Over the past weeks, I have been reflecting on my own practices and interactions with children, and asking how they could be perpetuating or challenging potentially harmful stereotypes.
The pre-school years are of peak importance in shaping a child’s worldview, meaning that the influence of EYFS practitioners cannot be overstated when it comes to raising children to espouse the principles of tolerance and equality that a healthy community depends upon.
We know that infants start to develop attitudes towards gender roles and gender equality based on interactions in their family homes, but these ideas are moulded and crystalised based on their experiences in the outside world.
In fact, as soon as they can comprehend their surroundings, children begin to pick up ideas about what behaviours are ‘normal’ for boys and girls, what is expected of them based on their gender identity, and language and actions are ‘acceptable’.
Early years educational environments are where many children will first engage in meaningful relationships with other children. It’s where they will first encounter different opinions and grapple with social dynamics. The way they learn to engage with other children and explore multiple ways to express themselves are foundational for their development. And those environments are shaped and supported by early years professionals.
We therefore have a responsibility to ensure we are doing all we can to create healthy, empowering cultures for the children in our care.
As a society, our hopes for a fairer, safer future depend upon the values and actions of the next generation, which are of course influenced by our own. Early Years Educators have a valuable but incredibly challenging role to play in shaping the behaviours and attitudes of their young charges, and this responsibility should be joyfully embraced and constructively acted upon.
We must strive for a greater awareness of the impact our subtle, normalised actions and language can have on shaping the attitudes, confidence and world-view of the children in our care.
To support my fellow EYFS practitioners, I’ve compiled the following suggestions that help create childcare settings in which children can thrive. This is not a ‘must do’ checklist - there’s no perfect formula when it comes to support a healthy attitude towards gender equality. This is a learning journey for all of us; let yourself be guided by picturing the tolerant, equal, safe society you want these children to grow up in, and then tread the path that leads to that reality.
Simple ways educators can promote gender equality in their care setting
-
During games and activities, encourage mixed-sex groups and teams. This will encourage cooperation and interaction across gender divides.
-
Avoid using gendered terms to praise - even very normalised phrases like ‘brave boy’ and ‘beautiful girl’ can contribute to the assumption that boys shouldn’t express their emotions, and that a girl’s worth is tied to her appearance. Try not to give a compliment to a girl that you wouldn’t also give to a boy, and vice versa.
-
Offer the same toys, dressing-up clothes and activities to girls and boys, letting them make up their own minds without comment
-
Encourage the children to participate in play where they can explore all sorts of roles and jobs; for example, boys can be nurses and teachers, and girls can be police officers, astronauts, fire fighters, engineers.... Seek out books and stories that show women and men carrying out a range of roles; or invite female tradespeople to come and talk to the children.
-
Read books and show films with strong male and female role models
-
Switch up the characters’ sex pronouns when telling traditional stories, nursery rhymes and fairy tales. There’s no reason why it can’t be a prince in a tower who needs rescuing by a princess on her noble steed.
-
Encourage all children to express their emotions, and support them to manage them in a constructive, non-violent way. All emotions are valid, whether it’s sadness, anger, frustration or joy. The important thing is to help all children understand what they are feeling, and express these feelings in healthy ways.
-
Teach both boys and girls about consent, that their bodies are their own, and that they don’t have to give or receive hugs unless they want to. Many children will enjoy physical play, chasing and tickling games, but they need to know that if they’ve had enough, ‘stop’ means stop and that they are in control of the game.
-
Openly challenge prejudice if you encounter it, and actively promote honest conversations around gender equality with the children. This might mean naming and having a conversation about unfairness when you see it in stories or real life situations.
-
Celebrate and engage with every child as an individual, focusing on how your words and actions can serve to build their self esteem and their self respect. Acknowledge differences as well as similarities, and celebrate these as part of what makes us all unique and special.
