Everyone has grown up with a certain toy they loved to play with, but no one really knew the effects it would on them as they aged. Children that are obsessed with their toys and other devices could be affected negatively and positively both with their emotional and social skills and development. When babies are born, they are forced into what they will play with, but it should not be that way. Parents need to give their children space to have an open mind about what toys they want to play with (Roberts 1 of 1).
Does pink have to be just a girls color? The color pink was not meant just for girls it just became that way back in the 1950’s. Girls are not the only ones who can wear pink, boys can too (Gottlieb 1 of 2). A toy catalogue shows boys and girls playing with the opposite sex toys to make the catalogue seem more realistic (Holly Ife 1 of 1). Some children do not want to be told what toy to play with, they would rather their parents give them a toy and it having nothing to do with gender (Delbanco 1 of 1). In Sweden, more toys that boys are supposed to play with girls started playing with them to embrace gender neutrality, although gender neutral toys will not come around, it does not mean that boys and girls cannot play with whatever they want (Gager 1 of 1).
Lego is one of the many toy companies who think it is okay to make boys out to only shoot guns and save the world, and that girls just bake, color, and sit around. That is not fair because Lego’s are supposed to help children be creative, but they cannot because they are too busy being told what to play with. The Lego company needs to stop with the certain gender type toys and just let children be creative or some other toy company is going to step in take all of ...
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Holly Ife. "Girls and trucks, boys and dolls, toy catalogues go neutral Sex roles off the agenda." Herald Sun (Melbourne) 21 April 2012: 2. online.
Lange, Alexzandra. "Living in Lego City." PRINTMAG June 2012: 4. Online.
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Payne, Rachel G. "Are Learning Apps Good For Babies." September 2013: 1. Middle Search Plus. Online.
Roberts, Amy. "Trucks for boys, Dolls for girls?" 1 November 2004: 1.
Subrahmanyam, Kaveri, et al. "The Impact of Home Computer Use On Children's Activities and Development." futurechildren 2000: 22. online.
Synowic, Ruth. "A Play Experience Question." 2011: 3. Online.
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Gender Stereotypes Among Children's Toys When you walk into the toy section of any store, you do not need a sign to indicate which section is on the girls’ side and which section is on the boys’ side. Aside from all the pink, purple, and other pastel colors that fill the shelves on the girls’ side, the glitter sticks out a lot as well. The boys’ toys, however, are mostly dark colors – blue, black, red, gray, or dark green. The colors typically used on either side are very stereotypical in themselves.
I am not saying that a Barbi doll is necessarily a bad thing, besides the fact that some of her outfits are frightening, but I would rather have the life like rocket that can fly a 100 feet up before it returns to the ground. This discussion might appear superficial at first, but there is an underlying problem to why a parent might want to encourage their young daughters to play with a science kit instead of deciding what evening gown Barbi looks best in. A lot of the toys designed for boys might also be used as a learning tool. When a boy plays with legos and starts to create buildings he is developing his creativity. This act could lead him into a career as an architect or engineer. When he is encouraged to play with rockets or a microscope he has the potential of developing an interest in science that could lead him into a career working on satellites.
That is, boys will customarily receive blue clothing or toys while pink clothing or toys will be for girls. “Children‘s toys and games are also differentiated on the basis of sex” (Diekman and Murnen 2004; Seccombe p.99). Through these toys or playing with these toys, boys and girls would eventually distinguish the differences between male and female; also, may strengthen, and perpetuate the traditional gender stereotypes. For instance, boys or men are expected to act and behave in ways that have been considered masculine or associated with masculinity (Seccombe p.104); “men are often assumed to be more aggressive, sexual, unemotional, rational, and task oriented than women” (Seccombe p.93); and thus, action figures, such as Superman, WWE wrestling toys, and Hulk are made for boys to play with. While girls or women’s roles are associated with femininity (Seccombe p.104); “women are assumed to be more nurturing, passive, and dependent” (Seccombe p.93); and so, cooking and baking set and baby dolls with bottle feeding and diapering set are made for girls, so, they could apply their nurturing and culinary skills when they get older and mainly do household chores. Personally, I believe these toys have both negative and positive influence on children’s socialization. For instance, playing with toy guns or military toy set with a knife may lead to early exposure to violence and aggression. However, some toys, such as Lego building set and blocks, arts and crafts have a powerful and influential influence on children’s thinking and
To begin with, toy stores play significant row when it comes to the gender socialization process in children. I recently visited a Toys R Us in a shopping center near downtown Redwood City. Although It is located on the east side of Redwood City the shopping center is fairly neat and seems to have a wide variety of shoppers. The store was rather big and neatly organized. The front of the store for the most part was gender neutral. It was easy to navigate through the story and find the girls and boys toys. For the most part, boys toys were in blue boxes, while girls toys were in predominantly pink boxes. On the one hand, the boys sections were dominated by darker colors like blue, yellow, and black. On the other hand, girls sections were lighter
In Katha Pollitt’s essay “Why Boys Don’t Play with Dolls,” she explains the differences between the genders and she argues how feminist movements are hardly appreciated. Pollitt further demonstrates that women’s have the same power as any men have, but society doesn’t let women get higher than men. Pollitt explains that, “It’s twenty-eight years since the founding of NOW, and boys still like trucks and girls still like dolls” (544). From here, we can infer that the author is comparing the activities of boys and girls, and their choices of toys. Since, I am able to read and see the World, I saw that all the time that boys are more rivalry. There have always been presumptions in society that boys are very outgoing and bold, on the other hand, whereas girls are a little laid back sometimes. Girls play quietly and with non-hunting objects. However, boys always make noises. In addition, Pollitt keeps using the word “feminism” throughout her essay, and talks about how women and men should have equal rights. For example girls can do the same things as boys can do or vice versa. I can relate to this story as I grew up with two brothers who always played with cars, trucks, and other toys like dragons, but I was expected to stay away from their things and go play with my, so called, girly stuff.
Gender Socialization plays a big part in a child’s life in shaping their femininty and masculinity. Every child is brought with to have played with at least one toy to have called their own. Now, the purpose of the research that has been conducted is to take a further look into how toys that is sold through stores and played by children. This will then give hindsight as to how what is considered the gender norm has a part in gender role stereotyping and the affect these toys have on children view of gender characteristics.
Girls are supposed to play with dolls, wear pink, and grow up to become princesses. Boys are suppose to play with cars, wear blue, and become firefighters and policemen. These are just some of the common gender stereotypes that children grow up to hear. Interactions with toys are one of the entryway to different aspects of cognitive development and socialism in early childhood. As children move through development they begin to develop different gender roles and gender stereotypes that are influenced by their peers and caregivers.
Toy stores are perfect places for a sociologist to use their sociological imagination. Gendering and racism is thought to be something that is socially constructed as opposed to biologically constructed. Gendering starts during infancy, and around 2 years old children start to internalize these gender differences. I argue that children’s toys help socialize children into gender specific roles. Toy stores, like Target and Toys R Us help us understand what types of toys help to gender children. I will explain how the toys in the toy aisles differ and compare. Not all toys are either male or female, some toys are gender neutral.
Firstly, excessive exposure to screens and electrical devices is shown to drastically effect a growing child's social skills. These skills are invaluable and without them children are incapable of making and keeping loyal friends; more likely to suffer from behavioural issues and more likely to be uncomfortable speaking to people: especially their elders and people unbeknown to them. A long term research team, The Millennium Cohort Study Group, has conducted a study consisting of nineteen thousand children born in 2000 and 2001. In following this group of children, the study group has discovered that children who are prone to watching or interacting with electrical devices for more than three hours a day are more likely to suffer from behavioural and relationship-orientated problems by the time they were seven than those who spent less time on their devices. This study demonstrates the damaging effect these devices have...
For a long time pink has been associated with femininity, which gives us the underlying assumption that girls are sweet, gentle, and delicate because that is what pink has come to represent in our society. Yet, the colours used in the toys meant for boys are black and blue which are seen as tough and aggressive. Coincidently, sweet, gentle and delicate is how society sees girls and how they believe they should act when they become women. Furthermore, tough and aggressive is how we want the men to be in our society. Critical sociology looks to gender as a competition where one gender is
Times have changed and due to this new technological era that we live in, children are spoiled with various types as well as numerous electronic devices. Although these advances are rewarding, they are detrimental to the youth. From xbox to television watching children spend more time trapped in their house, t...
To continue, everyone can agree that children need a healthy environment to develop cognitive, social, emotional, physical and linguistic development. How much technology can improve or distract from these essential skills varies with age. The impact and implications of technology tools on young children has been studied and researched through the Let’s Move Childcare initiative and results concluded that little to no “screen time” is preferred for children under the age of two. For children two years or older, the recommended “screen time” is limited to thirty minutes per week in the classroom setting. (White House, 2011.)
...ttention and focus to reduce the negative impacts on development of children. Research suggests that technology use and especially computers enhances development of children when properly used. On the other hand, the uncontrolled use of technology in childhood education may produce negative effects and impair development in children. Uses of technology in childhood education range from enhancing social interactions, language development to initial computer use skills. It is important to note that, technology use in children education is a matter of how it can be harnessed for the purposes of learning in children. Research by health professionals argues that technology use in children education can produce detrimental health effects especially obesity. Thus, children exposure to technological gadgets like computers and tablets among others should be greatly checked.
Subrahmanyam, K. (2000). The Impact of Home Computer Use on Children’s Activities and Development: The Future of Children and Computer Technology, 10(2), 123-143. Retrieved from http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/Web/People/kraut/RKraut.site.files/articles/subrahmanyam00-Compute%26kids.pdf
The gender stereotypes we are experiencing today are outdated and need change. Right now, gender marketing is higher than it has ever been. A comparison can be shown as Robb states “In the 1970s…few children’s’ toys were targeted specifically at boys or girls at all; nearly 70% of toys had no gender-specific labels at all” (Robb). Since the 70’s gender marketing has climbed its way up to its peak. There is a sort of disconnect between marketing and new gender advancements that have been occurring recently. The gender standards that are currently being used are outdated and do not hold true as more women are excelling in the sciences, while more men choose to become stay at home fathers. The “Let Toys be Toys” campaign website claims that “themes of glamour and beauty in toys and playthings directed at even the youngest girls tips over into a worrying emphasis on outward appearance. Stereotyped attitudes about boys are equally harmful as the constant assumption reinforced in toy advertising and packaging that boys are inevitably rough, dirty, rowdy…which feeds low expectations of boys that undermine their performance at school”(“Let Toys be Toys”). These outcomes are not acceptable, and gender-neutral toys may aid in combat against these old age ideals, and could possibly help make the