Five Year Old Son Thinks Boys Are Cute

He is five, ask him what he plans on wearing. Kids at that age are long on imagination, short on anything else. :)

Totally normal. My twin girls insist they're going to marry each other. I have explained that siblings can't marry one another, so my girls reluctantly decided they'd marry two girls from camp. When I asked why no boys, my girls explained that the boys they know are goofy, smelly, and no fun.

At this age, kids have no clue.

We have had to handle this one with care since there are at least 3 families in my daughter's grade with 2 mommies. She asked recently if she could marry a girl since they were nicer than boys. I just told her "sure honey, whatever you think when you are at least 18." She moved on to something else. Keep it short and simple and then change the subject. I don't think it means anything at this age.

Normal! Just smile & say, "nope, you can't marry until you're out of High School! Until then, you're mine!".....& hug him & move on. :)

I remember around that age I adored my Daddy and told him I was his girlfriend. My five year old just told me that when his Daddy dies he's going to marry me. There's not much concept of what marriage, or death for that matter, is at that age. Just go with the flow and say 'that's nice dear'. If he grows up still thinking boys are cute, well, there's nothing you can do about it anyway!

Most kids go through a phase when they think the opposite sex has cooties.
When my son was 4 he thought girls were yucky.
When I told him Mommy is a girl, he got angry and said
"Mommy is NOT a girl! Mommy is MOMMY!".
He got over it soon enough and has plenty of friends that are girls and boys.

You say "That's nice" and change the subject.

He hasn't figured out girls. They make no sense to him. He's a boy, therefore boys make sense.

He'll quit saying it when he's ready or when he's older.

Dawn

Have you asked if he thought girls were cute? How about why he thought boys were cute? Maybe he likes the way boys dress better? Or because he likes to play with boys more than girls. Why wouldn't you want to marry someone you have so much in common with? I remember my son said that one of the boys in kindergarten was really handsome. I asked him why and he said "because he always wears Spiderman shirts". Anyway, it doesn't likely have anything to do with romantic love...

My daughter is torn between her love of Danny Phantom and Astro Boy. This could be a phase or this could be the beginnings of a lifestyle. All in all, he is only 5, so no real big deal.

"Alright, but you're going to have to wait until you are a grown-up first, deal?"

Enjoy your little boy.

Honestly, I think at five, they are toying around with gender concepts. My five-year-old is doing the same thing (she's a girl). She says she's going to be a Dad some day because boys are better. haha!

I wouldn't approach it at all, honestly. He's 5.

"well some boys do marry boys. but only grownups can get married."

mine (6 in september) said to me yesterday, "mom can boys wear makeup?" i gave kind of the same answer....lol.

that's the best i got :) lol.

Knowing me, I would probably say something like:

But not as cute as you!
*when he says a boy is cute.

AND

That is fine but you need a Mommy & Daddy to have a baby.
*when he says he wants to marry a boy.

~I wouldn't worry too much...kids don't (for the most part) generally like the opposite sex this early on in life (cooties remember?)...so it makes sense that he likes boys better now, they are after all, more fun for him at this stage in his life. I would only add in the 'you need a mommy and a daddy to have a baby' part if you are concerned with him being confused by that..if not then just say 'OK kid' and move on! Ha!

Puppies and kittens are cute too. Big deal.

Just let it go.

"Yes, you really like (so and so), don't you?" Simple validation of his statement. No need to go further.

I'm not sure there's anything to 'approach'... many kids this age voice their love for their friends in an "I want to marry...." statement. Sometimes same-sex, sometimes not. I hate word 'normal', so I'll just say it's completely common. None of the kids I've heard say this have grown up to be gay or lesbian (just like none of the boys that wanted to wear sister's nail polish or barrettes or dresses has ended up being gay.... )

Think about it this way-- kids are *cute* and we tell them that all the time. I sometimes tell my little boy he looks "very handsome" in a nicer outfit. I think kids often use adult language and adult ideas to express themselves in a fantasy-way about the future. Do you think our kids really even *know* what marriage is at this age?;)

And wouldn't it be great if adults did what kids often talk about doing? Marrying their best friend? I'll bet the divorce rate would be lower....

If he's still saying this when he's 13, time to contact the local PFLAG chapter if you want help.:)

Just tell him that he can't get married until he's a grown up and he can marry whoever he wants. My daughter is 5 and a few months ago told me she wanted to marry her brother (he's 8). I told her siblings can't get married to eachother but that when she's grown up she can marry whoever she wants. Well now she's saying she wants to marry her brother's best friend's little brother. She has also told me she thinks Captain America is cute and she wants to marry him. LOL

I agree with the "Ok, but you have to be a grown up before you can get married " answer.

I think all 3 of mine at one time or another said they wanted to marry someone of the same gender ... and more than once said they wanted to marry me, their dad or one of their grandparents LOL