Is a Boys Toy Really for Boys?
When we come across the subject of gender in the kindergarten and we start deciding which toy is for girls and which is a boys toy, we get into dangerous waters.
To our generation it might seem perfectly natural that the girls play with dolls, make believe household implements and tea-party props, and that the boys pick up anything remotely phallic and start pretending to shoot each other with it. However, we should never be too quick to put a boys toy into a box and say that it’s always a good thing for boys to play with.
A boys toy does not have to be an action figure, brightly painted toy car or a mock-firearm. Kids will do whatever they are encouraged to do, so if you put the boys toy collection in with the girls toys, you might find that a lot of the boys “cross the gender boundary” to play with girls toys, or even to join the girls in their game. Obviously this will depend on the boy himself, but it is now acceptable to break down the “boys toy” boundary by including gender-neutral and previously “girly” toys.
While guns, sticks and anything else harmful has been culled from the playground, we should not forget the nature of little boys. Toy companies caught onto it long before educators did: boys are miniature men. They are violent, aggressive and instinctually territorial, no matter how we think we raised them. Boys show aggression early on, because they see other men doing so, and because they are aggressive in themselves. If these urges are repressed you end up with bullies and violent men, but if they are encouraged with a violent boys toy you could end up with a similar result.
Boys should be encouraged to participate in competitive games, to alleviate their aggression and territoriality. Any boys toy that encourages some kind of friendly competition is always going to be a hit, but make sure you keep an eye on things. We have often had a problem at our crèche involving one boys toy being appropriated by the strongest child, creating jealousy.
Ideally you should have a boys toy for every different age group, starting with stuffed animals for very small children, moving on to a boys toy that promote role-playing and make-believe. The assumption of roles by using a boys toy is an excellent way to teach boys responsibility and social interaction.
