The question I was not prepared for...

My son Jacob is a very inquisitive little creature, wanting to know everything about everything. Usually I have the answers but today was diffrent. After picking him up from school, he turns to me in the car and says,"Mom? There's a boy at my school and he wears girls clothes and a girls backpack. Why does he do that?" This is the type of question that I was not prepared to answer. As I sat there thinking about what kind of answer a 7 year old would understand, I thought to myself,"Cat, just be honest. That's all he wants." So, I started out with,"Sometimes boys like girl things so much that they want to dress like girls and look like girls. And sometimes girls like boy things so much that they want to dress like boys and look like boys. It doesn't mean they are right or wrong, it's just what they like. One thing is for sure though: you must NEVER make fun of anyone who doesn't look like you or dress like you because that is wrong. The world would be boring if everyone liked the same things right?" And the craziest thing happened after that...he got it. The conversation was over. He just said,"Okay. I'm still going to be an annoying brother though."
Honestly, I am not sure how I would react of my son wanted to wear girl clothes. I know the whole,"Let them be who they are" speech but I can't honestly say that I would and only because I know how cruel other kids can be. There are some kids who are just plain mean and their parents don't really care and sometimes encourage it. I would be devastated if my kids made fun of someone else based on their looks or their social status. If it were my child, I wouldn't want them to get hurt like that...ever.
It's funny...I never knew anyone like that growing up. I never asked my parents that question because it just didn't happen. And now it's common. I guess that every parent just wants a happy child regardless of what the world thinks. I guess that's what I want too. I want my kids to know that there are all sorts of people in this world. We all share this planet. I want them to know that hating someone is wrong. You may not like what they are about or how they dress, but we all need to show a little bit of tolerance for everyone.