How Does Toys Affect Children

Gender Specific Toys Affect on Children Enrolled in Preschool Versus Children Not Attending Preschool

Gender plays an important role in the way children are raised in today’s society. The common stereotype that feminine toys are for girls and masculine toys are for boys is prevalent, even with all of the political advancements our society has made to try to free the world from these stigmas. It starts as early as when a child is in the mother’s womb. Most women will celebrate the arrival of their bundle of joy with a baby shower. Pink colors will be used for baby girls and blues for baby boys. In toy stores you will find aisles filled with toys separated by gender: baby dolls for girls and action heroes for boys. During ages three to five children enter their peak playing ages where their minds are most vulnerable to absorb everything and anything at once. Due to a failing economy, many more families are depending on early childcare programs to care for their children while they are forced to have both parents enter the workforce. During this sensitive, and impressionable time in a
Although it may be hard for a little boy to pick up a girls “dolly”, I strongly believe that children in a preschool atmosphere feel more comfortable playing with toys deemed towards a different gender. In a preschool classroom there are a large variety of toys and classmates of different genders. Children are encouraged to play together and explore different toys regardless of gender. Children whom are not enrolled in early education tend to be around more gender specific toys and are encouraged to play with the toys they have at home. Therefore I propose that Gender specific toys will influence the interaction between boys and girls, and will have a greater influence on children not enrolled in