Should Parenting Be Gender Neutral?

A famous psychologist once said that the three most difficult tasks in the world are: running a nation, politics, and rearing a child. Right from conception until a whole journey of rearing a child, parenting comes with its own set of challenges. Nuances of parenting have certainly acquired new dimensions with children of all genders striving for equality in all spheres, be they academic, professional, or personal.

What Is Gender-Neutral Parenting?

Birth only determines the ‘sex’ of a person and not their ‘gender’. It is important to understand that ‘sex’ is a biological construct (i.e. whether one is male or female), while ‘gender’ is a social construct. A baby, when born, is gender-neutral because they do not know what thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are considered appropriate to which gender. It is only with the influence of the agents of socialisation (family, neighbourhood, school, etc.) that children realise which gender they are supposed to belong to, and the prospective outcomes of their feelings and behaviours.

So, what exactly is gender-neutral parenting and should parenting be gender neutral? When parenting includes dispersal of the same values and opportunities for children of all genders, it is called gender-neutral parenting. In this kind of parenting, parents do not label and restrict the child to traditional gender stereotypes held by the society, such as blue colour for boys and pink colour for girls, buying truck/aeroplane/car toys for boys and dolls and kitchen sets for girls.

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Gender Neutral Parenting Does Not Label The Child To Traditional Gender Stereotypes Like Blue Colour For Boys And Pink For Girls

Aspects Of Parenting That Should Be Gender Neutral

Should parenting be gender neutral? And the answer is, yes, some facets of it should be gender neutral. So, what are those aspects of parenting that should be gender-neutral, so that your child can grow up to be a confident, opinionated, and independent individual? Let us look at a few:-

Conversations About Safety

One reason for why should parenting be gender neutral is that gender-neutral parenting would touch upon child’s physical and psychological safety. As parents, you should address the issue of your child’s physical safety vocally. Talk to them about how both boys and girls should take care of their safety, not divulge personal information to strangers, know when to say ‘no’, and the likes of these. Another important dimension you should discuss with your teenager is cyberbullying and how they should maintain their safety online.

Education, Health, And Medical Facilities

Another important aspect of gender-neutral parenting is education for the children. Children of all genders should be given equal opportunity to study and become independent, since that empowers them to take responsibility for themselves and also make a significant contribution to society.

Medical facilities, such as timely vaccination, regular health check-ups and treatment should also be provided regardless of gender.

Financial Literacy

Gender-neutral parenting should essentially include conversation on finances, how children should earn, save, spend, and strike a balance between saving and spending. Parents should discuss with children, right from the latter’s early ages, about what role banks play and what functions they offer. A financially literate individual is equipped to handle their money wisely which may help them prevent a lot of troubles at different points during adult life.

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Sex Education

Aspects of gender-neutral parenting indispensably include addressing adolescent issues openly and candidly with one’s child. Parents should address what hormonal and bodily changes occur during adolescence, teenage pregnancy, risky behaviours, and so on. Parents maturely discussing these issues with their children makes the latter less susceptible to falling prey to unreliable sources of information.

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Importance Of Resilience

Gender-neutral parenting also encompasses building and addressing issues of resilience in children and adolescents. Adolescents are vulnerable to emotional dilemmas and challenges that come with growing up, which they shall be better equipped to handle if timely conversations with parents get them prepared and alerted for those. These conversations should include how ups and downs are part and parcel of growing up, the importance of processing, accepting, and moving on.

Liberty To Make Choices

Another aspect of gender neutral parenting is assessing your ward’s psychological attributes like aptitude, interest, personality, values, and the like and enabling them to make their own choices of subjects, courses, colleges, careers, and work. Eventually, children also seek their parents’ unconditional support in their choice of their life partner (in terms of gender).

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