If I Had A Girl...

... I wouldn't do anything different from what I am doing with my three sons now. Those who know Beyonce's latest hit would have an idea what might have prompted this post. The other prompt for this post is this incident which I will relate below.

There was one Friday afternoon when I went to the nail parlour to have a pedicure. In came a well-groomed mother with her daugher who is not more than 8 years old. Lo behold, my jaw dropped when I realised it was not the mother but the little girl who was having her finger nails painted. I found myself asking which school permitted their students to have painted nails? Then I realised it was a Friday and so perhaps, the girl had the blessing of the mother to have her nails manicured for the weekend.

Anything wrong with painted finger nails on a young girl? Hmm... nope, probably not, if you think that it's also ok to have young girls putting on make-up, walking around in tottering heels and participating in beauty contests.

If I had a girl, I would dress her up in comfortable clothes that would allow her lots of mobility to explore the world. T-shirts and jeans or bermudas should be the staple clothes. Smocks were fine too. Dresses were lovely but for practical reasons, would be reserved for special dress-up occasions. Her nails would be trimmed neatly, with no nail varnish, thank you. She would wear flat sandals or rubber-soled shoes so that her feet could develop properly.

If I had a girl, she would play with a wide variety of toys - the same toys that I have bought for my sons which included lego blocks, puzzles, soft toys, playdough, oven and crockery set, hotwheel cars, train sets and figurines of cartoon characters for imaginary doll play. Of course, she would have additional toys that she would choose for herself and if these included Barbie dolls, that would be fine with me too.

If I had a girl, she would read the same books that I have bought for my sons. Just as I have done with my boys, I would restrict her from traditional fairy tales at a young age.

If I had a girl, I would be just as honest with her, be just as sensitive to her feelings and give her just as many opportunities to better herself. She would be given a chance to learn piano, but whether she succeeded or not, would be left to her. She would learn taekwando, rather than ballet, and I would make sure she excelled in it - like her brothers, the ability to defend herself is very important in the real world - more so since she was a girl. But if she had wanted to learn ballet as well, why not?

If I had a girl, I would encourage her to dream that she could be whatever she wanted to be. Yes, even the President of the United States. Or the Best Mother in the World. The same options are available to the boys too - just change that to the Best Dad in the World.

If I had a girl, I would hope that in my old age, she would be someone who would do things with me, whether it is watching the same type of movies that we both enjoy, reading, travelling together or whatever. Someone who would become my friend. Exactly the same hope I have with my boys.