what is with kids toys

[sumi]

I remember buying toys for DS (11) when he was younger and seeing not much other than dolls and kitchen sets for girls and not much other than guns for boys… This was in South Africa. Proper toy shops here in Ireland had some lovely toys for both genders though.

He's just starting to cook things now, but at the moment I'm only letting him use the microwave oven. I'm still nervous about him around the cooker, not least because he's as clumsy as his mother and very likely to forget to turn it off once he's done cooking! He's keen to learn though.

 

[Britesea]

Cooking is SUCH an important skill to learn- for both genders. I used to point out to my sons that any man who can whip up a delicious and romantic dinner for his girl instead of taking her out to dinner is way ahead in the game. I wasn't as successful at getting them to clean up the kitchen afterward though....

I remember I used to adore playing with Legos, Lincoln Logs, Erector sets, and Tinker Toys, as well as Tonka Trucks in the dirt... much more fun than dolls as far as I was concerned, lol

 

[rodeogirl]

Cooking is SUCH an important skill to learn- for both genders. I used to point out to my sons that any man who can whip up a delicious and romantic dinner for his girl instead of taking her out to dinner is way ahead in the game. I wasn't as successful at getting them to clean up the kitchen afterward though....

I remember I used to adore playing with Legos, Lincoln Logs, Erector sets, and Tinker Toys, as well as Tonka Trucks in the dirt... much more fun than dolls as far as I was concerned, lol

That's how I was most of the time growing up, I was closer to my brothers then my sister.

 

[treerooted]

I agree @rodeogirl , the extreme genderization of toys makes me feel exasperated and a little sad. I'm all for identifying with gender...but the relentless gender commodification of most toys is too much. (Or for adult products as well for that matter...ever heard of the "pink tax")

As for kitchens, that's what we got my son for Christmas last year, we bought it second hand for $40 (I think); it came from a house of girls but happened to be blue and white. I'd be fine with a pink kitchen except it would look terrible in my kitchen where it's kept!

 

[sumi]

You know... beside Nigella, the famous chefs that I can think of quickly are all men, so there… Kitchens are NOT girly, or shouldn't be.

@rodeogirl please show us what you make him?

 

[NH Homesteader]

My daughter loves everything pink and princessy. She also can't wait to to hunting and help dad cut up a pig, so I think she embraces everything, lol. She has zero draw to "boy" specific toys but loves to play with blocks, Legos, etc. I think there's more of a stigma about boys playing with "girl" toys than the other way around, so maybe that's why I haven't thought as much of it.
Sumi is right. There are a TON of big name male chefs!

 

[treerooted]

Yes for sure! That's because feminine things are generally seen as less favorable then masculine things. And males are allowed to be chefs because they're payed while cooking for the home in an unpaid position is "woman's" work. But certainly both overt and covert thinking about gender roles is changing!

 

[sumi]

I read in a magazine here a few weeks ago about a little boy that loves Disney princesses and the related toys etc. Another boy likes wearing dresses, though he's perfectly "boyish" otherwise, so his parents said so be it, wear a dress then. You can imagine the outcry. That sparked a great discussion about these gender specific toys, clothes etc. I'd say let them decide for themselves what they want and like.

 

[sumi]

Hmm, I wonder how and why that changed And you know what really ticks me off? For certain jobs, men earning more for doing the same work in the same positions than their female colleagues. I don't know if this is the case in the States as well, but I've heard of it happening in a few countries.

 

[sumi]

Wow, that is dang rude.. What does it matter what sex the baby is?? It reminds me of when we had my DS. For a long time, maybe 5 or 6 years, people, even ones we didn't know well, told us to give him "a little brother or sister" I used to get SO mad. One day a lady asked ex-DH "How about a brother or sister?" He smiled at her and said "No… my mom's too old now" (He knew what she meant, but man, that shut her up quick! LOL)