Parental Quandary Considered: Grandma Gives Frilly Gifts to a Tomboy

[Felix]

Motherlode (blog) on The New York Times
KJ DELL'ANTONIA
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/parental-quandary-considered-grandma-gives-frilly-gifts-to-a-tomboy/

Teaching children to graciously receive a gift they are not thrilled with is a common etiquette question, but last week, a parenting quandary came in that took the problem just a little farther. What if those unwanted gifts also bring an unwanted message? Gretchen's daughter Mia (all names have been changed) has always worn boys' clothing — not just gender-neutral clothing, but emphatically boys' clothes, right down to the skin. She's always said she wished she'd been born a boy. But Mia's grandmother (Gretchen's mother-in-law) sends boxes after boxes of fabulously frilly pink dresses, tights and bows.