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sharon1984

Should girls have less pink in their bedrooms/lives?

I am trying to decide whether to paint my young daughter's room pink. She is 2 and doesn't yet have an opinion, but it does not feel right to me. Everything you buy for girls seems to be pink. It's so hard to find bags, dresses or accessories that are NOT pink! WHY!

Do you think girls should have less pink stuff forced on them, including pink bedroom walls?
tineke triggs · 詳細

コメント (127)

  • Sheri
    9年前
    As a big girl who really likes having some pink in her life, I think pink is just a color....not good or bad, just a color. If she is only 2 and has no preference and you are picking the stuff out, then pick what is pleasing to your eye. If you want her to have some imput, let her help pick out the bedpread and then you can design the rest around that.

    My daughter has always been a purple girl (which I don't really care for) so I let her have her purple walls, I just picked a shade I considered least offensive.
  • issa1
    9年前
    I'm glad I didn't grow up when even colors were considered politically correct or incorrect.
    Let kids have what they want, not what they are supposed to want. That goes for toys as well as colors.
  • texsheva
    9年前
    Why should they have less pink??? Why can't they be themselves and choose their color, regardless? If it's pink they love, so be it!
  • texsheva
    9年前
    I never did get to choose decor in my bedroom, as a child. My mother decorated the way she wanted the home to look. I must've liked it because I never rebelled against it! We weren't allowed to hang posters or put nails in the wall.....just what she had carefully hung & placed. Never bothered me, although I do remember going to friends homes and seeing their rooms with a hodge podge of decor, posters, paint, etc. and thinking how junky it all looked! Ha! And yes, my own children DID get to pick their paint & had a say on the furniture.
  • Tara
    9年前
    I don't mind pink being in a girl's room, but I don't think it should be the only color considered. There are so many beautiful colors that would work perfectly in a girl's room that being set on any color because it's "a girl color" seems silly to me.

    I find something I love and then build the room around that. If what you love happens to be pink then go with it, if something screams at you and it's blue? Do it :)
  • Kyla Belvedere
    9年前
    My daughter is only 2, and when I did her bedroom, I went SUPER girly with vintage furniture she can grow in to. We did purples, because I feel like it will last her longer than pink, but she always wants the pink coloured anything if given the choice (her brother always wants the green). Anything with a handle becomes a purse, any stuffy becomes a baby, yet she jumps from the top of the playhouse and wrestles with the boys :) Still, when it comes to decorating, she is too little yet (she wasn't even 1 when we picked the colour), so as long as it is my choice, I wanted to do a pretty purple room.
  • Jean Morgan
    9年前
    Love pink, done right it can look quite sophisticated or as young as we wish it to be. It is a universally flattering color and I LOVE the pink ceiling with the beige walls tied in with headboards and coverlet.
  • User
    9年前
    Ack, I would have hated pink as a child. I was a tomboy and loved the outdoors. My room started out white, but when I was about 10, I asked to have my room painted a dusty moss green. My bedspread had green ferns on it. That was definitely "me."
  • Laurel Ennis
    9年前
    Girls like pink. Girls' girlfriends like pink. Are you decorating for her, or for yourself? Think pink.
  • angelkins7
    9年前
    My 4.5 year old daughter loves pink. Oh, excuse me, only hot pink...not light pink. She will tell people her favorite color is: "Hot pink-purple-red." I don't think it has to do with all the stuff marketed towards girls, it just truly is her favorite, so in redoing her room with a big girl bed, I made sure to include all three of those colors. I do think that the guilt trip grown women have if they actually still LIKE pink is equally offensive, as if it's wrong to like pink past age 5. Just saying! :) Decorate with what she likes--that always wins! Here is my very happy daughter in her very pink room (not quite finished yet.) Warning: it's not very "Houzz" style.
  • Amy Stanley
    9年前
    最終更新:9年前
    Has the original poster ever returned? I had no idea that the color pink could cause so much ruckus, I love pink personally. My girls purple room was inspired by a pottery barn toddler quilt I bought and I kick myself for not buying the matching twins, I totally use bedding as inspiration for color..
  • capeanner
    9年前
    I seem to recall reading years ago (maybe in Psychology Today?) an article on the psychological effects of color. If I recall correctly there was something about calming violent prisoners or maybe just the recently booked in pink rooms. But they weren't to be left in too long as it started to have the opposite effect.
    When I was a girl I did not like pink at all, but that may have been a reaction to the "pink is for girls" thing. I started to like it in my teens when I realized how flattering it was to wear. But I could never live with pink walls. The room on the northside of my home has a very slight pink tinge to the white...my only concession. But to each her own. Children should absolutely be able to choose their room colors.
  • joancuneo
    9年前
    I Love that bedroom!! I am not a fan of the peace sin of orange & pink. Great job! As a mom of a daughter who hated the color pink from the age of 2-17, it was difficult. It's funny, when she was born I did her room In a lite teal. pale yellow and a little pale pink. I loved it. She did too. Today at 19 she still loves the color teal. She now like pink.
    I love ur daughter's room! Good Luck Joan
  • Kajah Smith
    9年前
    Love it look like hotel jump from bed to bed
  • rwright9474
    9年前
    The inspiration room for my daughter's room!
  • makaloco
    9年前
    I thought I recalled reading something about pink and blue being inspired by the Gainsborough portraits, so googled it. A couple of interesting takes:
    http://daisyfairbanks.typepad.com/daisy_fairbanks_vintage/2008/12/pinkaholism.html
    http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-did-girls-start-wearing-pink-1370097/
    http://www.livescience.com/22037-pink-girls-blue-boys.html
  • PRO
    Kitchen to Bath Concepts
    9年前
    Your daughter is only two. There are many colors that will work wonderfully with pink. Find a color scheme that uses pink in moderation.
  • rach71
    9年前
    Most common fav color for older girls is blue, not pink. But if you asked a range of young girls what their fav color was, you'd get a large range of choices, with gold, purple and green also ranking alongside pink and blue. It's all in the shade apparently. In a study done where young girls were only allowed to play with boys toys and lived with so-called boys colors from birth to school, they found that when they were given the choice they preferred dolls and pink stuff. Makes you wonder about those parents, but apparently, like you, they thought that girls were overexposed to pink. Take it from me that when they reach a certain age, they will despise pink and then eventually they come to like it again. So if you do go pink, in your daughters bedroom, know that it might be a short-term thing and in 5 years you may be repainting. Every girl is different of course. My advise is go neutral on the walls, carpet and window coverings. Add a color theme through the bedding, cushions, chairs and artwork, etc.
  • carolannwilkinson
    9年前
    Bubble gum pink is used as a suppressant for violent persons and it's affect lasts for about 15 min. Then it reverses.. Does a color like that seem to fit with a child? There have been studies regarding the affects of pink on girls.. Color isn't just taste it can control the environment people live in..
  • Teri Fronabarger
    9年前
    To Pink or not to Pink-good question!! We have our 3rd pink room. It is for my granddaughters. I think you have to go with the personality of the girl. Some girls love the Disney princesses and some love Dora. But take note: Be prepared pink is a strong color. So no matter what shade you put on the walls it can knock you over!
  • PRO
    Gray & Walter, Ltd.
    9年前
    A room should be painted a color that reflects the client, in this case it's for a two year old. Think about what color she looks good in, go with that. It's just paint and not forever. Have fun!
  • Susan
    9年前
    Disclosure: I hate pink unless it's a flower, maybe because everyone in my family thought that, as a little blonde, blue-eyed girl, I should wear pink all the darned time because "it's so cute".

    That said, girls are being inundated with pink these days. Look at the difference between the way Legos were marketed in the 80s versus today--it's like there's a bigger push to make girls "pink", "princessy" and "girly" than there used to be. I'd be concerned (and maybe overthinking it) that the color pink is getting really tightly associated with attitudes, behaviors and games that play to stereotypical gender roles and limit, rather than expand, girls' horizons. There are a lot of beautiful colors without those associations.
  • User
    9年前
    "That said, girls are being inundated with pink these days. Look at the difference between the way Legos were marketed in the 80s versus today"

    Yeah, I was happy enough playing with yellow Tonka trucks, orange Hot Wheels track, sliver Erector sets, brown Lincoln Logs and Legos in bright primary colors. Seems like the message today is that girls won't know to play with toys unless cued by pink.
  • annemamaya
    9年前
    I say you can go with a neutral color like pale tan, pale yellow, or shades of white. Then you can change the bedspread and decorations any time and any color.
  • maggierateye
    9年前
    EEK! Not pink! When I was 6, my mother and father bought me a white canopy bed and a fluffy pink and white coverlet with embroidered butterflies on it. They painted my bedroom walls pale pink. Didn't last very long. Soon the canopy bed had a brown and white plaid spread and the walls were white with one pumpkin-colored accent wall. I was horse-crazy and collected anything horsey I could get my hands on. The pink and the butterflies had to go! And the love affair with horses has been lifelong... Even at age 6, I knew a feminine cliché when I saw one.
  • Lauren H
    9年前
    My favorite color has always been green, even as a little girl. For my daughter (now age 6), we would have fun with paint chips at the store and use art or her bed quilt as the inspiration for her room color. When she was younger, she picked blue. We moved and (sigh) she picked pink. She's been talking lately about wanting to repaint it lavender. Yes, she helps with the painting of her room each time, too.
  • lake1114
    9年前
    Let the kids pick their room colors. Life has plenty of disappointments as it is.
  • greenyogini
    9年前
    I think it's less about the color and more about the themes and meanings we ascribe to the color that affect the way we view it. My personal taste leans toward lots of color and contrast, so I wouldn't choose a monochromatic pink design for my child's room, personally, but to each their own. I love the suggestions above for keeping the walls neutral and opting for color pops in accessories - it allows you to change it out as the child grows and displays her own preferences, which, no doubt, she will in time.

    Personally, I would have a tough time if my child were to decide she wanted princesses everywhere, but I don't take issues with pink as a color, so long as it's in moderation. (Coming from the person who has so much *green* in my life that it's in my username....so take that with a grain of salt! ;) ) I prefer to decorate with more gender-neutral themes for kids, like polka dots, stripes, geometrical shapes and nature themes. (Although some people feel butterflies = girls and frogs = boys, I don't feel that way. And trees, stars, sun and clouds...all pretty neutral.)

    As a kid, I begged for Pepto Bismol pink walls...and got them. By the time I turned 12, though, I wanted a black and white room. ;) I haven't really been a "pink girl" since my youth, but I'm enjoying pops of hot pink and neon pink in small doses throughout my home.
  • giannakatrine
    9年前
    It's all about making the pink fresh! Pairing bright pink with bright orange, or lime green/pink Lilly pultzerish, or pink, white,and silver. Or grey and pink.
  • capeanner
    9年前
    最終更新:9年前
    There is something really striking about a room with colored walls and I enjoy seeing them in magazines, but personally I couldn't live with it. I love calm surroundings, but to each his own. Childhood is a great time for lots of color. I had a niece who chose lavender walls. She waited for my visit to help her paint a rainbow over her bed. She thought it was terrific. Years later that room is now my sister's muted green dining room.
  • doctornancy
    9年前
    I LOVE pink - always have. So when my daughter was little, I painted her room pink. When she was old enough to have an opinion, we repainted. She was not a fan of pink. Then when she had even more opinions (teen years!), we painted again, different color on every wall - teal, lime, aqua, and black. Wouldn't have won a design contest but she loved it and painting the room was a family event. Paint is cheap - have fun!
  • PRO
    Denca
    9年前
    I'd prefer blue and mint green. :)
  • jowersgc
    9年前
    Love this!!! We painted our daughter's room pink on all walls. I wish we had seen this before. This is adorable. Our designer tried to get us to leave the walls beige like all the other rooms in the house and use pink accents, but she wanted pink. This looks awesome!
  • rjsjmarv
    9年前
    When I was 6, our family was getting ready to move into a brand new house. The decorator was insisting everything be earth tones, but I wanted my bedroom to be pink -- a somewhat sophisticated peachy-pink, not bubblegum. After quite a struggle, maybe even a small tantrum, and despite my mother looking at the paint chip I'd chosen & assuring me that I was going to hate it when I saw it en masse, she relented & I got my pink. And I totally LOVED it! As an adult I found a 1959 letter from my mother to my grandmother, containing the paint chips & curtain fabric samples from the then-being-built house. I had forgotten the exact shade of pink I had chosen at age 6 -- and was amazed to discover it was the exact same shade I'd recently painted on our guest room walls. Moral of the story: Let the child decide, as soon as she's old enough to have an opinion. Pink is just a color, not a gender statement. I was always a tomboy, never a girly-girl, but: I. LIKED. PINK. And still do.
  • Amanda Garcia
    9年前
    If the room is for play and imagination then bright vivid colors and yes, pink! But if you are wanting a relaxing atmosphere where she can retreat to for naps and sleep or just quiet time, the more simple neutral or blue (calming) the better. Function helps dictate how the room "should" be.
  • shakinyi
    9年前
    最終更新:9年前
    What's so wrong with pink? Yes the toy manufacturers have a preset notion but there is a huge array of blue, red and yellow out there. And oh my gosh leapfrog green. Actually I think primary colors are the biggest offenders IMHO.
    I think you shouldn't associate colors with your political ideals. Assuming that girls like pink only because someone told them to is actually more degrading. I know for a fact that none of the boys I know would be caught dead in a pink room, or a bright red one. They almost always prefer darker more masculine colors. Is that because someone told them so?
    I don't think the explanation is that simplistic. Let girls be girls, and if they have a pink room so what? It's a color....that's all. Most girls grow out of their pink obsession anyway. And if they don't so what? Neither do boys with cars....
  • Lisa R
    9年前
    I would start with a nuetral wall color, then add accessories in pink (or the color you or she chooses) . This way, the colors can be easily changed as she grows up.
  • kcmnc
    9年前
    Does your daughter have a special piece of artwork (like a birth announcement or baby photo or picture book or gift from a loved one)? Maybe use those colors to decorate the room and display the art prominently.

    My baby girl's room has a felt ball rug from Nepal with a ton of bright colors, and this was where I started looking for coordinating things to decorate her room. She inevitably has pink things, and I like the hand knit blankets and cute pink dresses she has been given, but I am not drawn to buy more for similar reasons as you described. In addition, since so much pink is thrown at little girls, I think it looks rather cheap (because so much of it is). Is your question partly about where to get non-pink decor? I look in the gender neutral and boy sections (where neutral and primary colors live) and I look for things not marketed to children (for instance, bedding for a twin bed in the nursery).

    Decorate the room in a way that will make you both happy, and if you feel strongly (or even not so strongly) about this, take a stand against pink and enjoy one of your last chances to have ultimate influence over her preferences ; ) good luck!
  • sacapuntaslapioz
    9年前
    my favorite color has always been red.. my sister always favored yellow. my niece had aping phase, a violet phase, a turquoise phase.

    go neutral and add accents. g
  • sacapuntaslapioz
    9年前

    I had a dusty pink room and I loved it. But when they stop making the color it became rosier and I hated it. I think it is stereotyping. blue for boys, pink for girls. The world has many, many colors. enjoy them all.

  • Judy Mishkin
    9年前

    the nursery in our house was yellow, lucky choice as we had a boy and then a girl. when it was time for daughter to get her own room i made some really pretty curtains (back in the day when people made curtains....) and chose a peach color from the fabric. so it was neither anti-girlie or forced girlie.

    there are so many girls toys that are Vehemently Pink, and cannot be avoided. if you choose other colors for their clothes and only go with pink when forced to, and don't FORBID them pink when thats what they pick, it'll all come out ok.

  • lake1114
    9年前

    So many of these comments are industries/society forcing pink on little girls by making "girl" toys pink but merchandisers only follow the market. If most little girls gravitated towards yellow and played with trains, then we would see stores selling yellow trains and girls playing with yellow trains. I think many little girls naturally like pink and naturally gravitate towards specific toys. So, if you were manufacturing girl toys, wouldn't you want to appease the masses to make money? Hence pink dolls, etc

    I would much rather sell 100 pink dolls to serve the masses than one yellow train for the few. How many chartreuse cars do you see? There is a reason for that, how many people want to drive a chartreuse car? If that was a hot selling car color then more car companies would be offering them. When you do see a funky car color it is often driven by a younger person and are cars like the cube or mini cooper etc because they appeal to that demographic. I also don't think you would see too many "older" people driving chartreuse Cadillacs. Anyway, it is the same thing when selling houses. Neutral, neutral, neutral of appeal to the many.

    So, it might be a question of which came first, the chicken or the egg.

  • Candida Gunsolus-Wojcik
    9年前

    Depends on what your child wants. My sons favorite color is green and my daughters is pink. So pink it is!


  • Petrona Bertrand
    9年前

    Unless its her favorite color, I don't recommend it. Soft colors, yellows, greens and some pink if you like the color, but don't pink-wash the poor doll.

  • Another Thyme
    9年前
    Really? bottom line, if it doesn't feel right to you just don't do it.
  • fianou
    9年前
    yes. that crazy barbie pink invasion is overwhelming, tacky and nauseating. You can use pink in a room without going insane. Every colour should be used in moderation and with balance from other tones. For a girl that likes hot pink i'd go for a boho vibe.
    Sophia & Luca Shared Room · 詳細

    Or choose a soft pink blush with grey for an elegant style.
    Brown Street, Newtown · 詳細

    I think, given the actual bulk of things for girls that are pink, the room will be unavoidably pinky and for that reason I would try and pick a different colour for the walls. You don't want to have to repaint the room every year or so as the child grows...
  • fianou
    9年前
    This another modest take on a pink bedroom.
    Also bear in mind that pink is a very hard colour to paint over. It can take multiple coats of a neutral to cover it and it will still have a pinky blush to it.
    Cottesloe Hilltop Residence · 詳細
  • HouzzUser-924079619
    2年前

    Well, dep depends how old they are. So if there only 5 and under, they can have lots of pink. But if they are older than 5, they should only have a tiny teeny bit of pink and more other colours

  • maggierateye
    2年前

    I was he youngest of three siblings and the only girl. When I was little, my folks bought for me a white canopy bed with a gauzy white coverlet with embroidered pink butterflies. Painted the walls pink, too. I HATED it! Mom so wanted a girlie-girl, but horses were my thing! Next I got a brown plaid bedspread for that canopy bed.

  • Tallulah B
    9か月前

    We consciously and unconsciously tell boys and girls to conform to gender norms from birth. There is nothing inherently wrong with pink walls, it’s just a pretty color. We talk to girls differently, and give them different clothes to wear and toys to play with. You could choose a neutral color and let her tell you what color she likes in a year or two. Or choose a delicate pink and change it if/when she tells you her preference.