Model and actress Emily Ratajkowski is working hard to make sure her son plays with all kinds of different toys, not just just the trucks he loves, she revealed during her podcast.
The 31-year-old mom of one said her son Sylvester shows a natural inclination toward toys that are typically marketed for boys. However, Ratajkowski isn’t letting his interests stop her from introducing toys she’d prefer for him to play with.
She and guest Julia Fox, who is also a single mom, both talked about their parenting philosophies on Tuesday’s episode of “High Low with EmRata.”
Fox said “it’s hard” parenting her son because “you just don’t want to have them end up like every single guy you’ve ever met.”
“It’s like, how do you stop this conditioning from occurring?” she continued.
“It’s crazy, Sly loves trucks,” Ratajkowski agreed, speaking of her 1-year-old. “He gets so excited, he loves to play with anything with wheels.”
She continued, “This morning, I ordered him a baby doll and a tea set because I’m like, ‘We got to balance this out.’ But also, is this just what he likes naturally?”
Fox agreed with that sentiment, saying her son Valentino is also “crazy” over trucks but that he also “loves pushing around a stroller with a little doll in it.” For her part, she made sure the little boy had a pink truck to play with.
Ratajkowski chimed in that she bought her son a pink convertible, saying it made her “so sad” thinking about how he’ll be encouraged to “toughen up” in the future.
“Are those the little ways that you can start to help with making sure that the conditioning doesn’t happen?” the Sports Illustrated model said. “And also spending a lot of time around women?”
“And that’s where the patriarchy hurts men,” Fox replied. “Because I feel like men are really these repressed individuals.”
Fox, a former dominatrix who briefly dated Kanye West earlier this year, shares her son with ex Peter Artemiev. The couple split up shortly after Valentino was born in January 2021.
Meanwhile, Ratajkowski was married to producer Sebastian Bear-McClard when she gave birth to Sylvester in March 2021. The couple is currently estranged after splitting up this summer. Ratajkowski filed for divorce in September amid allegations that he was unfaithful to her.