To Reveal or Not to Reveal?

That is the question.

There doesn’t seem a day that goes by without seeing some ridiculously cute gender reveal photo or video on social media. And the reveal tactics are getting more elaborate aren’t they? We’ve gone from simple colored cake filling and confetti filled piñatas, to home run color explosions and squirt guns filled with either pink or blue paint.

Creative stunts aside, what do you think about gender reveals in general? Did you find out? Did you tell? Or did you keep everyone in suspense?

Some people are planners. And that’s totally fine. Especially if it is Number 2 or 3. It’s always nice to know if you need to go out and invest in some first time girl or boy clothes. And what about the name…if you already know the sex, you’ll be cutting your workload in half when it comes to brainstorming names right?

Some people just can’t contain their excitement. And we don’t blame them. It’s a MAJOR discovery in a major chapter of their life – it would be hard not to want to scream it from the rooftops.

Some people can’t stand all the speculation and old wives tale predictions. If you are carrying high, it’s a girl. Low, it’s a boy. Craving salt? It’s a boy. No pregnancy glow? It’s a girl. And so on. A gender reveal is the easiest way to stop all those guessing games.

But then there is weeks of gender stereotyping to think about. If you reveal the sex pre arrival, you run the risk of people telling you what little boys do and what little girls are like – for weeks on end. Some people don’t want to find out the sex to simply avoid this kind of generalized small talk. There’s plenty of time for that postpartum.

Not finding out also means you won’t get a ton of people buying you the standard pink frills or t shirts with footballs on them. Some parents hate the idea of being pigeonholed. Friends and family have to go neutral and play it safe if they don’t know the sex. Think yellow, greens, greys and beige. At least until your little one makes an appearance.

And for some people, it just comes down to sheer surprise factor. Some people like the surprise. They simply don’t want to know. It just doesn’t matter.  They know it will be worth the wait. And that’s just fine by us too.

In the age of social oversharing (thanks Facebook!), it’s easy to feel pressured to spill the beans. While each couple will have a different opinion about gender reveals, only they will know what will make them happy. And that’s what really matters -not the way in which you find out, or share the news, but the way you WANT your story to go. Stay strong and do it your way!