Prejudices

Girls like pink glitter, boys wild adventures? Boys are better at math, girls have a better understanding of language? Girls play with dolls, boys with cars?

Stop! Quite a lot of prejudices assigned to the sexes. These traditional role models have long been scientifically outdated. But where does our view of the sexes come from and how can you as a parent deal with it?

When it comes to girls and boys, we're all quick to think in terms of pigeonholes:

• Girls are predominantly caring, anxious, well-behaved, sensitive, bitchy, write nicer, try harder and do better in school, play princesses or father-mother-child, go horseback riding and dancing ...
• Boys are predominantly cool, brave, risk-takers, aggressive, calculate better, adapt less, are worse at school, romp and play fireman or cowboy, go to soccer or martial arts ...

Right is that due to genetic predisposition, physical characteristics differ:

• Born are the sex, physique, muscle and fat distribution and other hormone-related differences.
• Girls reach a height that is on average several centimeters below that of boys.
• Girls usually reach puberty earlier than boys.
• The growth of girls ends already at about 16 years, while boys can still grow until the age of 19.
• Boys have a stronger physique and at the same body weight more muscle than girls.
• Boys have more testosterone in the blood, which makes them more risky. For this reason, boys are actually more likely to have accidents during childhood.

It is not correct that "typical" characteristics are clearly attributable to girls or boys. Even if traditional role models stubbornly persist, science agrees: the development of children is significantly shaped by the upbringing, the role concepts of adults, social norms and values, as well as the lived traditions in the child's environment. Therefore, the child's social environment is of great importance.

From birth, girls and boys are treated differently depending on their gender. Even in the birth clinic, for example, a girl still often gets a pink name ribbon, while a boy gets a blue one. Company marketing also often emphasizes traditional role models for toys and confectionery. For example, role models become entrenched in children as early as three to four years of age. Among other things, this can have an impact on their choice of career and studies later on. Role stereotypes are also one of the causes of the wage gap between women and men and the fact that women are still underrepresented in management positions.

Even though there are biological differences between the sexes - many parents want to educate in such a way that their child doesn't feel forced into a certain role from the start. That's not so easy, because gender stereotypes lurk everywhere. And we often fall into the trap quite unconsciously. But as parents, you have an important role model function for your child. This also applies to the distribution of roles between the sexes.

Here are a few examples of how you can have a positive influence on clichés and common prejudices in education:

• Bid your child the free choice of which toys it wants to deal with.
• Let your child in the choice of clothing and colors all the possibilities.
• Attention to a stereotype-free gender representation in books and media.
• Trust your daughter to do exactly the same things as a son.
• Call on your son just as often to help around the house and empty the dishwasher, for example, as a daughter.
• Encourage your daughter to play movement games and physical expressions just like a son.
• Promote and encourage your son to express his feelings just like a daughter. Crying is allowed, even for boys!
• Enable your child to pursue his own interests without classifying them into "typical / atypical".
• Cook together with your son as often as with a daughter.
• Show your daughter how to repair a bicycle tube just like a son.
• Avoid stereotypical comments such as "typical boy", "she's a bitch", "a boy does not cry" or "girls can not calculate".
• Do not differentiate in compliments by gender: Do not make your daughter a compliment that you would not also make a son, and vice versa.
• Search in your environment positive examples of female and male role models.
• Pay your daughter as much pocket money as a son.
• Be good role models as parents and show that there is no typical distribution of tasks between mother and father at home.
• Discuss prejudices and the typical traps together with your child.