult. But you shouldn’t take this as an indication of that at this point.”
While I do agree with some of the things that Dr. Phil says there are also some things that I don't. First and foremost, I believe if any child is going to have an affinity toward girl's toys then having siblings that are sisters are not going to influence or take away from that affinity. There are many children out there who are a only child or have brothers that still have taken a liking to girl's toys. While I do agree that this is not an indicator that the boy is gay, I must disagree with Dr. Phil recommending that she discourage her child from playing with the barbies, as this may confuse him more. I do not think she should buy him barbies, but at the same time if he is playing with his sister's toys then she shouldn't interrupt him.
This situation reminds me of mother Sheryl Kilodavis and her son Dyson. I talked about this subject in a earlier post, the link can be found here: http://robbiejolie.blogspot.com/2011/01/response-my-princess-boy.html
I wonder what Dr. Phil would have to say about that situation.
