Sahail AshrafGender Differences
November 2nd 2006 09:55
I've always been an advocate for boys having a go at female orientated toys and vice versa. I hate how advertising catalogues still have 'boy' and 'girl' pages with photos of boys playing with cars and girls with dolls.
Despite this, I have to admit there seem to be inherent differences between boys and girls. It's becoming more and more evident within the Mums' Group I attend that the boys have different patterns of behaviour, and interest in different activities, to the girls.
There are three girls in our group, my daughter included, and all of them developed, at about 15 months, an attachment to dolls. All of them now have a 'comfort' doll or teddy. None of the boys have one though. This comes despite the mums not advocating for or disallowing dolls or teddies. It just seems to have come naturally.
The boys often go for things like cars and blocks, while the girls are more interested in imaginative play. The boys are into climbing and running while the girls have greater language acquisition and focus on books.
I've found this really fascinating when the boys and girls have the choice of all of these things but gravitate to traditional roles. At home, I give my daughter the opportunity to play with everything from cars to dolls but she still spends much more time on the dolls than on the cars - purely by her own choice.
So it brings me to raise the good old nature versus nurture debate? How much of what our children play with is due to what they're encouraged to do and how much is instinctive?
Despite this, I have to admit there seem to be inherent differences between boys and girls. It's becoming more and more evident within the Mums' Group I attend that the boys have different patterns of behaviour, and interest in different activities, to the girls.
There are three girls in our group, my daughter included, and all of them developed, at about 15 months, an attachment to dolls. All of them now have a 'comfort' doll or teddy. None of the boys have one though. This comes despite the mums not advocating for or disallowing dolls or teddies. It just seems to have come naturally.
The boys often go for things like cars and blocks, while the girls are more interested in imaginative play. The boys are into climbing and running while the girls have greater language acquisition and focus on books.
I've found this really fascinating when the boys and girls have the choice of all of these things but gravitate to traditional roles. At home, I give my daughter the opportunity to play with everything from cars to dolls but she still spends much more time on the dolls than on the cars - purely by her own choice.
So it brings me to raise the good old nature versus nurture debate? How much of what our children play with is due to what they're encouraged to do and how much is instinctive?
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Comment by Kristen
Silly American
Comment by Sandi
Just today, my son wanted to take a baby doll to the Science Center. I told him ok, but he forgot about her. He carries her around, and cares for her, just like his daddy does for him.
Comment by Sandi
Just today, my son wanted to take a baby doll to the Science Center. I told him ok, but he forgot about her. He carries her around, and cares for her, just like his daddy does for him.
Comment by Sandi
Just today, my son wanted to take a baby doll to the Science Center. I told him ok, but he forgot about her. He carries her around, and cares for her, just like his daddy does for him.
Comment by Candice
Thanks for your post. It frustrates me no end that toy stores are still divided into 'boy' and 'girl' sections. It makes you wonder if we're getting anywhere at all with the whole equality thing. That's a great example too - how are boys going to become men who share in the housework etc if they don't have the opportunity to role model? Same for the girls with things like pretend tool kits etc that are always in the boy section of shops. I can imagine this will become more difficult as my daughter gets older - I wonder if she'll be happy to browse around the 'boy' sections if she wants to look at toy cars for example.
Comment by Candice
It's great to hear from someone who has a boy and a girl (it's all girls in my family - cousins, nieces etc etc). I love the response you gave to your FIL and BIL - you'd think they'd be more open-minded if they cook etc hey? I guess it just goes to show how ingrained the gender thing is when it comes to toys. Some women I know get really worked up if their kids play with something that they think if for the opposite sex. They seriously worry there's something wrong with their child. Others are great. There's a boy at our playgroup who puts on the same set of green beads from the dress ups every week. I think it's great.