By the age of 3, children become aware of their gender identity and start to form an awareness of the behaviors, interests and/or activities that are associated with their gender. Interaction with peers is one important way in which children learn about gender roles and develop gender-typed behavior and attitudes. From an early age, children are interested in and become more responsive to their same-sex peers, and they form meaningful relationships with them. Studies show that children who are friends tend to become much more similar to each other than chance alone would predict. They model or create social and gender norms within their groups by encouraging or discouraging particular actions/behaviours through direct (verbal) or indirect (nonverbal) cues.
Efforts should be directed by parents, educators, service providers, and policy makers towards helping young children have positive peer interactions to maximize the benefits of peer socialization and enhance understanding, appreciation and respect between different genders. Read the full article here…