The Innumerable Challenges Of Raising A Boy

My three-year-old son won’t make-believe that he’s a girl anymore. At our place the ABC Kids cartoon PJ Masks has long been a favourite – not only to watch on television but to re-enact as a whole-family activity. For the unfamiliar, PJ Masks is about three primary-school aged kids, two boys and a girl, who turn into superheroes when they put their pyjamas on at night. Each has their own individual suit, powers, and superhero vehicle, which makes for thrilling watching but also a merchandising bonanza.

Marketing suckers that we are, our family owns the full ‘Cat Boy’ costume, plus the plastic masks for his co-stars ‘Owlette’ and ‘Gecko’. My son usually likes to be Cat Boy, which is unsurprising as that’s the main character and also the one for whom we have the full regalia. Until recently Rafi has always rotated who in the family plays each role, dictating the recreation as only a tyrannical pre-schooler can. But now that’s changing.