Boxers vs. briefs

I am the mother of three girls and one boy and, so far, there hasn’t been too many instances where I’ve had to consult their father (my ex-husband) or another man on any … uh … male-related issues. However, a man I was dating said my son should be wearing boxers. After discussion, jokes, deliberation and the departure of the boxers promoter I purchased some for my son who’s 7. I figured why not let him decide for himself whether he likes boxers or not.

The shopping trip, which did not include my son, was pretty funny. It’s me along with my girlfriend who has an 18-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. She can not remember any underwear details regarding her son so we mulled over the choices. I considered the kind that the children’s father wears, the kind that I like (don’t ask!) and everything in between. In the end, I chose regular boxers.

I presented them to my son who was excited to try something new, but the first time he put them on he came out of his room, fully dressed and walked up to me with a strange look on his face.

“I don’t like the boxers,” he said.

“You don’t?” I asked while trying to hide the smile that was growing on my face. “Why not?”

“They’re… It’s… Uh…”

I laughed and he smiled.

“Feels funny, huh? Like things are flapping around?”

“Yea,” he said, relieved that he didn’t have to explain to his mother the details of his under the underwear experiences!

“It’s okay,” I said, “you can wear them as pajamas or something under your other underwear.

“Okay!” And the excitement was back.

About a week or so later, after I had seen him sporting his boxers pajamas, he asked if he could try the boxers again. “Sure,” was my reply.

At the end of the day he approached me with a report.

“Can I change my underwear? I still don’t think I like the boxers.”

“Oh okay, do you feel cold?”

“No.”

“How was it at school?” He made a face. “Uncomfortable,” I asked.

“Yea, at first. … Then later it was flopping around.”

I smothered an outburst of laughter and told him it’s okay and he could try again at a later time. The entire experience was new for my son and for me, and very amusing… at least on my side of the whole thing.

Have you had these experiences with your opposite sex child? This was new for me on another level because he’s only now starting to be modest. Luckily, I’m a very laid back parent who never makes a big deal about body stuff. It helps to make the child more comfortable. Don’t ya think?