Gender difference in play essay

Based on the studies, educators should be aware of the peer pressures that children receive in negative implicit or explicit behaviors toward stereotyped gender activities. (Dobbin et al. , 2010). When teaching school age children, educators should understand how negative responses through peers may affect behaviors of each gender. Educators also need to understand the typical behaviors of children when they are facing dilemma among gender norms and expectations. Teachers including caregivers in school age programs should provide the safe environment where children could learn in cross-gender education.

Recently researchers emphasize that only 10% of boys and 20% of girls consistently engage in gender non-normative behaviors. (Lee & Troop-Gordon, 2011). For example, boys prefer playing action figures, watching sports, and building blocks or logos. Most girls prefer playing with a play house, playing dress-up, and drawing pictures.

Some children choose a peer who atypically engages in either masculine or feminine activity and harass the peer through social exclusion, spreading of rumors, or threats of friendship. Lee & Troop- Gordon, 2011). Similar to this, aftershock coordinators that had been interviewed hare their experiences in gender-bias activities among kindergarten through 6th grade children. Although the coordinators encourage children to engage in the various activities that provided in the program, most boys appeared to engage in action-figure play and sport board games as much as girls tend to be playing in the play house with dolls and feminine characters’ coloring books. There was no evidence of any bulling observed among children in the program; however, some children seemed to tattle to each other about the child who did not want to participate in games with other boys.

The coordinators may or may not observe hillier who does not always explicit the victimized feeling with such a small incident. Lee & Troop-Gordon (2011) also pointed out the typical behaviors on peer factorization for both boys and girls. From the finding of the study, 104 female participants in 5th grade predicted withdraw from both feminine and masculine behaviors while they feel victimized by their peers. 95 male participants predicted physical, verbal, and general factorization and lower levels of feminine behaviors. However, social exclusion would not go lower, when boys engaged in traditional feminine activities. (Lee & Troop-Gordon, 2011). Having observed both preschool and school age program, the older the children in the program, the larger the gap predicted between boys and girls among various activities that they may choose from.

For example, school age children may choose their activities based on the colonization group that they belong to especially in the aftershock program most children sat and play together based on the similarity of gender and age. Preschoolers on the other hand, they choose the activities based on their interests and personal preference. Having observed in preschools, girls play with trains and cars Just as much as boys. Boys play at home living area to cook play food and pretend eating with their friends at the table. Some boys hold a baby doll and nurse the baby as well.

For this reason, educators should know the change of colonization pattern based on the gender and the age group of the children. Dobbin et al. , (2010) emphasizes the joys engage in masculine activities and they are more likely developing the greater visual and spatial ability. For girls, they participate in feminine activities such as play teachers and other pretending play are more likely developing the greater verbal communication skills and task persistence. Despite these two theories, educators should keep that in mind that both boys and girls could participate in cross-gender education. It can be done by a short or long term curriculum depends on the age groups of children. Educators should help children understand gender roles and avoid gender bias.

Children learn gender through colonization. The stereotype of pink for infant girls and blue for infant boys begins the social process that teaches girls to be passive, dependent, and submissive and boys to be active, independent and dominant. (Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, 2014).

Through the ways they are held, spoken, and been interacted with, most girls tend to engaged with feminine activities in school. Boys on the other hand tent to be viewed as hyperactive, insensitive, and brutal. Some boys appear to be very sensitive toward the implicit behaviors that they get picked on by peers in school. (Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, 2014). Many developmental psychologists agree that most children can answer the question, “ Are you a boy or a girl? ” by the age of three or five, most children view gender as a fixed and permanent characteristic of the social world. Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, 2014). Children learn gender roles and gender stereotypes from their parents their toys, television programs, children’s literature, and especially peers and teachers.

In conclusion, educators should understand how children learn each gender roll in early childhood and change the pattern of the play and the social competence depends on age groups, environment, and the experience of an individual. Teachers and caregivers should be trained to teach children cross- gender curriculum in which children could focus on their likes rather than being unconcerned bullying and isolated by the peers in school.