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When you take out the blue and pink colors from toys, both boys and girls are free to grow without being restricted by their gender. The days of saying that only boys play with trucks or building blocks and only girls play with tea sets and dress-up kits are over.
In fact, children actually thrive when toys have no gender, according to Parents. “Toys are toys, until we tell the child that it is for boys or girls,” Elizabeth Lombardo, Psy.D., author of the book From Entitlement to Intention: Raising Purpose-Driven Children told Parents.
“That gives a label to the toy, which a child will internalize...Internalizing 'Girls play with dolls, for example,' may lead children to believe moms take care of the children, not dads. In essence, gender-focused toys can perpetuate stereotypes.” This is even more true for children who are LGBTQ+ but this is changing.
In 2021, Danish toy maker LEGO pledged to remove gender bias from its toys after research conducted from the company found that girls were being held back by stereotypes, according to a company news release. LEGO vowed to make its toys free of gender bias so that any child regardless of gender identity can build anything they want to. Here are five toys that broke the gender mold.
Play-Dough
This modeling compound has universal kid appeal, according to Good Housekeeping. After all, it can be shaped into almost anything, rolled flat to cut out, comes in all the colors of the rainbow, and can be reused over and over again. From basic sets, to intricate kits, there is something for everyone from toddlers on up.
Play-Dough is for all kids.
Musical Instruments
Bring out your child’s inner musician. Musical instruments can be as simple as shakers, to toy drums, guitars, and keyboards. Kids from toddlers to elementary school kids enjoy making music, stressed Toca Magazine. This is a great way for kids to play together or with their families.
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Potato Head Family
This iconic children’s toy became much more inclusive in 2021 when Hasbro introduced the Create Your Potato Head Family. The family comes with two large bodies, a small child body and 42 accessories. Now the baby spud can have two moms, two dads, and better reflect that families come in all different packages. The company said in a press release that it didn't want to be locked into the traditional family structure that defines stereotypical genders and does not include LGBTQ+ families.
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Art Supplies
Art supplies allow children to explore their creativity and individuality. You can buy jumbo crayons and sidewalk chalk for little hands and progress to art kits that contain, makers, colored pencils, paint, glue, glitter and more as your children get older, all the way up to acrylics or oils for tweens and up. Who knows what masterpieces they will create? And the best thing of all, art kits are gender neutral.
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Science Kits
Science kits are not just for boys. Getting girls involved in science and other STEM – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – activities toys is the way for them to excel in school. That’s because science kits engage both sides of the brain, according to a report from the Toy Association.
Science kits allow for hands-on and trial and error learning. This teaches valuable problem-solving skills and because the kits are gender neutral, and allows girls to explore the possibility of STEM careers that have been typically male-dominated.
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