Parenting Beyond Pink & Blue: How to Raise Your Kids Free of Gender Stereotypes

I think this is an amazing read, I am not personally a parent yet, but I would gladly allow this to influence how I raise my children. I think this is so important to understand and I am definitely glad that I read it before having children, so one day I can give them that chance to be anything they want to be!

CS Brown identifies obvious and common issues around gender and stereotypes. More importantly, she identifies the subtle influences that affect stereotypes and behaviors in the home, the school, and next door. Her chapter on threatened stereotypes was extremely eye opening. Her practical suggestions of how to effect change in your own behaviors (as well as in your own school district) are what set this book apart as superior to others .

I read this as a graduate student studying Applied Developmental Psychology in a class on child development. I found this book very easy to read and would recommend it to any parent. However, the book is strongly geared towards to mothers, whom the author claims are the more caring parents. (I disagree with this statement, fathers are just as caring parents.) As a student, I learned a lot from this book to keep in mind for when I am a parent one day. The book references many credible research studies to support the ideas being presented. The book is not just strictly based on the author's experiences as a parent of two girls. Although, she includes many of them to support the research. The book acknowledges the many gender stereotypes that are present in our children's lives. Almost all of which, I never even considered being a stereotype or a clear separation of genders. Many of these gender stereotypes can inhibit a child's true success in this world. The author supplies tips on how to acknowledge gender stereotypes and how to work against those stereotypes to support child development. For the most part, I enjoyed this book and the knowledge it gave me. However, the book barely mentions LGBT issues that are prevalent when discussing gender. The author also seemed to restate ideas throughout the book. I don't know if this was intentional to getting her point across or a tactic to fill space. This wasn't a book I couldn't put down because it was so interesting I had to read it to the end. This was a book I couldn't put down because it was a required assignment for class. If I simply read this book as a parent, I probably would have stopped reading half way through. However, the information in this book would be very beneficial to parents. I just don't know if a whole book needed to be written though.

As a student, I learned a lot from reading Christia Brown’s book, “Parenting Beyond Pink & Blue.” Each chapter allowed me to step back and reflect on my personal experiences and how I viewed gender stereotyping and if I created any gender labels. I was able to connect to my Child Development class seeing how gender relates to the different stages of development as well as learning how policy makers, parents, teachers, and researchers can intervene to de-emphasize gender at home and in the classroom.One important point I thought about while reading Brown’s book, was how parents play a critical role and shape their child’s views on the world (i.e. Stereotypes, gender labeling…). Looking at Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system model, the parents are the microsystem playing a crucial role in the child’s life. In the microsystem, the parent is providing support, knowledge, care, and their thoughts and stereotypes on the world. The child looks up to the parent learning the types of gender labels that are presented in the household or school. According to Brown, gender labeling is present before the child is born, welcoming a child into a specific type of clothing, toys and name. Throughout this book, Brown acknowledges the gender stereotypes that exist in a child’s life. Tips for parents and caregivers are provided at the end of the chapter letting you reflect on your parenting style and how you discuss gender with your child. This was a fast read filled with useful information that I was not all aware of. I would like to see a sequel to this book to look at the neurological differences if any. I would strongly recommend this book for educators in Pre-K-12th grade as well as parents. Educators will be able to use tips that are provided from evidence based research in the classroom that is focused on gender labeling. After reading this book I have been working on reducing the use of gender stereotypes in my daily life.

My parenting bible. I quote the studies to people who think it must be evolution that makes girls like pink and boys like cars... It should be read by all teachers, childcare professionals and be handed out in maternity wards for all new parents.

Very interesting read which I think all parents should read!

As a queer person, I bought this book with high hopes of learning more about mitigating gender biases - something very important to our community. However, the book is not LGBT inclusive - has many comments about male-female attraction in the teenage years etc. but does not include any orientation other than straight. Get what the author is trying to do but it would be nice to have an update for 2022.

Ich kann dieses Buch nur wärmstens empfehlen für alle, die sich mit gendergerechter Erziehung auseinandersetzen wollen.Es beleuchtet wissenschaftliche Studien, ohne dabei zu trocken zu werden, ist vollgespickt von Alltagsbeispielen aus dem Familienleben und gibt diverse Praxistipps (die leider zum Teil in der deutschen Sprache schlecht Anwendung finden, aber dafür kann das Buch ja nichts).Es erklärt auch ausführlich und eindeutig, was genau das Problem ist, wenn das Geschlecht von Kindern immer wieder in den Vordergrund gestellt wird, sei es über Bezeichnungen, unbedachte Kommentare oder Einteilungen in Gruppen.Ich als werdende Mama und Lehrerin habe nicht nur allerhand neues Wissen für die Erziehung meines Kindes, sondern auch für die Handhabung meiner Schulklassen mitgenommen.

5 stars just for the fact that the item itself arrived without any issues. No creases or rips. The book was well made.The actual book itself was not what I wanted. The author's stance was contradictory and poorly thought out. Not for me.