Childhood Issues

Childhood research shows determines our personalities and pretty much the type of person we become. There are many influences that impact us i.e. our parents, society, peers; they all play a role in shaping our lives and especially our childhood. During childhood I feel that children go through so much pressure to conform to the standards their parents and society have set for them to act in their gender roles. I personally don’t see the problem with a boy playing with dolls (it’s not going to make him a homosexual). I think that fathers especially put pressures on their sons from birth to act like a man, suck it up and they do not allow room for their child to develop how they want. I believe it’s true that fathers treat their daughters differently. Fathers tend to treat girls in the stereotypical princess way. I applaud fathers who treat their children the same regardless of gender roles. I tend to disagree with this statement, “There is greater pressure for boys to conform to traditional male roles than for girls to conform to traditional female roles.” If anything I think that the pressure is somewhat equal or a little greater for females to conform to traditional roles. As we have discussed in class and through some of the exercises we have done there is still a stereotypical view of a female, we all know what those are. Having these pressures for both females and males since childhood can affect the person we become in later adulthood. From childhood “Children who play in sex-appropriate activities are more likely to be rewarded by peers and children who play in cross-sex activities are more likely to be criticized.” This statement goes back to what I previously stated that children are taught at an early age what their gender roles are. What we need understand is how our childhood has shaped us and that will determine how we raise our children and who knows the cycle of stereotypes just might continue.