Trucks are for Girls

During our recent Maine vacation, I took Caitlin to Reny's, a self-proclaimed "Maine Adventure." Reny's sells items such as, plastic lawn flamingos in various heights and colors, boogie boards, Crocs, last season's Oshkosh Bogosh fashions, hunting supplies, and wicker furniture. Reny's also boasts an impressive toy section, complete with a variety of beautiful, wooden Melissa and Doug toys.

I took Caitlin to Reny's to buy necessities for the condo and pick out a new toy. After eight days in Maine, the five toys I packed in my L.L. Bean tote no longer cut the mustard. As we entered the toy department, Caitlin made a beeline to the truck section. My little girl loves trucks. She also loves airplanes, trains, bicycles, sailboats, vans, cars, motorcycles, helicopters, hovercrafts, and all other things that go. Despite an affinity for all modes of transportation, trucks truly captured Caitlin's heart. Since we did not have trucks at home, I encouraged her to choose a roaring, enormous, shiny truck to call her own.

As Caitlin inspected truck after truck, a little girl about three or four years old wandered over to us. Thinking she may love trucks as well, Caitlin handed a green dump truck to the little girl. Rather than accepting Caitlin's generosity, the little girl said to me, "The girl toys are down this aisle." I followed her finger to an aisle exploding with glittering tiaras, plastic cases filled with Barbies, princesses, and ponies, dress-up purple feather boas with matching purple high heels, costume earrings and necklaces, and pink, pink, and more pink. "Thank you," I responded to the little girl, "But my daughter likes trucks." Miss Informative shrugged and walked back to her parents. As they walked into the Pink Plastic Tunnel of Princesses and Fairies, Caitlin found a new red fire truck with a ladder that moves up and down to capture her attention. She showed no interest in the pink aisle and I did not encourage her to move.

My conversation with the little girl at Reny's made me wonder, when do children begin to notice the difference between "girl toys" and "boy toys?" What happens to the little girl who loves playing with trucks, rather than playing with dolls? When do children begin to tease the little boy who loves Barbies and playing dress up?

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a construction worker more than anything, despite my mom's "how 'bout an architect?" suggestions. I loved building with blocks. I wore a yellow Tonka hard hat, evidenced in many of my childhood photos. It wasn't until I was in second or third grade that I showed any interest in Barbies, My Little Ponies, and other toys deemed girly. Much like Caitlin, I had interests that lay outside of typical gender expectations. Sure, I had dolls and stuffed animals, but my heart belonged to the blocks.

Caitlin's heart belongs to the trucks. I hope she will stay true to herself. When she grows older, I hope Caitlin will continue to follow her interests regardless of what others think. I love that she plays with both baby dolls and trucks. I love that she doesn't show much interest in the Pink Plastic Tunnel of Princesses, at least for now. However, if one day Caitlin wants to walk down the Pink Aisle I will encourage her choices just as heartily. I will just miss listening to her make little "Vroom, vroom" sounds as she steers her dump truck across the hardwoods.