Nursery World - Little men

Are early years practitioners too quick to label boys' behaviour as a problem? Jennie Lindon says we need to think about the ways we impose adult expectations Imagine you are listening into adult conversation in a nursery. What would you guess is the sex of the children described in the following comments?

Imagine you are listening into adult conversation in a nursery. What would you guess is the sex of the children described in the following comments?

* 'It's worrying, A is so sensitive.'

* 'B won't settle to anything; the only thing that matters is getting outside.'

* 'C is so helpful, always ready to be caring with the little ones.'

* 'D has hardly any pretend play; it's just cars all the time.'

You may say the children might be boys or girls and, of course they could. But if we are honest:

* Child A is more likely to be a boy. The general assumption is that boys are tougher, so a little boy who shows his 'softer' emotions is seen as out of the ordinary and some adults worry that he will have problems.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included