No! I can't begin to express how harmful this silly article is. Surely this isn't common thinking?

"I leaned down and quietly hissed, "This is the boys' section. You have a girl's body. These clothes are not made for your body." https://www.parents.com/parenting/my-transgender-child-this-is-how-i-know/

"When we got to the school, the other girls were in puffy princess dresses. Most of the boys were in suits, and there was my daughter, straddling both worlds in her blue polo top and pink pants."

First off, girls and boys are pretty much child shaped till puberty, ie, the same - which is why shop measurements are identical up until about age 11. Second, gender marketing is big business and by splitting the market brands can sell more = £££

Gender marketing has been the mainstay of Kidswear for the past 30yrs, in ways never seen before. Children are told from birth that they are split into pink or blue, with all the messages that go with it. Like

Girls = pink, cute, pretty, happy, fluffy, sequins, unicorns, cats, rabbits, flowers, fashionistas, should always be smiling, don't require practical or comfortable clothing or footwear, friends, love, fitted styles, shorter shorts, cap sleeves, no pockets.

Boys = NONE of the girls stuff, blue, grey, dinosaurs, gaming, skateboarding, teeth (sharks, bears with mouths wide), practical clothing "tested to destruction", "trouble" slogans, legend, boss, genius, future scientist, star wars, lego, STEM subjects, active footwear, more grey

These have become acceptable go-to clothing designs, with strictly no overlap between girls and boys. Children want to be accepted, and risk peer/adult pressure to conform. NONE of this reflects your sex or gender, you are being denied basic choice in favour of stereotyping.

And the scale is enormous! Not just across the high street, but the spectrum of products (+ads) Inc clothes, footwear, accessories, toys, toiletries, stationary, cards, character merch, chocolates (hello Kinder), parties (pirate vs Princess), bedding, furniture, lighting...

Of course kids are affected by it. Girls are groomed to be future shoppers, boys are told they don't have to worry about responsibility (boys will be boys...)

If you reject that, then good for you. You won't be stereotyped, neatly pigeonholed and told what you like is wrong.

But get ready for the backlash, as a girl you'll hear tomboy, one of the boys, boy boy boy (my daughter was called a tomboy by another parent - for running...), for boys you'll be demoted and have your sexuality questioned.

We desperately need to break down a culture of gender stereotyping that ruthlessly targets children, fueled by a profit driven gender marketing machine - evident across our high street. Give children choice, and make those choices as broad as possible.