Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Is there a seperation between boys and girls when it comes to toys and games?
As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 29-33 the author talked about different toys for boys and girls. Usually toys for boys are action figures, race cars, etc and for girls it would be princesses, dolls and many more. Do you think parents or others react in a negative way if boys are playing dress up or with dolls and if girls are playing with action figures or race cars? At our school we recently experienced a boy who enjoys wearing princess costumes in the dress up corner. One day the child's father dropped him off at school and the child wanted me to help him put on the costume. I helped him put it on while his father was talking to someone. The child's father saw that he had the princess outfit on and he was shacking his head while saying "Ah no no". However, the child didn't react to what his father was saying then he began to play again. I think that children just want to experiment with different clothing and what they want to play with. While I read, "Where are the Game Girls?" the author did a curricula where her students researched on boy and girl games to find out what types of games would be appropriate for both boys and girls. The students also got to design their own game inventions that girls and boys can play. From the reading, "Playing with Gender" the author talked about boys playing in the dramatic play area where they pretended to care for their babies while girls wanted to do sports, ride bikes etc. What can we teach children about gender?
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What was your response to the father? I think with all of the issues regarding gender roles and of course the touchy subject about sexual orientation, fathers especially, are afraid to let their child play with feminine things. Do you think it would of been a different reaction from the mother? Do you think the child noticed or felt differently after?
ReplyDeleteI think given our position as teachers we often decide to step aside and allow parents to raise their children accordingly. But what happens when we leave children to defend their decision to wear costumes or play with toys that are not acceptable to their families? In the case of the boy who was playing with the princess outfit he was resilient and continued to play in the outfit. But what can we do if families feel strongly about what their children wear or play with? Do we continue to step to the side?
ReplyDeleteHi Dawn,
ReplyDeleteI have been doing quite a bit study on gender including research and writing. One of the things I noted was that teachers will allow boys to dress-up in princess costumes with the reasoning of children like to explore different textures. This is a valid reason but I also think it could relate to children's developing identities, particularly lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, and intersex children -- often placed in the margins in classrooms. Is it teachers' own discomfort with children's challenges to conventional gender constructs which limits teachers' views on children's experimentation with gender possibilities? Can teachers create spaces which allow for challenges to expected, often heterosexual, identities?
Jeanne
Hi Dawn,
ReplyDeleteI guess that there is actually a separation between boys and girls when it comes to toys and games. I agree with Dr. Iorio that teachers will allow boys to dress-up in princess costumes to explore different textures but it could relate to children's developing identities. I had an experience to have 4 year old boy who put a flower on his ear everyday. Other boys teased the boy saying, "You are not a boy because you have flower." They pointed to his flower. To be honest with you, I did not know how to handle the situation. How did you respond when the father said,"Oh, no no...."?
Hi!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how every dad was their sons to be tough and every mom wants their girl to be a princess. I think its great that we are trying to make a change and show to community that girls and boys can be anything. We do have to just realize that children are just experimenting. But if we stereotype things then children will feel more self conscious with themselves. For starts I think everyone have a hard time teaching this subject because many people still believe in the gender stereotypes.
We should teach children that both boys and girls are highly competent and practicing something makes someone good at it; not whether or not they are a boy or girl. I think it is great that you allow the boys to wear the dress up clothes. There was a little boy where I worked and he loved to wear the skirts in the housekeeping center and one day one of the girls brought in some princess costumes to share and the little boy was so excited. Later we told his dad about what happened and he just shook his head a little but laughed because his son was wearing pink nail polish when he arrived. The little boy liked sparkles, baseball, running and high heels. He was not the only boy who tried on the princess dresses either, there were about three other boys as well. They liked how the dresses poofed out when they twirled around. We also have a wood working center where the girls are encouraged to participate and the children get to see that girls can do things that boys can do and vise versa. It is even in this young age that they have already begun forming their view on the world. By exposing them to an environment where gender stereotypes are broken down they can be more open minded as they get older.
ReplyDelete