Wouldn't it be better to let kids pick out toys that improve skills or promote their natural abilities? It feel like systematic discrimination to me.
Anonymous
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I would agree. There are studies suggesting playing with puzzles or legos and tech stuff improves the child's later spatial reasoning or hand-eye coordination. It would be stupid to restrict that based on sex.
edit: Playing with dolls doesn't prepare you for motherhood and there's zero evidence it helps any skill.
Jas B
Because women have babies and over millions of years they have evolved the extra nurturing and caring traits needed to ensure our species survives, It's called evolution.
Foofa
Most modern parents aren't as "gendered" in their toy selections as parents in the past have been. But I've known a lot of girls whose parents provided gender neutral toys and activities. In every single case these girls became obsessed with pink and tulle by about age three. So despite a parent's best attempts kids tend to gender themselves regardless.
Green Puffin
Yes it should be acceptable for all young children to have all sorts of toys to play with, without their relatives getting upset about it! My first born son was cared for by a Childminder with a daughter and she had a range of toys for them to choose from. Sometimes he chose a doll, but usually he preferred toys with wheels that he could spin round.
We bought him a little pushchair to carry his teddy, but mostly he'd chuck the teddy on the floor and fill the pushchair with sticks, which he then used as guns! Our daughter used to dress up in a Spiderman outfit, and called herself 'Spiderguy'! Or she'd build ginormous towers of Lego or cuddle lots of soft toy animals.
Parents that only buy stereotypical sexist toys are limiting their child's development.
Dick
My parents bought girly toys for my daughters. My kids were more sports oriented than doll oriented. One of the kids got some really currently popular Barbie stuff for Christmas once. She dutifully played with it while my parents were there, gave them a look of disdain, and never looked at them again. I'm not sure if toy choice is a result of environment or genetics.