Social experiments using your own children.

Is it just me or does everyone think you probably shouldn’t conduct social experiments using your own children?

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Canadian couple refusing to reveal the gender of their new baby, ambiguously named Storm, preferring instead to raise it free of society’s shackles regarding gender.

I don’t have a problem with removing barriers for children, encouraging freedom of expression or actively promoting a left of centre view but pointless gender wars using your kids as human shields are dangerous.

I find the couples’ claims about gender indoctrination more than a little hysterical.

Until I was six years old I refused to answer to anything other than the name Jack. When I look at little Shiloh Jolie Pitt I have a chuckle because that’s exactly what all my photos look like.

Then, at around age 6 I came inside crying one day, because a lady I didn’t know had mistaken me for a boy and called me “son”.

I wore my school skirt (instead of my brother’s shorts) for the first time the next day.

I’ve got three children, a boy followed by two girls.

When they were chubby and bald I dressed them in blue and pink respectively to make it easier for the admiring public, but our toy box was completely non-gender specific, just blocks and puzzles and brightly coloured plastic things.

I can’t really say what Gabe was into as a baby, other than filling the little wooden block trolley full of cans from the kitchen cupboard and pushing it around, escaping outside (out the gate if he could manage it) or watching The Wiggles.

When Milli was born she had the same toys, I never bought any dolls simply because it never occurred to me.

But, when she was about 18 months old Milli came to me holding a teddy bear and a bathroom towel.

It took a while, but I finally realised she wanted me to wrap the teddy so she could hold it like a baby.

Milli had never been to day care, nor been encouraged to be anything other than herself, she was simply a little girl doing what came naturally.

Eventually we bought her a doll but she spent just as much time in the sand pit, on her bike or building cubbies as Gabe did.

School probably categorises kids, the playground definitely favours conformity, but I think most people are pretty relaxed about the gender divide.

It’s been a long time since little girls were given ironing boards while their brothers got guns.

Little Storm’s parents say they’re concerned about society trying to control their children’s thought patterns.

I say, hello pot, this is kettle.