This article explores stereotypes about gender roles as observed in young children between the ages of 3 to 5 years. Children largely learn by imitating what takes place in their closest environment. Since every society has its unique stereotypes, children are likely to take up certain attitudes naturally without necessarily having to be taught. The author of this article explains that despite the huge strides made by women’s liberation movements, there still exists stereotypes about the role of women in society. For instance, there are roles predominantly assumed to be feminine just as there are others regarded as reserved for men. In this peer-reviewed article, the author used a sample of 68 boys and 71 girls in a preschool kindergarten to investigate the effects of different stereotypes associated with gender-based chores using housekeeping responsibilities. From the experiment, it emerged that children as young as those in kindergarten exhibit extensive interaction of sex and age. The study further confirmed sex-role behavior associated with traditional stereotypes is still common as exhibited in free play among children. There are still residual sexist attitudes in mainstream society that play a major role in child development.
The most interesting aspect of this article is the aspect of the influences of cultural practices on growing children. Stereotypes develop because of the association of a certain practice with either a given gender, personality, belief or even character. It is therefore quite interesting how children pick up such stereotypes even without being taught. In fact, in this article, it is also interesting how such young children pick up such stereotypes amidst resistance from a section of the society such as the women’s liberation movements that have endlessly advocated for gender equality and an end to gender-based stereotypes. The findings of the study in the article point towards a certain element in the growth and development of children that makes it possible for them to naturally pick up certain traits. Generally, there have been limited studies on the way children develop their character traits. While most studies point towards the influence of the environment, the fact that kindergarten learners can role-play stereotypically opens room for more studies into child development, sexuality, and sex roles, thereby making the article more interesting.