Answering the question when it's asked by children

[Valencian Kilted]

Gentlemen...too much, too much.

If you really want to answer a child, who will promptly forget, you say,

"Go ask your mother."

That would be a good answer for "why do u wear a skirt?" or to..."What's under ur kilt?"

:mrgreen:

¡Salud!

T O N O

[Panache]

Frank wrote: With the greatest of respect to Panache I think he's unwittingly hit on the reason why masuclinity is in some ways such an artificial and fragile 'operating system'. Whilst he had "some pretty wonderful times" talking with girls on the subject of kilts, he found it easier to juxtapose kilts with a context of war and death rather than with simple personal choice when discussing the same topic with the boys. Isn't it sad that even the very young have to be divorced from their sense of self to the extent that any justification for kilt wearing is necessary ?


Frank,

I am a stay at home Dad. I work in my 6 year old son's kindergarten class where he is one of 10 boys. In addition, my wonderful son Tristan has a wide group of friends ranging in ages from 3 to 8. With the exception of one classmate (and to be honest he is a bit strange) they are all REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY into guns and swords. I seldom wear a real sgian dubh. In it's place I wear a "sgian don't" (a knife handled bottle cap opener*). When I go to my son's class in a kilt I am always asked "Mr Tanner did you wear a real knife this time? Did you? Did you?" I always say, "No just a bottle cap opener, same as always." They say "why not? A knife would be cooler!". (Sigh) Young boys seem to have a love of weapons programmed into them at an almost genetic level. I have a cousin who has raised her boy without guns, no violent TV or movies, no war toys, and carefully monitored play activities. At age 2 1/2 he started a preschool a couple of times a week and came home making a gun with his fists and saying "this is my Bang Bang".
My cousin was shocked. "How can he play guns when he doesn't even know the word gun!" she said exasperatedly. "Easy, he's a boy", I replied.

Please take this with a sense of humor (it certainly was written with one ). I was being honest in my advice on the response to children. Little girls love the story of Queen Victoria and the kilted soldier at Balmoral Castle. This little bit of lore seems to make kilts seem really interesting to them. Little boys eat up tales of swordsmanship and heroics It makes kilts cool. And making kilts cool to kids is well...cool.

I think I am paraphrasing Dave Barry here but the difference between girls and boys is: Girls are smaller human beings and Boys are pod people from Planet Destructo.

Cheers


* I will be hopefully posting some pictures of these that will be for sale sometime soon.

[Rob Wright]

I think I am paraphrasing Dave Barry here but the difference between girls and boys is: Girls are smaller human beings and Boys are pod people from Planet Destructo.

[/I]

This is soo otrue.

Rob

[BLAZN]

From the mouths of babes come the most entertaining statements.

I never get the "what's under the kilt?" from the kids around here, and there are plenty of kids around here.
I do get the skirt question every now and again, and I merely explain "it's a skirt for men." I never make any sort of connection between the kilt and war. In fact, I rarely even discuss the historical significance of the kilt. Ocassionally I liken the kilt to the sarong which is ever so popular here in Hawaii, thanks to the predominant Polynesian culture.

Now, all that being said, I HAVE had to deal with my own 3 year old daughter's curiosity. She's one for action vice words, so it is her lifting my kilt (most recently at the museum we went to on Sunday) that I have to contend with. A soon to be 4 year old doesn't quite grasp the concept of modesty.

[bjcustard]

I've seen it on someone's sig here...

I tell the kids that my ancestors came from Scotland and Ireland, and I wear it to honor them. When they point out that no one else is doing this, I remind them that a wise man once said, "You should be the change that you want to see in the world."

While they don't understand it today, maybe they will someday.

[Jewddha]

Blazn, I think that lack of the concept of modesty is one reason it's a rarely asked question by kids, it just doesn't occur to most of them.

And bjcustard, I beleive the wise man most often affiliated with that quote was Mahatma Gandhi.

[bjcustard]

And bjcustard, I beleive the wise man most often affiliated with that quote was Mahatma Gandhi.

Of course. And he was a fan of unbifurcated garments, as well as wise.