OPINION: We need to talk about little boys' clothing.

Dinosaurs, automobiles and variations of blue.

That's how I would sum up the offerings at the 'affordable' clothing brands on the market right now for little boys.

Before having a child, I might've glanced at the babies and kid's sections of shops, but it wasn't until I actually had to regularly shop for a child, that I realised the cliches we're (still) swimming in.

The more I've thought about it — now two years into parenthood — the more I find myself seething at how kid's clothing unhelpfully plays into gender stereotypes (particularly the toxic masculinity we've been trying to avoid in the modern world).

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Of course, the girls' side is awfully gendered too — full of pinks, fairies and rainbows. But when comparing the pair, I have found that the girls at least seem to have more variety and more interesting designs to choose from.

I've found myself dipping into the girl's aisle to pick out rainbows, fruit and sunshine-themed shirts and leggings for my son, that aren't on offer on his side.

His racks in comparison, are much more drab, 'samsey' and dare I say… ugly.

For the boys, the most worrying trend I've noticed is an obsession with 'predatory' animals. Things like dinosaurs, lions, sharks and bears.

Girls, alarmingly on the other hand, tend to get the animals that are more likely to be prey. Things like bunnies, swans, kittens and baby chicks.

I keep thinking I am imagining it, that surely it's not that blatant. But then out comes next season's crop of clothes, and the pattern is repeated.

We live in a world where domestic violence and violence against women is running rampant, and these are the subliminal messages we're giving our kids via their clothing. That boys like tough, scary animals and girls prefer the meek and mild.

We keep saying that re-wiring toxic masculinity starts at the beginning. In childhood. In the home. Doesn't this count towards that?

Isn't this an easy place to start that process?

Then, there's the obsession with wheels. Cars, trucks, trains, planes, diggers and emergency vehicles. You'd be hard-pressed to not find these in the boys' section of any shop in your local Westfield.

I do happen to have a wheel-obsessed toddler, but I don't need to dress him in them any chance I get. It feels like lazy designing — like we can't be bothered thinking outside the box about little boy's designs.

Colour wise we're talking about different shades of blue and green, some greys and browns and occasionally a pop of yellow or orange. The fun bright colours tend to be reserved for the girls' section, and it is increasingly alarming to me.

Right now I am on the hunt for swimwear, and the colour scheme hasn't changed for boys. It's all blues and greens colours that — in my opinion — are far from swim safe when you're dealing with a running, wriggling toddler, who you need to be able to spot immediately in a pool or at the beach.

This season, neon orange, yellow and pink is in for the girls — and so once again, I've found myself on that side of the shop when purchasing for my son.

The boy's swimwear isn't swim-safe. And once again….it's covered in predatory animals. Image: Getty.

Now let's be clear, there are plenty of alarming trends occurring in girls fashion too. Earlier this year, TikTok creator Elli Tamar pointed out that the bike shorts on offer for toddler girls are more like 'booty' shorts, while the boys get them a few inches longer.

It's weird. It's gross. It's instilling the idea of more 'sexualised' clothing for girls from a young age — and just like the predator verses prey example, it's an awful lesson to be teaching our kids.

A lesson we've been trying to re-write for years as gender-based violence fills our news headlines.

When I became a parent, I thought I would dress my child as gender-neutral as possible. While that's easy to do as an adult, it's actually quite hard to pull off (on a budget) for kids, because the clothes on offer simply don't make that easy to do.

At home, my son does play with trains and cars — but he also loves dolls, cooking, cleaning, sparkles and rainbow toys. His toy-box is a mixture, not a silo.

It's been harder to pull off in his wardrobe, and every time I enter an affordable clothing store in Australia, I find myself huffing a sigh under my breath.

And before you say 'just shop in both sections' — I try. I do when I can. But often the girls' clothes are so overly 'girly' that it makes it tricky.

We're supposed to be moving towards a more gender-fluid world, but children's clothing is stuck in the 80s and 90s.

This issue seems to be removed when you go up a price point to the boutique brands, but unless you want to pay $60 for a kids t-shirt they'll grow out of in a few months — it's not an affordable option for most families.

I just want to dress my son in something other than dinosaurs.

In more than just trucks.

In colours other than blue and brown.

I want to do my bit (any chance I get) in raising a son miles away from any whisper of toxic masculinity.

Can someone please tell the big retailers it's time to enter 2024?

How do you find the boy's and girl's sections of your local clothing shops? Let us know in the comments.

Feature image: Getty