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There's a whole industry that tries to convince parents that they can change their child's future by supplying them with the right toys - but there's little to

There's a whole industry that tries to convince parents that they can change their child's future by supplying them with the right toys - but there's little to suggest these toys actually matter [1]. I'm glad these two are trying to get more kids into engineering (female or not), but their thesis is pretty hollow on a few fronts. Most importantly that engineering toys lead to engineering kids. But also that engineering toys that currently exist (lego/knex) have some kind of implicit feature that keeps them out of the hands of girls. [1] http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1650352,00.html http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1650352,0...

hkmurakami 12y ago
I have this completely unsupported personal hypothesis that role models and peer groups are critical in shaping the path of children. Certainly much more critical than toys. Of course, how to provide such nurturing environments for all but the most fortunate in circumstance is the question :(
analog31 12y ago
I largely agree with you, and can only think of one minor argument: Perhaps the implicit feature is the booming message from the toy industry, not to girls, but to the parents and grandparents who buy toys. The latter may be the people who need to be reassured that engineering is OK for girls. (Or science, math, music, whatever).
watwut 12y ago
Fully agree. It is more about attitude of adults who often tend to assume the girl has not build stuff potential and treat them as such. Just stop marking every single toy as boy or girl one. Most boyish engineering toys are actually perfect for both sexes, as long as you stop telling girls "it is boys toy, you are not supposed to play with it, see the coloring on the box?". And I heard the last one in toy store and it was idiotic on multiple levels. (Why should anything non-pink be for boys only, really?). Girls do not need special toys build for them. We need to stop teaching kids that every damn toy is either inherently boyish or girlish.
- Broken_Hippo 12y ago
  I agree completely. I liked legos as a kid, and cars and stuff, but i was keenly aware that these were 'boy toys'. Changes in advertising and presentation are needed: 'girlified' legos always turned me off (really, the boys are manning spaceships and the girls are shopping?), but I'd have liked a mix of male and female characters doing fun stuff. Neutral. It gets more intense than just the color changes in toys: Last Christmas gifts I bought my niece and nephew, there were a lot of toys in various price ranges for my nephew, all of which were actual playable toys and selection of types of toys. For my niece, however, mostly dolls, and many of the cheaper toys weren't useful by themselves - they were all accessories for the dolls.
tow21 12y ago
The "implicit feature" is all the other kids and adults around any girls, who consciously or otherwise suggest that they shouldn't be playing with Lego/Meccano etc. My daughter's only 15 months old - and already I can see other parents treating her differently from the boys. If she's in a crowd of children, she'll get given dolls instead of building blocks. Obviously I do what I can to counteract this, but she's not always with me. If toys like this encourage other parents to let my daughter play at engineering, I'm all for them.
- 2muchcoffeeman 12y ago
  Is having pastel coloured building blocks really going to help here? Serious question. In an attempt to reduce sexism in STEM, women have come up with sexist engineering toys. Goldie Blox has cute little animal character pieces, and now with Roominate, "[once] the building is built, they can decorate it with the included paper and other embellishments and use the motor to add electrical appliances". Both of them come in colours that are distinctly girly.
CopyRight 12y ago
Lego used to market its product as unisex[1], but has changed to be more gendered over the years. I assume market research indicated that this would result in greater profits. [1] http://i.imgur.com/xwAsW56.jpg http://i.imgur.com/xwAsW56.jpg
loup-vaillant 12y ago
Your link have nothing to do with toys. TV is a completely passive medium, that you can only watch, and over which you have no influence. The fact that Baby Einstein DVDs don't work (worse, they are harmful) tells you nothing about whether engineering toys help or not.

hkmurakami 12y ago

I have this completely unsupported personal hypothesis that role models and peer groups are critical in shaping the path of children. Certainly much more critical than toys. Of course, how to provide such nurturing environments for all but the most fortunate in circumstance is the question :(

analog31 12y ago

I largely agree with you, and can only think of one minor argument: Perhaps the implicit feature is the booming message from the toy industry, not to girls, but to the parents and grandparents who buy toys. The latter may be the people who need to be reassured that engineering is OK for girls. (Or science, math, music, whatever).

watwut 12y ago

Fully agree. It is more about attitude of adults who often tend to assume the girl has not build stuff potential and treat them as such. Just stop marking every single toy as boy or girl one. Most boyish engineering toys are actually perfect for both sexes, as long as you stop telling girls "it is boys toy, you are not supposed to play with it, see the coloring on the box?". And I heard the last one in toy store and it was idiotic on multiple levels. (Why should anything non-pink be for boys only, really?). Girls do not need special toys build for them. We need to stop teaching kids that every damn toy is either inherently boyish or girlish.

Broken_Hippo 12y ago
I agree completely. I liked legos as a kid, and cars and stuff, but i was keenly aware that these were 'boy toys'. Changes in advertising and presentation are needed: 'girlified' legos always turned me off (really, the boys are manning spaceships and the girls are shopping?), but I'd have liked a mix of male and female characters doing fun stuff. Neutral. It gets more intense than just the color changes in toys: Last Christmas gifts I bought my niece and nephew, there were a lot of toys in various price ranges for my nephew, all of which were actual playable toys and selection of types of toys. For my niece, however, mostly dolls, and many of the cheaper toys weren't useful by themselves - they were all accessories for the dolls.

tow21 12y ago

The "implicit feature" is all the other kids and adults around any girls, who consciously or otherwise suggest that they shouldn't be playing with Lego/Meccano etc. My daughter's only 15 months old - and already I can see other parents treating her differently from the boys. If she's in a crowd of children, she'll get given dolls instead of building blocks. Obviously I do what I can to counteract this, but she's not always with me. If toys like this encourage other parents to let my daughter play at engineering, I'm all for them.

2muchcoffeeman 12y ago
Is having pastel coloured building blocks really going to help here? Serious question. In an attempt to reduce sexism in STEM, women have come up with sexist engineering toys. Goldie Blox has cute little animal character pieces, and now with Roominate, "[once] the building is built, they can decorate it with the included paper and other embellishments and use the motor to add electrical appliances". Both of them come in colours that are distinctly girly.

Lego used to market its product as unisex[1], but has changed to be more gendered over the years. I assume market research indicated that this would result in greater profits. [1] http://i.imgur.com/xwAsW56.jpg http://i.imgur.com/xwAsW56.jpg

loup-vaillant 12y ago

Your link have nothing to do with toys. TV is a completely passive medium, that you can only watch, and over which you have no influence. The fact that Baby Einstein DVDs don't work (worse, they are harmful) tells you nothing about whether engineering toys help or not.