Because of gender inequality and discrimination as invisible and obvious to all, boys and girls grow up, by and large, in two very different societies where they are subject to different requirements and expectations. Drinking surrounding him, parenting practices and behaviors of boys and girls are different, too.

In essence, it is about double standards: it allowed the boy to girl - shameful and indecent. This differentiation did not prepare them for the future joint and limits their potential, preventing the full development of the individual. Parents, teachers and other adults can help to change this situation, helping children to learn a variety of skills, constantly expanding their horizons and improve their social environment. Also useful would be to teach a child to the child's gender inequality, and to teach him to adapt to gender differences, understand and accept them.

Gender roles

To help the child to understand gender roles and gender differences and to avoid gender stereotypes, parents need to know how the formation of gender roles. The rudiments of differential socialization can be seen even before the baby is born. Parents want to know who will be born - a boy or a girl, because this is already a lot depends on how they call it, what kind of clothes, toys will buy as will educate. Gender is an important social variable and the parents are unlikely to be pleased if others would prevent errors in respect of the child's sex.

For three years the children confidently identify themselves as male or female (the so-called "gender identity") .  During this period, children begin to notice that men and women have different look, engage in different activities and are interested in different things .  Once the child begins to notice the differences between men and women, he has a special attention to the role models of sex, due to the desire to be the best boy or girl .  Imitation can be attributed to women love to go shopping and preparing for the holidays and the reluctance of men to do .  As long as the child grows up, he sees that it is the woman deals with such cases, and if the child - a girl, it would interest her much more than if in its place was a boy .  We must not forget that gender-role socialization - a process that continues throughout a person's life, it reflects changing circumstances and new experiences .

Over the life course material for the formation of gender is a whole system of ideas about masculinity and femininity. Teachers, other children, other parents, relatives, toys and television - from all these sources, the child learns about the behavior that is regarded by society as appropriate to a particular gender. Experiments show that reading a book, the contents of which can be traced to sexual stereotyping leads to an increase in the proportion of sex-typical behavior in children's games.

Although recent studies have shown that the description of gender in books published after 1980 are sufficiently changed, but the library is still full of books published before this period. And they are usually dominated by male characters and women are portrayed solely as a homemaker, while men are given every opportunity.

An important role in gender socialization role played by the media, because they always show us a stereotypical male and female images.

Information field

Information pressure caused by the fact that, expanding our knowledge about ourselves and about the world, seeking to understand what the position should be followed in those or other social issues, we will increasingly rely not on their own experience and on information provided by others .  To determine what is right, we try to find out what others think right, but his behavior is considered so until seeing it in others .  The same applies to gender roles .  Television and books help children to form gender expectations .  Most children's television series and programs depict men and women in stereotypical gender roles, and TV advertising, which target audience is children, only reinforces gender stereotypes by showing only the boys with cars and guns, and girls - with the dolls, and is usually in pink .  In addition, the male characters in children's TV series more than women (in the ratio of 5: 1), and they are shown as a factory, leading happening on the screen .  Studies have shown that the more TV kids watch, the more likely that they will form gender stereotypes, they will try to meet the expectations of gender (that is, to behave like "should" male / female), as well as to participate in gender oriented actions .  Children's books abound gender stereotypes .  Male characters often appear in them as intrepid adventurers, strong, independent, smart and decisive, and female characters are depicted as passive, submissive and dependent creatures, homemaker .  Moreover, the male characters are more important, and far more than the female characters .

The differential socialization process is very great role of children's toys .  Toys and games help girls to practice those activities relating to the preparation for motherhood and homemaking, develop communication skills and collaboration skills, encourage the desire to look good .  Boys toys to encourage inventions, the transformation of the world, help to develop the skills that would later form the basis of spatial and mathematical skills, encourage independent, competitive and leadership behaviors .  Going to the store, you will immediately see that most of the toys are intended for either boys or girls .  According to statistics, adults buy more toys for small children, the typical baby's sex .  It is natural to assume that this is due to the fact that boys and girls prefer different toys, and therefore ask you to buy them it is their .  But whether it is preferred the "natural" or to create a social environment? In this regard there are several hypotheses, one of them suggests that boys and girls have different initial innate predispositions, and start making over time, give preference to various toys .  But we can not exclude the possibility that by the time when the child begins to give preference to toys, typical of his sex, the differential socialization has already occurred .  For five years I have shy children to play with toys, do not match their gender role, so often refuse toys associated with the opposite sex, thus reinforcing the gender stereotyping .  Thus, there are many factors that influence gender-role socialization .

In tough times, many parents ask themselves an important question: how to help the child to adapt to the difficult conditions of life and better withstand the anxiety and stress. Never before anxiety and stress in children have not reached such a high level as today. Childhood - a carefree time of joy and fun, but unfortunately, most of today's kids know about it only by hearsay.

Assessment of the situation

Every day, children are exposed to this psychological attack on television, on the billboards and the pages of the press; they learn the most terrible, terrible news, which is not always withstand even the adult psyche. The day was a success, if the evening news is not informed about the latest explosion, earthquake, plane crash or other disaster, all with colorful details and essential image of grieving relatives or victims themselves.

Also, do not forget that the parents have quite a few of its own problems, such as illness of loved ones, friends go relatives, ever-present, albeit illusory, security threat, the threat of loss of employment and livelihoods (very real), the failure to find the money for payment of a loan or other debt, insecurity, inability to receive quality medical care because of its high cost and so on and so forth.

Even if you belong to those few lucky ones who do not know the problems mentioned above, do not hurry to rejoice: most likely, they are encountered many families in your area, they are not hearsay know the parents of classmates your son or daughter, so they concern you too.

Adults often difficult to keep your own emotions Emotions and culture: how to decipher the emotional code Especially at home, in the family, when they feel close to all of your and you can relax, give vent to frustration and anger. Busy own lives and experiences, adults often underestimate the sensitivity of the child and his ability as a tuning fork to capture the emotions of others (especially loved ones, and especially negative) and respond to them.

Of course, it is difficult to fully protect the child from emotional breakdowns adults - senior unnoticed, it can lurk behind the door. It is especially difficult with teenagers who carefully hide their feelings and behave as if nothing had happened, even if they are in the soul of a real storm is raging.

But forces parents to put dam to the flow of negativity that is poured daily on their child, they can help him cope with stress How to beat stress? Create an oasis   and overcome anxiety. In this article we will look at anxiety as a psychological phenomenon, but also give parents some practical advice on how to reduce anxiety in children if it can not be completely avoided.

Children's stress and anxiety causes

To begin, consider some research. Scientists conducted a study involving several thousand children of different ages, from five to seventeen, and found that stress and anxiety have increased significantly since the 1950s. Moreover, one study showed that anxiety level has increased so much that a typical student of the 1980s suffered from anxiety and psychological distress is much stronger than his mentally ill peers in 1950.

Scientists have long known that anxiety in infants can lead to depression. They predict that in the coming decades, the percentage of cases of depression in children will only increase, because the anxiety - is the "first signs" of depression and if not overcome, the consequences can be dire.

Also, it increases the level of alcohol and drug abuse, as anxiety usually leads to the use of psychoactive substances. Anxiety affects not only psychological but also physical health of the child. Studies have shown that in people suffering from increased anxiety Anxiety - how to distinguish normal from disease? , There is a higher mortality rate, which is associated with an increased risk of asthma, the development of irritable bowel syndrome, peptic ulcer disease, inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Symptoms and Treatment   and coronary heart disease.

How can parents help the child, prone to anxiety?

If you notice that your child is prone to be upset more than other children, we must act. It is best to restore the peace of mind of the child helps to organize the action, action plan, for example, a clear daily routine: eat, homework, do housework, watch TV, go to sleep in a child must clearly set time, and over the weekend he has to find kakoe- something fun.

So, if the Tuesday dinner you usually eat spaghetti, and then with the child watch your favorite TV programs, should be adhered of the existing regulations, in order not to cause unnecessary anxiety in the child. Always keeps his promises, even if they relate to small things - your son or daughter should be confident in you. For example, if you promise your child that five minutes read him a bedtime story, do not make him wait - be in his room in five minutes, but do not expect that he will fall asleep himself, not waiting for you. If in the evening you will have an unplanned thing, try to do it before or after contact with a child, so as not to disturb the well-established routine.

Let us assume that the child has a serious cause for concern. Consistent and expected actions of parents - one of the best means of protection from the "accumulation" of the child stress, which may eventually lead to the breakdown of his physical health. What actions can be regarded as "successive and expected"? For example, you can sit next to a baby on a sofa or in a chair and sit with him in an embrace for a while, or make baby a gentle massage of the back, feet, or scalp. If desired, a child can get a massage you - the main thing that was physical contact: it will calm your baby and reduce his anxiety.

Physical contact with the parents, their affection and tenderness, is of great importance for the peace of mind the child's psychological comfort. It facilitates communication between parent and child is the proof of your love and support. Turn off the evening news with your child and discuss the events of his day: what happened at school, what he saw and learned.

During this call, you can identify unreliable information that needs to be refuted, or it could disturb the tranquility of your child. Children are often told to "adult" topics in which few understand - money, the financial situation of the parents, illness and sex - and do not need to have the child there is a dangerous delusion that could disturb him.

If you belong to a religious group, bring your children to the service; If a child has a favorite older friends or relatives, more often in their company. Try to expand the circle of friends of the child, while respecting his psychological comfort.

Most remind son or daughter that, in spite of everything, he could always count on you, and everything will be fine. The man survived several wars, the economic crisis and other shocks, and even in the most difficult times of life went on as usual.