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Genders and Toys

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Genders and Toys
Toys: The Affect they have in our Children
The way society is today, children cannot help but to have social and emotional problem from toys. To be honest, it is not he kids with the problem, it is the adults. For the most part children can play with toys no matter which ones and be happy, but because we live in a gendered role society each toy is made for specific gender. Barbie’s for girls and trucks for boys. Parents forget that toys are there to help our children develop social skills not mold them; that is their job. Society as well as the media has affected the way children are raised and toys are just one of the many tools. Children’s toys are so highly genderized, yet we often accept these standards that society placed on them. These days, it is basically a cultural habit, a rite of passage sort of speak, to hand your son a toy car and buy your daughter dolls to play with, maintaining the gender stereotypes that society deems as "normal" for girls and boys. It is up to the parents to break this cycle of gender stereotype.
Doug Gertner, Ph.D, also known as "The Grateful Dad,"(“THE GRATEFUL DAD RADIO HOUR” is a conversation about men…at home, at work, and at play, held weekly on the air of Castle Rock Radio) says, "When we send or support messages of idealized gender—tough, unemotional, driven boys, and demure, passive, dependent girls—we are not offering our children the opportunity to be themselves." Instead of forcing boys to shoot Nerf guns and girls to coddle baby dolls, remove the issue of gender roles and stereotypes in your home by allowing your child 's imagination to run wild without gender-biased toys.
Choosing the right toy for your child is a complex thing, especially when you do not know which one is right for your child. The fact that society has made choosing a toy a gender issue is unreasonable, but we encourage that idea. As you walk down the baby aisle of any department store it is being genderized. It is divided by color, style, and



Cited: Borger, Gloria. "Barbie 's Newest Value." Us News and World Report. 1 Dec. 1997: 40. Print. Bryjal, George, and Michael Soraka. Sociology: Cultural Diversity in a Changing World. New York: Allyn & Bacon Incorporated, 1997. 209-245. Web. Campenni, Estelle. "Gender Stereotyping of Children 's Toys." Sex Roles. 21. (1999): 121-38. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. Curtis, Jae. "Guys and Dolls." Reducing Gender Stereotypes in Your Home. 10.29 (2012): 214-15. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. Macoby, Jaclyn. "Gender." Developmental Psychology. 17.6 (1996): 17. Web. 1 May. 2013. O 'Brien, M, and A Huston. "Development of Sex Typed Play Behavior in Toddlers." Developmental Psychology . 21. (1985): 866-71. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. Pomerleau, Andree. "Pink or Blue." Environmental Gender Stereotype in the first two years of Life. 22.5-6 (1990): 359-67. Web. 7 May. 2013. Sweet, Elizabeth. "Guys and Dolls." New York Time. 23 Dec 2012: 12. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. Vaux, Alan. "Variation Across Sex and Sex Role." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 10.1 (1984): 119-26. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. Sweet, Elizabeth. "Guys and Dolls." New York Time. 23 Dec 2012: 12. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. Vaux, Alan. "Variation Across Sex and Sex Role." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 10.1 (1984): 119-26. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.

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