Non-sexist Child Rearing

Non-sexist Child Rearing

In 1950, little Jennie was the smartest girl in her fifth-grade class, especially in math and science. She enjoyed looking at things through the microscope and solving equations. When she told her mother she wanted to be a scientist, Jennie's mother scoffed and said that little girls did not grow up to be scientists, but were nurses, schoolteachers, and housewives. Now, thirty years later, Jennie is married and has three children. She balances the family's budget and enjoys helping her children with their science projects, but most of Jennie's days are spent at home, in the kitchen-not in a laboratory. Jennie is not alone. Today, many women-and men-are the products of traditional methods of child rearing, and there is much evidence to show that these methods, and the standards that inspired them, are often sexist and inhibiting and can even cause physical harm.

Many supporters of traditional child rearing methods are educators. They say that encouraging women to go into fields such as teaching and nursing is good for the students and patients involved. They point to the obedience and discipline that were common among students in past generations and say that this was a direct result of the stringent, often motherly, influence of female teachers. Such contenders also say that the natural compassion of women and the gentleness of their touch make them better at caring for the physically or mentally ill. Such views are outdated. Many instances have occurred in the past when male teachers have been able to instill qualities of courtesy and orderliness in their students. Furthermore, if having females at the head of classrooms accounted for well-behaved students in ...

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...child rearing is a commitment by a parent or other caring adults to helping children grow up free-free of sex-role constraints and patriarchal predestination and free to discover the very best in themselves.

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