Question

Make a list of toys and games that boys typically play and another for girls. If there is a difference between the two lists, can you think of some reasons why this is so? Does this have any relationship to the roles children have to play as adults?

Answer 1

Hint:Our society makes clear distinctions between boys and girls even while they are in growing stages . Right from the early stages of life, boys are taught to be rough and tough while girls are taught to be mild and soft. Toys like cars, helicopters , guns to play are given to boys while girls are given dolls , kitchen sets. Games like cricket, football, shooting , kite-flying, hockey are the games which boys play while girls play table-tennis, badminton ,swimming ,hide and seek games. Prejudices in the society lead to the difference in the two lists. Each game and toys are the ways of telling children that they have particular roles to play when they grow up as men and women. Gender roles are influenced by family, environment and society. It is evident in four year olds for understanding this role which is essential for their social development.

Complete answer:
Boys are well aware and very conscious of their vigour and strength from the very beginning stages of life . Toys like guns, airplanes ,trains satisfy their instinct/impulse of being boys. Girls on the other hand prefer those toys which are soft and delicate. They love to play indoors as compared to boys. Their girly nature does not permit them to play with toys which boys prefer. Boys are emphasized to work on their masculine qualities while girls are expected to be in all feminine morality.
The toys and games with which the boys and girls play have a relationship to the roles they have to play as adults . Girls are protective while boys give protection to girls. Majority of the people in the society don't consider boys and girls equal. Boys usually are concerned to go out to earn money while girls are restricted to stay at home , to manage household work and to look after children.

Note: Around the age of two, gender identity develops, Children begin to observe the physical differences between boys and girls. And by the age of four, children have a stable sense of gender identity.