Introduction
It is during childhood that individuals are in a position to develop characters, enhance their brain activities, and develop interaction skills and so on. The key reasons are proven by scientists who affirm that the human brain is a lifetime project but is very active during the early days. Therefore, some of the primary influences of brain development include the surroundings that the child is exposed to. Parents have become the central point of who the child will be, how they will behave and what they will become about what they involve them in. For instance, besides engaging children in educative activities like games, parents ensure that they own toys that they can play interact and identify with. Besides keeping them busy, the toys are in most cases supposed to help children develop individual skills that match their gender, hence the distinction in the choice and types of toys for male and female children.
Why toys have been gendered
According to Joseph Schwartz (2011), personalities and the self-concepts during childhood depend on what the children are introduced to. The society, on the other hand, has a perspective if not stereotypes in how male and female children should play and who they should become in future. Therefore, many times parents and business owners introduce children to the type of toys that identify with their gender roles and personalities. For instance, rarely are girls bought for toys that are inform of machines like trucks and guns instead a bigger percentage of them possess dolls and kitchen wares. While men are considered masculine as compared to women, they are in most cases expected to develop defined careers in future like being a soldier, a driver, an engineer and so on. Hence the introduction to these fields during childhood through creation and purchase of toys that exposes them to the fields. Girls, on the other hand, are expected to be home care takers and family care givers hence the exposure to dolls that represent children who need care.
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Contrary to the societal expectation the YouTube Barbie video (2015) has proven that children can explore any field and become whatever they desire to be while interacting with their toys. It is the social restriction of what should be done and what shouldn’t that hinders children’s ability to explore a unique territory. Other limitations are observed on the colors that are used in the toys of girls and boy. For example, it is seldom to find a bright pink truck for a boy since many times while vehicles are considered toys for boys, the color in most cases will entice a girl to possess it more than a boy.
If a Barbie doll can influence a girl into being anything in the world, it proves that despite the nature of the toy, it is the imagination of the child that controls their play. Hence the toy in most cases will just be a cast in his or her story that they use to play at a particular moment (Brotherson, 2009).
Conclusion
The environment of a child is a critical aspect of their growth and development. Therefore, the types and nature of toys that children are introduced to may impact their development in more than one ways. On the other hand, while society can influence the characters and personalities of the children through the perspectives and stereotypic ideas, children can defy these elements through their breakage of the rules even while playing with their defined and restricted toys. The toys, on the other hand, are in a position to impact the creativity of the children which in most cases contribute to the self-awareness of the children.
References
Brotherson, S. (2009). Understanding Brain Development in Young Children. North Dakota State University.
Schwartz, J. (2011, August 26). Kids Toys Explain Childhood Self-Concept and Personality Growth . Retrieved July 22, 2017, from Ezine Articles: http://ezinearticles.com/?Kids-Toys-Explain-Childhood-Self-Concept-and-Personality-Growth&id=6522408
YouTube. (2015, October 8). Imagine The Possibilities/Barbie.
