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Introduction
Gender-sensitive parenting is on the current agenda as gender roles and stereotypes are being redefined. If previously gender filling the roles of a boy and a girl was not a question and was an option by default, today, the gender distinctions are unfocused. Parents should pay special attention to this issue because any social role, any stereotype limits the personality. Nowadays, a boy can openly declare that he wants to become a model or sew clothes, and a girl can dream of becoming a stuntman or a firefighter, and their childhood fantasies will not cause confusion to others. That is why parents need to build suitable models of gender roles. That is, the upbringing of their kids should not be reduced to gender stereotypes. Therefore, in order for children to develop a healthy understanding of gender roles, it is essential that parents choose the right approach to their formation.
Gender Roles and Stereotypes
The modern world is built entirely on the observance of roles that society ascribes to human beings, particularly significant of which are gender ones. People have understood them for thousands of years; clear limitations have been created for their observance, which is why they are perhaps the most rigid (Eisend, 2019). Many men and women suffer from the fact that they are required to comply with this position, which is mainly stereotypical and often does not correspond to the realities of the modern world.
On the one hand, this is a positive phenomenon since it is gender roles that determine how things should be, what should be strived for, what is right, and what is wrong. Thus, they help avoid chaos and mass in society. However, they also have a restraining effect on individuals’ behavior and a detrimental impact on the development of personalities (Eisend, 2019). Often it is because of the constraints of gender roles that a person does not have the opportunity to discover their individuality.
For example, the stereotyping of women is reduced to the fact that she is a soft and gentle creature. She is weak, emotional, fearful, and incapable of making important decisions. A woman’s place is at the house with her family, and her primary duties are cooking, cleaning, and raising children (Eisend, 2019). A man, in his turn, must be strong physically and mentally. A man does not cry, gossip, or talk about anything. He cannot get depressed, and one of his main traits is firmness and determination. Such stereotyping has highly undesirable consequences and interferes with individualism.
Male and female qualities are manifested in the pattern of behavior, appearance, and preference for certain hobbies and activities; there are also differences in values. It is believed that women adore human relationships, love, family more, and men – social success, independence. However, people demonstrate a combination of feminine and masculine personality traits in real life, and the critical values can vary considerably (Eisend, 2019). In addition, masculine or feminine characteristics that appear brightly in some situations may not be noticeable in others.
Such observations led Austrian scientist Otto Weininger to believe that every average woman and every ordinary man has features of their own and the opposite sex. A person’s individuality is determined by the predominance of male over female or vice versa. Psychologists believe that individuals of androgynous type, which combines high values of masculinity and femininity, have a more flexible behavior, and therefore are the most adaptive and psychologically successful (Eisend, 2019). Therefore, raising children in the rigid framework of traditional gender roles can do them a disservice.
The formation of gender roles begins in a child’s mind in the early years of life when parents buy a little girl pink dresses and dolls, and a boy blue pants and cars. The final formation occurs in adolescence, when a teenager determines his place in society, accepts or rejects the generally accepted values (Eisend, 2019). Fortunately, gender roles are now becoming less rigid; this is primarily because the world is changing. Medicine and education have opened up new opportunities and perspectives for women and men. Although gender roles, formed over many millennia, are firmly established in many people’s minds, it will take a long time before they are no longer strict. An essential step toward equality should be a proper upbringing in which there are no stereotypes, and the child can have the opportunity to express himself.
Assimilation of gender roles and the formation of gender identity result from a complex interaction of natural inclinations, individual characteristics of the child and their environment, micro-and macro society. Suppose parents, knowing the regularities of this process, do not impose their stereotypes on their children, but help them discover their individuality than in adolescence and older age. In that case, they will have fewer problems related to puberty, awareness, and acceptance of their sex and gender.
The Importance of Gender-Related Parenting
Recently, scientists have suggested that in the upbringing of children, attention should be paid not only to age specifics but also to their gender. In this connection, a new technology of education taking into account gender features of children of early and preschool age has been developed. By gender, education is meant the development of children’s certain concepts, norms of behavior associated with the male or female gender within a particular culture. It is scientifically confirmed that at the age of 2-3 years, a child begins to understand which sex they belong to (Mesman & Groeneveld, 2018). The kid understands that they are either boys or girls and identify themselves appropriately.
Between the ages of 3 and 7, children develop gender resilience. Kids understand that girls become female and boys become male, and this gender originality will not change depending on the situation or the child’s personal desires. The readiness to perform gender-appropriate social roles in the future fosters a culture of relationships between young boys and girls. Currently, in preschool and school educational institutions, teaching and upbringing are based on the principle of gender equality. As a result, this contributes to the evolution of equal relationships between men and women. However, on the other hand, it should be remembered that the development of boys and girls proceeds differently (Mesman & Groeneveld, 2018). Scientists have accumulated several interesting facts about the differences between the formation and development of boys’ and girls’ motor skills, visual perception, speech. Gender identification also occurs in different ways. The background to these differences is both biological and social reasons. Thus, it is necessary to establish the ways in which children of different sexualities can self-identify in society.
Gender Education of Children in the Family
Significantly, boys and girls need to be raised in such a way as to form them into free and happy human beings. They speak, feel and experience in a completely differing manner. For the proper effect, it is essential to understand and accept boys and girls as they are, so various and beautiful in their own way, as nature has created them. At the same time, it is necessary to build the correct upbringing to preserve, reveal, and develop their talents and not impair the formation of their perception of general roles.
In order for a girl to form the correct gender values, there must be a relationship of trust and love between the daughter and both mother and father. In turn, parents need to emphasize a tender and caring attitude in the couple to have an impression of happy family life. The father should find time to communicate with his daughter: to show that she is different from him and the second sex. At the same time, he must do it with respect and benevolence to understand that she is worthy of a man’s love (Wingrave, 2018). Parents need to consider their daughter’s personality, demonstrate satisfaction with her concessions, and form positive self-esteem for the girl. This will help the child in the future be self-confident and to be a complete person.
The mother should find time to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her daughter. It is essential that such discussions be regular because they can help form the child’s proper ideas about their role in society (Wingrave, 2018). The mother is the first example that will be emulated by the daughter, so parents should bring up in the baby an understanding of gender roles and correctly model them in the family. The girl needs to feel that she can trust her parents – that they are always ready to understand her feelings, wishes, and needs. In this way, the kid will realize that her parents perceive her authentically and will always be able to approve of her choices. At the same time, an essential element of upbringing is the offer of help, which will enable the baby to understand that she is needed by the world around her (Wingrave, 2018). Thus, such parenting will help lay in the kid the fundamental values that should be present in a woman. At the same time, though, the support of parents and the suitable family patterns should encourage the girl to be a self-sufficient person, a full member of society.
No less critical to the formation of gender roles is the proper parenting of a boy in the family. For a boy to be able to observe male behavior from childhood, it is necessary to communicate with his father more often. At the same time, when interacting with his son, his father should restrain his emotions and try to talk quietly without raising his tone. In addition, for the boy not to have complexes or low self-esteem, it is recommended to forbid him less often and allow him to do specific actions frequently. When raising a boy, it is also essential to explain that they also have to show emotion. In order to help a boy understand gender roles, one must teach him a sense of responsibility for his actions (Wingrave, 2018). The task of parents is to demonstrate more trust, acceptance, and approval towards the boy to motivate him to do activities. In this way, these actions will help the child to function well in society in the future.
Nevertheless, when parenting individuals, it must be taken into account that girls and boys, despite the basic principles, have the right to choose. Thus, considering that different rules apply to the formation of gender roles, there is still one thing they have both in common. Accordingly, it is crucial that parents also demonstrate to the girl and the boy that they are free to express their own identity. For example, the girl should not only be encouraged to play female roles but above all to be interested in what she likes. If it is confirmed that the kid is more curious about toys, then parents should support her. Similarly, with boys in the definition and education should be given the freedom to choose and maintain the child’s endeavors, even if they are not standard (Wingrave, 2018). Such actions will help parents form not gender stereotypes but explanations about gender roles and give them the ability to choose.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that it is necessary to educate the child in the spirit of gender equality, to show him an example of the same attitude towards people regardless of their gender. The modern world is gradually moving towards eradicating stereotypes, and therefore one should not allow double standards concerning men and women. Furthermore, equality does not abolish sex and gender differences and does not identify women and men, girls and boys, and these characteristics should be taken into account. On the contrary, it allows everyone to find their self-realization and determine their life choices regardless of the usual gender stereotypes. Gender education should be based on the child’s natural sex and character traits and consider age. Boys and girls can differ in both interests and ways of thinking. However, regardless of gender, every child strives to be accepted, understood and loved.
References
Eisend, M. (2019). Gender roles. Journal of Advertising, 48(1), 72-80.
Mesman, J., & Groeneveld, M. G. (2018). Gendered parenting in early childhood: Subtle but unmistakable if you know where to look. Child Development Perspectives, 12(1), 22-27.
Wingrave, M. (2018). Perceptions of gender in early years. Gender and Education, 30(5), 587-606.
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