5 Fun Gender Neutral Toys

Toys are often split by gender. Pink building blocks for girls and brightly colored building blocks for boys, for example. Doctors, superhero and police officer outfits for boys and an array of princess dresses for little girls. How can a toy be gendered, you may wonder, surely you can just buy whichever toy you want? Well, yes, but if that toy comes in bright pink packaging, your school-aged son is likely to say “it’s for girls.” If that toy is situated in the boys’ section of the toy store, your daughter is unlikely to notice it never mind want it.

What are the benefits of gender neutral toys?

The difference between boys and girls lurks in their diapers. And that’s it. Your daughter can climb, solve and build just as well as any of the boys she knows. And your son can care for dollies, dance and show empathy as well as any of the girls. If you stick to traditional boy/girl toys, you’re limiting the resources and learning opportunities your child has access to. Don’t let toy store marketers tell you what your child can play with or who they can dream of becoming (doctor or princess, depending on gender).

5 fun gender neutral toys

If you’d love to avoid gender stereotyping, think carefully about the toys you have in your home. This will become more important as your child grows older, but even baby toys are often categorized according to gender. Here are five fun gender neutral toys for your child:

  1. Building blocks

Contrary to what toy marketers may try to tell you, building blocks are great toys for all babies. And, brace yourself because this may come as a surprise, the blocks don’t need to be pink for your daughter to play with. Your baby will have hours of fun stacking bricks and watching them tumble over.

  1. Toys with wheels

Yep, that’s right, girls are allowed to like things with wheels too. Revolutionary, isn’t it? A wheeled toy can encourage your baby to become mobile. There are plenty of options for wheeled toys for babies from hand held cards to wheeled bunnies on sticks that can be pushed along.

  1. Musical toys

All babies love music and especially when they’re the ones in control of the beat. There are lots of different options of gender neutral instrument toys for babies from shakers to drums and beyond.

  1. Dolls

This one is pretty controversial, but little boys can play with dolls too. After all, they might grow up to be fathers one day. Wouldn’t it be great if they were raised understanding how to love and take care of babies? Your baby will enjoy tucking the doll under a blanket, giving kisses and even pushing the baby around in a pram. And guess what? You don’t have to be a girl to enjoy all those things.

  1. Balls

Balls are great for developing coordination, encourage mobility and getting your baby moving. Your baby will enjoy rolling the ball along the floor, throwing it and chasing after it. Why should girls miss out on all these great opportunities for skills development?

What are your baby’s favorite gender neutral toys?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

Gender Neutrality With Toys?

When you first found out you were having a little boy or a little girl, you were probably bombarded with pinks and blues. Not to mention, cute little dolls for your baby girl, and tiny truck sets for your little boy.

But as your child is growing old enough to actually start playing with those toys, you may be wondering how much you should be sticking to toys specifically geared towards one gender or another.

Gender neutrality has been in the news quite a bit lately, with many big box retail stores putting an end to “Boy” and “Girl” toy aisles, declaring all the toys fit for whichever gender prefers them.

There’s good reason for this—the science is in, and stripping toys of their gender specifications seems to be empowering for children, and good for society as a whole. What’s more, the science has shown that by opening the playing field up to all toys, children are able to gain a wider range of experiences and skills through their play than they would be if they were limited to toys meant for just one gender or the other.

So what does that mean for you and your family?

Well, it means… don’t spend too much time worrying about whether your child is playing with “boy toys” or “girl toys,” because there really isn’t any such thing. If your little boy wants to play with your daughter’s dolls, let him. And if your little girl wants to play with your son’s trucks, maybe it’s time to buy her some of her own.

Our children are being sent conscious and unconscious messages every single day about gender norms, but when it comes to the toys they play with—allowing them to simply explore and play with the toys that appeal most to them can be one of the best ways to help them develop their imaginations and senses of self.

Which goes in the other direction as well—if your little boy is “all-boy,” only interested in playing with army men and superheroes, don’t try to force a doll on him. Let him guide those interests.

Again, it’s about letting kids play with the toys they want to play with, without the parental interjections of which toys are or aren’t appropriate for their gender. Let your kiddos guide that one, sharing with you their own interests and expanding upon their own imaginations in the process.

Let toys be toys, and let kids be kids.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to join them for those play sessions every once in a while!

Written by Leah Campbell, infertility advocate, adoptive mama, writer and editor. Find me @sifinalaska on Twitter.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general informational basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.