How do I teach my kids about gender?

Children Develop Gender Identities Through Observational Learning Learning Gender roles through observations Movies that defy gender stereotypes - enables children to see a wide range of male and male characters, displaying a range of traits, behaviour and beliefs. Princesses and superheroes are great, and kids -- no matter their gender! -- love them. But child development experts agree that kids need to see a wide range of characters, displaying a range of traits, behaviors, and beliefs, in the media they consume. Why? These are some of our favorite movies that do just that.

Traditional gender roles: Boys will be boys A new video and website asks viewers to confront their assumptions about gender identity, and how we're raising our sons and daughters. Photo: GrabillCreative/iStockphoto Have you ever caught yourself saying, “boys will be boys”? Maybe it’s after your seven-year-old son and his buddies traipse through the house in muddy boots, leaving a trail of dirt in their wake. Or maybe you watched two little guys duke it out on the ice during a hockey game, and didn’t think much of it. If this sounds like something you’ve said before, then you’re making assumptions based on gender norms — probably without even thinking about it. “My younger son was drawn to more domestic play and loved the colour pink, but he very quickly realized that he was not supposed to like those things,” says mom, filmmaker and Ryerson professor Laurie Petrou. As a response to her sons’ experiences, Petrou has created a new, four-minute video (see below) all about gender identity and breaking down gender norms.

Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory | Simply Psychology What is Social Learning Theory? Social learning theory, developed by Albert Bandura, suggests that people learn by observing others. It emphasizes the importance of imitation, modeling, and reinforcement in the learning process. Individuals can acquire new behaviors not only through direct experience but also by watching others and seeing the consequences of their actions. Social learning theory is often described as the ‘bridge’ between traditional learning theory (behaviorism) and the cognitive approach. This is because it focuses on how mental (cognitive) factors are involved in learning. Unlike Skinner, Bandura (1977) believes humans are active information processors and think about the relationship between their behavior and its consequences. The theory has been applied extensively in educational settings, where teachers leverage modeling to demonstrate skills and behaviors they want students to adopt. Assumptions Mediational Processes 1. 2. How well the behavior is remembered. 3. 4. 1.

How parents influence sex differences in their children's physical risk taking behaviors Abstract This study examined how parents influence sex differences in young children's physical risk taking behaviors. Eighty three- and four-year old, mostly middle class and Caucasian children climbed across a five-foot high catwalk and walked across a three-foot high beam under their mother or father's supervision. Based on average preschooler gross motor capabilities, both of these activities posed potential threats to preschoolers' physical safety without proper parental monitoring. Analyses revealed that fathers of daughters monitored their children more closely than did fathers of sons. In contrast, mothers of daughters and mothers of sons monitored their children similarly. Keywords Risk taking Parental socialization Injury prevention Injury Gender socialization Sex differences View full text Copyright © 2006 Elsevier Inc.

Gender stereotypes How children acquire knowledge on gender role and identity  through social learning theory. Gender identities and its roles as learnt through Social Learning Theory 'Boys shouldn't act like girls and girls shouldn't act like boys' Carter, D. B., & McCloskey, L. A. (1983–1984). Peers and the maintenance of sex-typed behavior: The development of children's conceptions of cross-gender behavior in their peers. Social Cognition, 2, 294-314. Media Role On Gender Development And Gender Identity | Researchomatic Media Role on Gender Development and Gender Identity There is a general consensus that the mass media act as important agents of socialization, together with the family and peers, contributing to the shaping of gender roles. I stressed in my previous lecture the emphasis given by social learning theorists such as Bandura to the modelling of behaviour on observed examples. Certainly we learn to be male or female - it doesn't come 'naturally' and the mass media contribute to making such roles seem 'natural'. But television alone is not responsible for shaping people's gender roles. Early researchers (such as Sue Sharpe) tended to see the media as inevitably socializing children into traditional stereotypical roles, because of the prevalence of such images on TV and the importance ascribed to them by children. Kevin Durkin stresses developmental factors.

Social Learning Theory: Gender Development |… | Psychology Social Learning Theory states that individuals develop gender by imitating role models. SLT states that observational learning takes place, and that this learning is reinforced vicariously. Vicarious reinforcement occurs when a person witnesses a model being rewarded for behaving in a gender-appropriate way (e.g. a girl being praised for playing quietly with her dolls). Vicarious reinforcement makes it more likely that the model’s behaviour will be imitated in the future. Development of Gender roles and identity in children It’s common for people to think of the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ as being the same, but they mean different things. Someone’s sex refers to their physical biology: being male or female. A person’s gender identity, however, is a person’s sense of who they are – male, female, both or neither. Your gender identity is a deep sense of your own gender. In some cases, a person’s gender identity may be different from their biological sex. When do children become aware of their gender? Most children start showing their gender identity at around 2 to 3 years of age. However, children don’t start to think of their gender as being fixed, or ‘forever’, until they reach 6 or 7 years old. What creates gender roles? Gender roles are influenced both by our genes (a part of our biology) and our environment. However, it’s important that children know that girls can do well at games, sports and school subjects like maths, which society has typically associated with boys. Gender inequality Gender inequality