Girls And Girls : Toys Are Best For Them By Color And Theme, Social And Parental Expectations

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Children are exposed to toys from as soon as a couple months of age. Parents and family usually decides which toys are appropriate for each child, usually based on gender. Children are able to distinguish which toys are appropriate for them even when they aren’t exposed to them. I am going to review three ways in which children decide which toys are best for them by color and theme, social and parental expectations, and what they see on television as gender appropriate guidance. Girls and boys differ in their preferences for toys. One study indicates that there was no major sex differences in infant’s preferences for different shapes or colors. Sex-typed toy preferences have been seen in infants (Alexander, Wilcox, & Woods, 2009;…show more content…
Kahlenberg and Hines (2010) discovered that when Nickelodeon aired commercials they were mostly pastel colors they would only feature girls with pastel colored toys. In other commercials that were geared towards boys, the boys tended to be dressed in bright or neon colors while the toys were also bright or bold in color.
Themes of toys further discriminate, girls have more dolls and domestic items, and boys have more tools, sports equipment, and large and small vehicles (Pomerleau et al., 1990). Girls are more prone to choose toys that are pinks and purples and girly toys such as domestic animals, doll furniture, barbies and kitchen type toys. All of these toys are domestic based and gender appropriate according to society. Boys pick toys that are blues and darker colors, toys such as trucks, blocks, action figures, and toy nerf guns. Boys also have several sports equipment to choose from such as basketball, baseball and soccer, these are all for both genders but society makes them appear more for boys.
Children gravitate towards same-gender type toys based on being influenced and from learning what is expected from parents and society. Gender role stereotyping is one of the most consistent domains in which adults play a major role in children’s socialization (Campenni, 1991; Idle, Wood, & Desmarais, 1993; Lytton & Romney, 1991). Past research has proven young children tend to pick
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