It's More Than Just Playtime

As a child, there are many forces that push you towards certain gender roles. This may not just be the parents subliminally insisting for a boy to “be a man” when he cries or reassuring a little girl that she is “my little princess”. Society has a huge push on what a little boy or girl should be. This is seen with one of the things that most children do with the majority of their time: playing! This, however, can be a huge influence not only on their gender development, but on their future career. In the book Pink Brain, Blue Brain, the author, Lise Eliot, talks about little boys and girls preferences for toys. In one study, it was seen that by 12 months of age, children begin preferring toys that are more “suited” for their gender. In an article published on BBC titled "Do childrens' toys influence their career choices", a study showed a correlation between career paths and toys that kids pay with.

It is scene that certain career paths are male or female dominated and may have to do with the message that the toys proved. “Different types of toys give different messages about what's appropriate for boys and girls to do, and have different educational content - both elements are important and might have a bearing on schooling and career choices later," said a professor Becky Francis of Roehampton University.

This is however seen more predominantly in males says Lise Eliot. Females have less sigma than male when playing with toys outside of their gender norms. She uses the example of a tomboy. “Just as tomboy daughters are more acceptable to most parents than effeminate son are, parents aren’t generally upset by seeing their daughters playing with Hot Wheel Cars…” This problem is also talk about in the article. Parents push out boys to be “manly men” but have less of a demand for our girls to be gender-stereotyped. 

So what can be done to prevent this? The article talks about the importance of parents to stay open-minded. It is noted in both the book at the article of the stigma held against boys. There is a certain expectation for them to not play with dolls, to enjoy sports and pursue stereotypical male jobs. Allowing boys to play with dolls and stuff animals and allowing girls to play with trucks and tools will allow for both genders to boost belief in what they are capable of doing.  

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25857895