The Little Prince(ss)

The article "Clothes encounter provides poignant lesson for son," was almost heartbreaking.  The three year old boy loves all his clothes and toys, whether they were meant to be for a boy or a girl. He loves dressing up like a construction worker the exact same amount that he loves dressing up like a princess.  However, society has told him that it's not okay for a little boy to like princess things. I believe the individuality in the kid's interests should be embraced and he should be able to wear the clothes he likes without being teased or judged by other kids. People in today's society care to much about judging what other's do. Too often people are put down for not following society's rules about gender roles. If everybody replaced their criticisms with compliments, the world would be a much better place for today's youth to grow up in. 

Lily In The Dugout

All of a sudden, I found myself thinking about sociology when my softball coach brought her 3 year old daughter Lily to my team's tournament in Indiana. Lily has come to many of our tournaments over the past year and I have been able to watch the process of her being socialized.

This morning, Lily brought her new coloring book to our game and sat in the dugout coloring the whole time.  She was able to sit quietly and do her own thing without much help from her mom or any of the girls on the team.  She need to be taken to the bathroom once.  Last year, everyone on the team would have to help keep an eye on Lily during games to make sure she didn't run out of the dugout onto the field or wander off and get lost in the park.  Lily has been socialized to sit in the dugout during games and not run away and also to "hold it" until she gets to a bathroom.

Lily's agents of socialization are her parents, specifically her mom during softball games, the girls on my team, other parents on the team who sometimes keep an eye on her when she gets to be a distraction in the dugout, and the toys and games she brings with her to our games. According to George Herbert Mead, Lily's significant others right now are her parents and her generalized others are the girls on our team because she has a very close bond to her mom and dad but my team is just a random group of people that influences her.