Preferences and Behavior of Parents in Buying Toys That Teach Children Gender-Appropriate Roles

897 Words4 Pages
Objectives The purpose of this observation assignment was to investigate and interpret the behavior of individuals and groups present in a natural setting. Specifically, gender stereotyping by parents while selecting toys for their children was observed. The research explores whether differences in the gender of the child leads their parents to hold varying degrees of stereotyping in toy selection or not. The setting selected was the Toy Shop in International Market, Model Town. Results revealed that many masculine toys were rated as gender neutral. Although the feminine toys were considered to be restricted to the female gender alone. Background Parents play an important role in children’s socialization. They are regarded as one of the most influential agents of socialization. Consequently, if parents behave differently based on the gender of their child it would effect the child in understanding their identity and consequently in shaping their personalities. For example, girls might be encouraged to do tasks related to home-making, while boys might be encouraged to get involved in the outdoor tasks. Toys play an important role in teaching the children gender appropriate roles. Therefore toys remain an important domain of socialization. They play an integral part in the lives of young children. Toys not only engage children in an imaginary play, but they also stimulate the development of cognitive skills, and social interaction with other children. Studies have shown that gender is not biological, rather it is learnt through nurture. In that context parents play a vital role is displaying to their child a role appropriate for their gender and thus the selection of toys is also included in this training. The toys that children play with intimately can have a major impact in their development. This is why toy selection is so important and
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