Gender Differences Of Childhood Play Behavior

Gender role expectations are inescapable in our society as we naturally tend to sort humans into categories, the easiest one being gender. Upon first meeting a person, most people automatically classify the other’s gender. With this classification come the inevitable gender role expectations. Even for those who consciously try their hardest not to cloud their perceptions of others based on “traditional” gender role expectations, it is almost impossible not to subconsciously succumb to these expectations that are ingrained in our minds virtually since the day we are born. These expectations often influence how one interacts with another. This is especially important when taking into consideration the effects that gender socialization of children through gendered toys, media, and parental affects child development.

Having an experience playing with my sister, allows me to imitate and reinforce to behave in gender appropriate ways and develop a concept of gender and than engage in activities consistent with the emerging concept. In addition, when I started school age, I engage to play with just my same gender and choosing just girls to play with. According to Hughes, the sex of one’s playmates is related to the tendency to choose the gender appropriate and inappropriate toys (Hughes, 168). In same time, playing with children in different gender allows me to discover and explore the differences between boys and

In this literature review, gender-typed play behaviors were compared across 5 different cultural groups; namely European American, Mexican American, Dominican American, African American, and Migrant Mexican. The onset of gender-typed play, as well as the influences of gender-typed play were also examined. Findings show that gender-typed play behaviors, in general, persist across cultures, with the exception of the children in the Migrant Mexican group, where gender-typed play behaviors were not significant (Zosuls, et al., 2014; Halim, et al., 2013; Zosuls, et al., 2009; Goble, et al., 2012; Fabes, et al., 2003; Mathur & Parameswaran, 2015). Research shows that a child’s ability to self-label around 2 years old leads to gender-typed play patterns

In the article “Should the World of Toys Be Gender-Free?” Peggy Orenstein suggests that stereotypical play patterns have adverse effects on developing children’s brains. Young girls and boys play differently than one another. Girls prefer role play while boys prefer to build things. This trend is seen even in young primates. Male primates would prefer to play with cars and balls while female primates would prefer dolls. This linear style of play inhibits children’s growth, particular young children in preschool when their brains are the most malleable. To combat this problem it is recommended that parents promote cross-sex relationships for their kids so that they might develop different type of play, one where boys can roleplay and girls

According to Fulcher, Sutfin, and Patterson (2008), the study showed attitudes to be the best predictor of a tolerance towards gender transgressions, more conservative parenting were less tolerable of gender transgressions, division of labor was more influential over children’s occupational aspiration, and parental shared childcare had less sex-typed occupational aspirations among the children. Overall, straight parents were more likely to divide childcare and paid and unpaid labor more evenly, while lesbian mothers were more likely to be liberal and egalitarian that could lead to more gender flexibility.

During the first observation, the child will play individually with the provided toys, whereas during the second and third observation sessions the participant will engage in two peer plays, one with a same sex partner, and one with a child of the opposite sex. An example of the data-sheet that will be used in this study can be found in appendix A of this document.

After reviewing the results of GP’s I-PAS, showing how developed his social and emotional skills were compared to the children in his age group, I understood why others followed GP and GP’s need for leadership in social play during center time activities. During most activities, I found that children gravitated towards GP and his social dramatic play activities because he openly invited others to join his games. With saying this, I found GP to be more aggressive towards his peers when they were not following the guidelines of his games. This compares to our reading in chapter seven of Frost et. al, (2001) text about the differences in social play between girls and boys and a study conducted by Ostrov and Keating (2004) explained how male children

During the preschool years, they start to interact with each other by creating complex story lines together. As they do this, they learn to negotiate, cooperate, and share (though some kids don't master the art of sharing until they're 4 to 6 years old). When children disagree about who gets to be the daddy or who will wear the purple dress, they're actually developing important social skills, says Sara Wilford, director of the Early Childhood Program at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. How you can boost social play: Once your child

Kohlberg argued that over the course of our lives, everyone is challenged against numerous choices about what is right and wrong. These challenges start as we are children and during this time of development it is important that we learn how to effectively evaluate these risks accordingly. As a child first starting out we learn about risk through play, which is why play is such an important time in a child’s life. There is however a limit to how much play a child should be subjected to, as the consequence can significantly impact on an individual’s future development.

Segregation universally exists among children since the young age and can be observe earlier when it comes to choose a playmate. Children develop concepts or ideas (schemas) about what boys and girls are typically like. These concepts include stereotyped, and often exaggerated, notions about gender differences. Examples: "Boys are rough and like to fight and play with trucks" and "Girls are nice and like to talk and play with dolls." Children use these cognitive schemas as filters when they judge themselves and observe other children (Martin, 1994). Nevertheless of why gender segregation happens, the different of social influence between male and female groups or affiliation shape the way of color, toys, or any other choice that we see in

There are many important facts about a family’s parental sexual orientation that affect a child’s growth. One of those revolves around the gender-typed play behaviors of children in the early stages of life. One study conducted in 2012 by Goldberg A., Kashy D., and Smith J. researched and examined questions relating to this subject to further knowledge of children’s cognitive growth and development in early years of life. This study focused on two main hypotheses that follow ideas from social constructionist and social learning theories respectively; “Children in same-gender parent families will be less gender-typed in their play than children in heterosexual-parent families,” and “boys in lesbian-mother families… will demonstrate less gender-stereotyped play behavior… than boys in gay-father families and boys in heterosexual-parent families… and girls in gay-father families… will demonstrate less gender-stereotyped play behavior… than girls in lesbian-mother families and girls in heterosexual-parent families” (Goldberg, A. a., Kashy, D. k., & Smith, J. j. 2012).

One of the drawbacks of the study could be that it only includes a female child and there is no variation in age involved. Considering the fact that there is always a difference between the personalities and behavior of the two genders especially in childhood, the experiment should have included a control dyad or could also use a mother son dyad. At this point, the study loses its ability to generalize due to the fact that gender difference has been ignored. Furthermore, the study could also be criticized on the fact that it does not highlight the presence of children that suffer from psychological issues or disorders such as dyslexia. Unlike children with presence of mind, some infants are not even able to respond to visualizations at an early age. Therefore, the experiment lacks reliability due to exclusion of mentally challenged children or those who suffer from psychological disorders from the experiment. The study explains how the mother helps the child to make contact in the first round of the experiment. However, the experiment does not focus on the possibility of an unknown individual helping the child with the first round. Peek-a-boo being a very common game played in childhood even in today’s time, it is not necessary that the game is played between the mother and the child. Anyone around could play the game with the child so as to make the child comfortable around that individual. Therefore, the study by Bruner

By the age of eight weeks, toddlers can distinguish between the different sexes coordinating with them. This various quality, in itself, gives adolescents a broader, healthier experience of separating socially coordinated efforts — particularly for kids brought up by emerging sexual introduction. Whether they comprehend it or not, adolescents are learning at soonest age, by total feeling that all sexes are unmistakable and have hybrid systems for overseeing life, other adults, and child. Fathers tend to play with, and moms tend to look after, youngsters. Fathers energize rivalry; moms support value. One style stimulates autonomy while alternate supports security. Both give safety and trust in their strict manners by conveying affection

Boys and girls learn their culture, culture behavior, and develop a sense of self at a very young age. While they are young, boys and girls begin gender socialization in their culture. At an early age, girls are given toys that are feminine like doll babies, kitchen sets, and Barbie dolls. Boys are given toys that are masculine like trucks, cars, and action figures. Those toys help to introduce them to traditional gender roles. The toy practice helped me to see the ways that distinctive toys are utilized as a part of play to help accomplish gender socialization. Play can be viewed as a way that young children take in the diverse desires for how girls and boys are supposed to act. In my essay, I will discuss how the toys that children play with differ by gender.

It is also possible that the issue of gender played a role in the child’s social behavior. According to Hays ADDRESSING model, males seem to exercise more power while the females, intersexed, and transgender may feel weaker. The cultural conflict may be accelerated by gender. For instance, we may want to find out if the child exhibits aggressive behavior when it comes to other children of opposite gender. It makes sense to understand the role of gender and social isolation.