The Uninventive Section

This tip brought to you by our Parent Guru Patricia Walters-Fischer on Apr 01, 2010

So I'm standing at Target in the aisle with my daughters. Part of our routine when we go there is we walk through the doll area and they point at things they think is cool. (Also, it is qualified with "I'm not buying anything for them at that moment.") The routine works well and we seem to get through a regular shopping visit with little or no drama.

But as I'm standing there, I hear a woman informing her child of the different colored toy aisles. "The yellow one is learning toys, the blue is toys for boys, and that pink one is the unimaginative section."

She pushed by me and didn't say a word as I stood there in the very pink aisle.

Her school aged son struggled to keep up with her OCD pace and look of determination that said "I'm on a mission to screw up my son, don't mess with me"

Because her statement was so absurd, it took me a minute to process what she said.

Did she just call me and every other parent who's purchased anything marketed "girly" unimaginative? That we encourage our girls to do nothing creative or by purchasing such products we are encouraging them to be mindless mouth breathers?

That's right, anyone who plays with dolls just waits for the doll to create the games, to dress themselves, and set up the castle, the fort, or the adventurous maze. They are the ones who act out the show, dive into the depths of the bathtub and get stuck in the toilet on purpose.

All we unimaginative people do is sit there and wait for these inanimate figures do all the work because these things made of plastic are so agile, strong, and inventive.

It requires no creativity or imagination to play with Barbie, dolls, or anything in the pink color spectrum.

I wanted to tell her my daughters not only play with dolls, but they also know all the standard tools in a tool box, how a house is built, love bugs, and they have more Lego’s than most boys, but I took a deep breath and counted to five.

Was it worth it to get in her face about this? Should something as ridiculous as her one-sided view of things really upset me that much? Would it make any difference and if I did say anything, would she in turn take it out on her child?

She wasn't talking to me directly; she spoke generally, but out loud, well really more like loudly and didn't appear to have any clue what she said would offend anyone. That or she simply didn't care.

The more I thought about it, the more angry I became.

Should I turn the other cheek? Do what Jesus and Buddah say? Love thy neighbor and the like.

Nope, I still felt the urge to set her straight.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

Before I set out to kick her narrow-minded butt and congratulate her on raising a future chauvinist, I stopped and looked at my children. They hadn't heard a thing and if I pursued this awful natured woman, they would most certainly get an earful of things they don't need to hear. At least, not at these young ages.

I felt for the boy because of what his mother is teaching him. How he'll have a skewed view of women and how that will affect all his relationship with girls and probably with her as well.

How sad that will be, but even more sad, is her view of women and probably her view of herself.

So, no I didn't kick her butt, but I sure wanted to. I came home thankful that I've got an open mind. I know girls and boys can play with toys equally and I have no preconceived notion that my son playing with dolls will make him a future fashion designer or my daughter constructing a pirate ship will make her want to plunder the high seas. I know it's all imagination.

Too bad this woman didn't seem to have any.