Let Toys Be Toys campaign is asking the toy and publishing industries to stop limiting children’s interests by promoting some toys and books as only suitable for girls, and others only for boys.
Find out more about the Let Toys Be Toys campaign.
Tackling gender stereotypes in early childhood: Let Toys Be Toys joins expert commission
We’re delighted to be taking part in the Commission on Gender Stereotypes in Early Childhood, launched this week by gender equality campaigning charity The Fawcett Society.
Chaired by the Director of the UCL Institute of Education, Professor Becky Francis and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood, Rt Hon David Lammy MP the commission will bring together experts in parenting, education, and the commercial sector as well as campaigners committed to tackling gender stereotypes, including representatives of the National Education Union, National Childbirth Trust, Usborne Books, Muslim Women’s Network, as well as Let Toys Be Toys. Read more…
Let Toys Be Toys 2018 Silliness Awards
So folks, it’s nearly 2019 and there’s no doubt that lots of progress has been made in terms of fewer products on the shelves labelled ‘boys’ or ‘girls’. But we still get sent plenty of examples of gender stereotyping and unnecessary labelling and, in time-honoured fashion, we take this opportunity to look back, not so much in anger, but in disappointment at the silliest examples to come our way in the past couple of years.
Let Toys Be Toys – Early Learning gift guide
Early learning toys are a fantastic way to introduce fundamental understandings and encourage creativity in very young minds. Sadly, even at this early stage, several toy makers and retailers are sorting their products according to the all too familiar pink and blue division.
In this gift guide, we’ve picked out toys that help babies and toddlers grow their minds without restricting them according to gender.
Books for Young Children – Let Toys Be Toys Gift Guide
We believe all children should be able to choose freely the books they like best and we celebrate all the marvellous writers, illustrators, publishers and booksellers that avoid putting boy or girl labels on books. Here we list some of our favourite reads for the very small people in our lives.
Great gifts to foster STEM skills – Let Toys Be Toys gift guide
As well as being fun, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) toys and books are a great way to build skills such as problem solving, spatial awareness and critical thinking.
We’ve chosen a range of toys and books to help curious children everywhere develop an interest in science and discovery.
Let Toys Be Toys Arts and Crafts gift guide
If you’re looking for an arts and crafts gift, and want to shop outside the pink and blue boxes of gender stereotypes, check out our inclusive gift guide for fun arts and crafts present ideas for children.
Toymark turns 5!
2018 marks the five year anniversary of the Let Toys Be Toys Toymark – our good practice award recognises toy retailers and booksellers who are marketing inclusively to all children, without ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ labels or colour-coded signage. Over 50 retailers throughout the UK have received our award since 2013. Read what some of our retailers have shared about winning the award.
Whirligig Toys becomes first multi-branch winner of the Toymark award
On the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Toymark scheme, Whirligig Toys has been awarded with the 2018 badge for good practice for all four locations of their shop, making them the first multi-shop recipient of the award.
Raising children without gender stereotypes
By Dr Finn Mackay, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of the West of England
You can now download, display and consult your very own guide to raising children without gender stereotypes, all in an A3 poster! The 20 tips introduced on the poster are a summary of a much longer article and they will hopefully be useful, practical, informative and probably provocative, for parents and educators alike. The tips are only a beginning, and they are intended to start reflection and discussion: everyone could probably add their own to the list.
What?
Firstly, let’s start at the beginning, what sort of stereotypes are we talking about? Anyone with children in their lives, perhaps especially young children, cannot have failed to notice gender stereotyping: in children’s clothes; in children’s toys; in leisure activities aimed at children; in children’s programmes on TV… basically, everywhere. Read more…
Why no stories for rebel children? Don’t divide young readers by gender
By Tricia Lowther, originally published in the Guardian.
Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, and its more recent male equivalent Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different, are among a clutch of bestselling children’s books that supposedly break down gender stereotypes. By sharing tales of inspirational women and men who succeeded against the prevailing stereotypes of their time, these books aim to challenge ideas about what it means to be a boy or a girl. But could they actually be reinforcing the problem? Read more…
Our awards
