Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Boys vs. Girls--The Stuffed Animals

Before I had kids, I thought that each child was an individual, and didn't believe much in gender stereotypes in children. Little boys ran and jumped a lot because that's the kind of games they were taught. Little girls played with dolls because that was the kind of toys they were given. I thought that if all kids, regardless of gender, were exposed to the same things, they would have the same tendencies. Then I spent some time in the real world of kids and figured out that I was wrong. Possibly there were some differences between boys and girls. From time to time, I'm going to share some of my experiences that led me to this conclusion. However, so as to not bias you, I'm going to let you guess, who are the boys in the stories and who are the girls.  Today's Story I was working with a new person at work and he invited us over for dinner. He wanted me to meet his wife and little girl, Lily, who was the same age as Wally at the time. They were both just under two years old. Wally and Lily hit it off, and we parents had a good time watching as they toddled around with each other. Coincidentally, both Wally and Lilly were attached to a stuffed animal at the time that they carried everywhere. However, the way they carried them was quite different. One of them, carried it by the arm, swung it around, and drug it on the ground. The other one cuddled it in their arms and cooed quietly to it. You choose. Which was the boy and which was the girl?Disclaimer: Of course, we all know that each person is a unique individual with a special set of traits that makes them who they are. No one is “all boy” just as no one is “all girl.”