4-year-old boy wants lipstick, dresses, long hair?

I have a four and half year old boy and a girl who just turned three. My son wants to be a girl. He is into the Disney princesses, he actually cries at night because he wants to have long hair, he wants to put on his mothers lipstick and plays dress up with his sisters stuff. I took him to the Disney store to pick out a halloween costume, but he wanted to be tinkerbell! After a lot of persuassion he agreed to be captain hook. Even at storytime, he wants to hear snow white and the seven dwarfs, sleeping beauty, etc. How do ihandle this? I am afraid if I make it an issue, he will push it more. He never plays with cars, he does like scooby doo and harry potter, but prefers markers, crayons etc.4-year-old boy wants lipstick, dresses, long hair?
He's only 4.. for now, I wouldn't worry about it.


If this continues and he is 8 years old wanting to wear dresses to school, then you should talk with his pediatrition about it.


Some kids are born with male bodies but female minds.


I wouldn't consider it or worry about it now. He's a little kid. i liked boy and sporty stuff when I was younger... and I'm fine.4-year-old boy wants lipstick, dresses, long hair?
Transgender problems are a real thing, and they do often start even younger than your son. You need to find a therapist who specializes in transgender issues, you might check with your school principal or pediatrician.





If he is little girl in a boy's body, and is forced to conform to a male gender--it will cause years of heartache and end in some kind of tragedy.
are you and the mother a gay couple? your name is jennifer and you refer to the boy as wanting ';to put on his mothers lipstick...';


this may be your answer.
And the problem is what? This behavior is very normal in small children...The only ones who vew it as abnormal are those who are homophobic.
the child emulates what he see, how normal!! why do you need to sexualize his behavior? get some counseling.
There is nothing to handle. He may or may not grow out of it. Maybe he is gender confused.
ok well he is little.. they dont really know that much.. just wait like 3 more years, if it continues then you might want to see a doctor or something.. good luck


xoxo
He needs male influence.Does he have a dad?grandpa?uncles?Try big brother if all else fails.
he doesnt know how a boy is supposed to act. He just thinks he is fitting in by being like his sister
There were several stories on this topic on NPR a few weeks ago:


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story鈥?/a>


It is clearly controversial.


My feeling is that you should let your son be who he is. He'll be a lot happier.





My son does not have these issue - he's a boyish boy, but he still likes some of that girly stuff, lipstick, my shoes. And I'm retty sure the reason he likes having short hair is social conditioning (he had long hair until he was nearly 3 and got called a girl a lot; he's 4 now FYI).





But I think the link I provided above will lead you to various interesting articles on different points of view.


Hope it helps
Gender and gender expression is such a sensitive thing for people. Girls and women are able to get away with wearing whatever we want. (Ever see Marlene Dietrich in a tux? Wow!) Boys and men however are not able to get away with wearing whatever they want. And why is that? Would anyone ever ask if they have a girl who wants to play with ''boy'' stuff on this forum? I doubt it. To him right now, being a girl has nothing to do with anatomy and it has more to do with what girls are ''allowed to do'' versus what boys are ''allowed to do.'' Most kids think that if a man puts on a dress then he ''becomes'' a woman. To kids gender is fluid. When it comes down to it. You can not dictate what your son likes or dislikes. This may be a phase and it might not be. Certainly as your son gets older and he still wants to be a girl then there is concern about safety.
I wouldn't worry about it. I used to work for a daycare and and a four year old I worked with loved playing dress up, and doing traditional girl things. He is now almost 7, and does what normal 7 year old boys do including playing cars, sports, and other dumb stuff seven year old boys do. it's just a stage and he will out grow in time. Just be patient. Also, don't listen to the poster above me. This boy came from a traditional family (mom and dad married). Besides, kids from gay homes usually don't have a problem with gender indenity issues as they get older.