A mum has accused Sainsbury’s of ‘gender shaming’ her son for picking pink chocolate

A mum has accused a supermarket cashier of ‘gender shaming’ her three-year-old son when he picked a pink Kinder egg instead of a blue one.

Little Mason Houghton was told to choose a Kinder Surprise egg as a reward for doing well in his potty training. He took one with Frozen characters instead of another with Marvel superheroes at the Sainsbury’s checkout.

But mum Charlotte Houghton said she was left embarrassed when the cashier told the youngster: “You’ve got a girl’s one.”

Charlotte said: “I’ve heard of comments being made to parents before but this was the first time I’ve personally experienced gender shaming.

“I was really taken aback by it. I then found myself explaining to her – while she was beeping the other items through – that he likes the Frozen one and he always chooses it because of the figures, so that is what he is getting. I was mumbling on because I felt guilty, like I was doing something wrong, then I thought, ‘What am I doing? Why am I trying to explain? It’s got nothing to do with her’.”

She added: “I’m sure she meant no harm by her comments but I can’t understand this divide of boys and girls toys. Personally I think we should encourage our children to play with any toys that they want, as long as they’re safe.”

The pink Frozen Kinder Surprise Egg contains the characters from the popular film, Anna, Elsa and Olaf.

Charlotte, a location agent from Hull, East Yorks. said she always encourages children Oliver, ten, and Mason to play with toys of their choice. She said: “If he had wanted a pram I would have let him have one, it wouldn’t make him any less of a boy. We’ve got a kitchen at home and they like playing with the trolleys.

“I just found it really bizarre that she thought it was OK to comment and say that to my son – it has nothing to do with her. If it had been a new mum who was upset by it, it could have really knocked their confidence and made them question themselves.”

Charlotte she posted the incident in the Hull Mummy Friends group on Facebook. Ferrero, the Italian company which produces the Kinder eggs, said they were not meant to be gender specific.

A spokeswoman said: “The Frozen Kinder Surprise egg is part of the Pink and Blue range, that offers different branded toy ranges in pink or blue coloured eggs. The Frozen egg is pink. However, Ferrero doesn’t advocate or promote Kinder Pink and Blue as a gender specific product and they are not labelled for girls or boys.

“Kinder Surprise pink and blue eggs help parents navigate the toy ranges on offer and make purchasing decisions based on what is most relevant for their child, as an individual. Feedback from parents shows that they welcome this approach.”

Sainsbury’s said they were investigating the incident but needed more information before they could comment properly. A spokeswoman said: “We would encourage Charlotte to contact us directly so we can get to the bottom of what happened.”