Why It Was So Important For My 7-Year-Old Son To See This CNN Anchor Cry

Van Jones got emotional on-air reacting to Joe Biden’s election as the 46th president of the United States. CNN “Your son cries a lot,” read the note my son’s first-grade teacher sent home last year. So, I didn’t set boundaries based on emotional stereotypes or use limiting phrases like “boys don’t cry” in my parenting. Instead, when my son’s emotions fall outside the traditional male stereotype, he’s often met with confusion, gawking stares and occasionally even scolding, because he’s not “acting like a man.” I’ve been surprised that over the years, kids in his class have commented on the fact that he’s quick to cry if he’s sad. “Boys don’t cry,” the stranger in the coffee shop said to my son, who was super sad that he wasn’t getting a chocolate chip cookie.