The days of automatically giving dolls to little girls and trucks to little boys are dwindling—and for good reason. “Gender-neutral toys have become more and more prevalent,” says Ken Seiter, executive vice president of marketing communications at the Toy Association, “It’s a toy trend that’s definitely going to continue.”
Why are gender-neutral toys important? With gender-neutral toys, kids are free to explore their interests based on their preferences, not according to how society pigeonholes them according to their sex or gender, says Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD, author of the book From Entitlement to Intention: Raising Purpose-Driven Children.
Here, experts share how kids benefit from playing with gender-neutral toys, along with tips for making sure you are providing brain- and confidence-boosting playthings for your child.
“Toys are toys until we tell the child that it is for boys or girls,” says Dr. Lombardo. “That gives a label to the toy, which a child will internalize.”
According to one landmark study, toys marketed to girls emphasize attractiveness and domestic skills, whereas toys marketed to boys tend to be associated with competitiveness and violence. The idea that girls do certain things and boys do other things could carry into the way children view activities beyond the playroom. Pressuring girls and not boys to play with dolls, for example, may lead children to believe moms take care of the children, not dads.
Toys that emphasize STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and STEAM (which adds the “A” for art) used to be marketed more heavily towards boys, but not anymore. According to a report from the Toy Association, one of the unifying characteristics of all good STEAM toys is that they’re gender-neutral and inclusive.
These gender-neutral STEM and STEAM toys have particular brain-building benefits for all children. Simple building blocks, for example, trigger the areas of children’s brains that are linked to working memory and spatial reasoning.
Gender-neutral toys, particularly those geared towards STEAM, are designed to encourage open-ended play with room for trial and error, which is incredibly valuable for kids.
“(They) help to teach children that not only are mistakes OK, they are part of the learning process,” says Tom Runtz, director of product development at Learning Resources. “And perhaps most importantly, STEAM toys encourage children to develop an inquisitiveness about the world around them and how things work, and what new, wondrous things can be dreamed up and invented.”
Research shows that by late infancy, children’s toy choices are most influenced by what is most prevalent in their home. By making sure there is a mix of toys in your child’s bedroom and play areas, you help encourage them to develop a variety of interests that aren’t dictated by their gender at birth.
Along with cognitive benefits, gender-neutral toys allow for creative, hands-on play that helps instill confidence in children of all genders. When toys lack labels indicating who should play with them, children make choices based on their inclinations. This sends a message that we trust kids to make the right choices for themselves.
“On a broader level, they teach children to pursue their interests, independent of their gender,” says Dr. Lombardo. “They empower children to develop goals and overcome obstacles, skills that are valuable in any profession—and life.”
