Childhood was the time when playing and going to school were everything. That moment when the bell rang signaling the end of school and allowed us to go play was priceless. Each friend contributed their bit – a race car, a Barbie, Playmobil, a set of tools, etc. Who does not remember their favorite toy? Despite having spent much of our childhood with these hobbies, not many of us have decided that our profession has to be related to that. However, some warn that gender toys may affect the decision of children when choosing their future careers, especially when careers in science are concerned.

Education

All children need to play and have fun. Through toys, they satisfy their need to browse, move, create, relate and so on. At the same time, toys inculcate ideas, beliefs or values. These elements influence the construction of the personality and identity of people in their early stages of life. Usually, boys will play with cars, heroes, animals and construction kits more, while girls play more with dolls, crafts, toys, household-type sets, etc. But keep in mind that the richer and more varied the environment in which a child develops is, the greater development opportunities offered are. It has been found that there are more similarities than differences between the genders when it comes to choosing toys, but most of the time, decisions are made by the parents.

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The language that is aimed at girls uses diminutive named objects and fairytale-like concepts such as princesses and mermaids. An affective language such as ‘you friend for life’, ‘take care of it’ and similar is used as well. The music that comes from girly toys is soothing and relaxing, and is usually a female voice. The language directed at boys uses augmentatives like ‘real action’ or ’top speed’. The music is usually rapid, and a male voice is in the background.

Pushing and pulling games

Being an engineer, psychologist, or truck driver can be influenced through these toys. For example, foosball. Children need to learn to interact with their environment and navigate the world around them. They will have to think, create, modify, learn to avoid obstacles and much more.

Dolls

They are used to represent emotions, personalities or reactions. Whether it is an Action Man or a Barbie, children invent their own stories. This develops creative and emotional skills. Thanks to them, they begin to learn teamwork and know the social behavioral norms.

Lego

Your child is able to design a skyscraper when playing with Lego. A child artist enjoys putting together certain colors that could inspire other interests such as painting and interior design. Parents must let the child choose the type of construction set, and thanks to this, develop different skills.

Botany

For many children, planting a flower and watching it grow, and learning to see things coming to life through hard work is something irreplaceable. They learn to water the plants, take care of them, think about the sun and a lot more. Children who enjoy nature develop a natural sense to discover and browse things. This can encourage the creation of biologists, psychologists and scientists.

Books

Most children like books. Some even enjoy reading the stories aloud to others. This can help them develop emotional skills that will provide them with a skill to help others and maybe become future doctors, nurses, teachers, etc.

Collections

Making collections from an early age can prove to be quite useful later in life when it comes to careers. Children can collect anything, from natural elements such as peculiarly shaped stones to different kinds of toys, usually toy cars, specific dolls, napkins, etc. Superheroes, such as Davey boys’ toys action figures, are very popular collection choices as well. All this work gives a possibility of acquiring many skills, some of them being patience, good organization and meticulousness.

Puzzles

When children play with different pieces, they learn the textures and shapes. Getting to know how things fit will make them look at things as a whole. This in the future will be very useful with creating new things. Some of the skills acquired while doing puzzles are patience, logic, mechanics, and so on.

Playing with certain toys does not have to determine the future profession of the child, but it will definitely help with learning many different skills, so it is important that parents give their kids a choice to pick the toys they want to play with themselves.

About author:

Tracey Clayton is a full time mom of three girls. She loves cooking, baking, sewing, spending quality time with her daughters and she’s passionate for writing. Her motto is: “Live the life you love, love the life you live.” Find her on Facebook.