Breaking Barriers: Nurturing Individuality in Children |Real Families

Is the way we treat boys and girls the real reason we haven't achieved equality between men and women? Dr Javid Abdelmoneim aims to find out by taking over a primary school class.
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[@lucythomas3320]

Is it weird that I felt so proud of how much Riley matured over the two episodes. When he said it wouldn't be fair if they played against each other it made my healer melt he's such a sweetheart 😂

[@parkgeonhees]

@@pepehimovic3135 It wouldn't have been fair because Riley knew the boys had much more experience playing the game than the girls do, because they'd been excluded previously.

[@BhappyD]

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Yes, it is about equality, which is why it was wonderful that Riley recognized that if the teams were divided by gender, that the girl team wouldn’t have an equal chance at winning. Not because he thought the boys were better than the girls simply because of their gender, but because the boys had more experience. He wanted it to be fair for both the boys AND the girls, and he recognized that the only way everyone had an equal chance at winning was if the teams weren’t separated by gender. 😊

[@solihinusman]

@@pepehimovic3135 come on did you not listen to how Riley explained it?

[@kaitlyncharney8488]

What was profound about it was that he was showing more empathy and realizing it doesn’t have to just be about winning and being the best.

[@deedee_audie7461]

This is literal evidence that things as simple as a toy can make a difference and it starts from the very beginning. I don’t see how people can be so offended by this when there were nothing but improvements.

[@goldendiamondapple9176]

Demi Audra The gender-beliefs are anchored deep in society. It may cross the border of ones comfort zone.

[@churchofgod4016]

Results that can be duplicated actually prove the falsifiability of any experiment.

[@markfoster1520]

True, Demi. I thought the saying was, personality is set by 7! So we are already facing intransigent beliefs. Gender Optional....not Gender Neutral.

[@e13kid]

Because there's a push to deny real differences between men and women so now everyone assumes any conversation about gender is about denying gender differences. There are both real and manufactured differences between men and women.

[@SignsNWonders]

Evil .. BOLD EVIL

[@aamemon7494]

people always tend to run away from the topic the moment you imply gender-neutrality, but This is It. Here, there is no imposition of masculinity or femininity, but rather it inculcates an appropriate understanding of tasks and responsibilities and attribute which show not be gendered. This was beautiful to watch and gives hope for the future!

[@churchofgod4016]

It is a sad time in history when tasks can not be managed without first removing the natural right and inclination of every human being to be naturally male or female.

[@markfoster1520]

You can't raise children as Beige. And tell them they're Beige because you don't want to assign Gender. If your child likes Pink....go for it....but offer a side of Blue.

[@dianew800]

It's not about assigning or not assigning a gender. It's about not hindering a child's growth by focusing on a generic aspect of his or her gender, like beauty or toughness, artistic or brainy. Give your girl a pink t-shirt with a dinosaur or astronaut on it; your boy a blue shirt with a teddy bear or flowers. Don't assume that your little girl does (or doesn't) want to be a princess; that your little boy wants to be a wrestler.

[@TiBunCosplay]

I used to work in a daycare and was in charge of the 3 year olds. We kept all the toys in one box so that the kids could freely take out whatever they wanted to play with. Many times I saw boys go for dolls and girls go for trucks just as much as girls would go for dolls and boys for trucks. No one can convince me that kids have a natural pull one way or the other towards types of toys. They only have a natural pull towards playing and will play with whatever is made available to them.

[@tabitas.2719]

I have heard and noticed that the way they play rather tends to be different than what toys they use or prefer. ;)

[@e13kid]

Tabita S. - Yes, that is true.

[@mcgirlletsgo7135]

I don’t think they have a pull at that age. My mom was a preschool teacher and saw the same things. I think they learn as their older which is more socially acceptable. Once they think boys don’t play with dolls, they’ll go more for trucks bc they want to be accepted.

[@mrsTraveller64]

And after 30 years working in day-care I totally DISagree with you!

[@FernandaPillaCoutinho]

I have a boy and a girl at home, 13 months apart. They share toys, bedroom and clothes. My son picks up cars to play much more often then dools - he also plays with dools. He plays "fighting", running, jumping... ny daughter loves to drawing, sometimes plays with cars too, but she plays getting dress, putting our shoes, takes my handbags, feed dolls, teddies, minding teddy bears... for me, they are completely different even me giving to then exactly the same education! I allow my son the paint his nails when he sees his sister painting... he putes lipsticks too... I do exactly the same and generally he plays much more "with boys toys" and she with "girls toys"

[@xy8804]

such an important series, i wish more people would stop and genuinely watch this instead of condemning it because it includes the gender topic.

[@fionahodkinson8346]

Me too, its extremly interesting and i genuinely feel like ive learned so much from it.

[@shantaeforsmash8287]

Except the parts about an apparent 'Gender Pay Gap' which demotes what could have been brilliant

[@freyagamlin1145]

@@shantaeforsmash8287 there is definitely a gender pay gap. Women generally get paid less than men.

[@churchofgod4016]

How do we watch a series genuinely when not even the self-proclaimed psychologist is genuine? He is no social psychologist, and is least of all qualified to hold a cogent opinion on matters he feels irrepressibly the need to express.

[@bareabopopera3091]

murtisoft sorry, I meant to send that to someone else

[@lillelektor]

The reduction in boy's destructive behaviour was massive, and in such a short time!

[@LadyLocket]

I really shows that being able to express or communicate what your thoughts and feelings are is a HUGE asset to any child. It clearly reduces the build-up of anger and frustration at things and the need to resort to a physical outlet for that frustration.

[@jan-nn9ix]

@@LadyLocket well mainly an asset to women who are the victims usually of this violence if you think about it

[@jan-nn9ix]

@@yourdad3275 I'm talking about sexism obviously I am also aware other people are vulnerable to knife crime etc lol no one's superhuman

[@yourdad3275]

rocket 1 you literally said violence with no mention of sexism. that's what the whole comment thread's about, you don't need to deny it :/

[@jan-nn9ix]

@@yourdad3275 also I just realised it not the original person I was talking to lol I've been interacting with someone didn't even want to speak to great

[@danielmclaughlin2733]

Tiffany finally being able to do her tangram puzzle makes me want to cry, I'm so happy for her!!!!

[@cha0spixie]

ngl, that did make me tear up. TIFFANY YOU'RE DOING SO WELL SWEETIE

[@kehcowan]

RILEY I’M SO PROUD #characterdevlopment

[@delaney1041]

Apple I cried 3 times just watching riley progress

[@izzywoods794]

#GoRiley

[@POtter-us6kt]

#teamriley

[@spannerclyde6832]

#GoRiley

[@expression3639]

Seriously!

[@Taraeth]

"Boys are better because they get cooler stuff." And THIS is why I - a woman - wanted to be a boy throughout my childhood. I hated all the societal expactations of how a girl has to be and how the media portrayed (and still portrays) female and male characters in exaggerated stereotypes. The portrayal of boys was just always preferable to me. I was very lucky for having parents that just let me do my thing and (mostly) express myself the way I wanted to. I just never cared to conform, I just wanted to be me.

[@churchofgod4016]

Such questions are non-questions and must never be asked of children who wish only to please adults by their responses. "Are boys better than girls?" Is an unloaded question. "What MAKES boys better than girls?" is loaded--expecting a response affirming the veiled premise "since boys are better." This is abhorrent as a line of interviewing children. He would be reprimanded academically and professionally for attempting that sort of trash-questioning.

[@fatimabari2963]

I was the same!!!!!

[@markfoster1520]

I have to stop reading all the replies. My sister was an all-star softball player ...and I was a flop. I know I don't star in all the expectations of society....& yet people still love me! Family!....and anyone who wants their work to be processed in Philadelphia. Just saying.

[@luisagf1385]

Same here. As a child, I never played with Barbies, I never painted my nails and put makeup on (ok, I still don't do that 😂). But I always played soccer with my brother, and watched SpeedRacer and stuff. I was really sad when my brother got Legos for his birthday and I would never get them. And I never seemed to understand why my grandma wanted me so bad to try putting makeup on my face. I'm really glad that I have awesome parents who allowed me to stay true to myself, though.

[@AK-jt7kh]

Me too! I’m so happy my parents weren’t superficial. We always wore very sensible clothing and had sensible toys that weren’t branded and painted pink. I was a tom boy growing up because to be honest, boys toys really are more fun! As a girl all you really got to do was decorate and play pretend with dolls and stuffed animals. Boys had building blocks, games, balls, squirt guns, all the cool stuff. Then there were really cool cartoons like spider man. All of the early games on things like SNES were geared towards boys. I hated dressing up as a girl. It was uncomfortable and it made me feel like everyone was looking at me. I definitely preferred dressing like a boy and playing like a boy.

[@bexter107]

The mum talking about Maisy😭😭😭

[@a.m.3567]

I like how this isnt pushy, very professional, very interesting.

[@pancon9947]

Yeah

[@animeaunty]

It also took the rite approach. Some countries have gone too far & r turning the boys n2 dysfunctional girls. I forget where but they r even taking gender pronouns out of the class. Boys & girls r different but that doesn't affect how they think of themselves or what they can do for a living. It seems the uk is a bit behind n teaching women to b other than wives, maids, & mothers. Glad to c the change start. 😀

[@Kreka008]

I don't know if the channel manager sees my comment but I would really love to TRANSLATE this video (and the 1st part) into Russian and send it to my mum and the mother of my nephew and to actually spread it into the russian society (god knows Russia needs it), because, first of all, what you did with this study and with the kids is amazing and I just cannot wrap my mind around the way girls and boys are actually taught by US and no one else to see themselves and each other. WE make them think they are worthless and unintelligent enough to achieve anything and that they are to be seen as weak if they cry or like pink color. Second of all, this topic is personally relatable and I want my nephew to be raised in a less corrupted by stereotypes and gender forced environment. PLEASE enable the TRANSLATION option for this video (and for the 1st part).

[@emilyrose4269]

+

[@SweetmeatsFan]

Интересная идея! Если будет такая возможность, я готова присоединиться к переводу!

[@EmilyPie99]

+

[@captainstark5496]

I'll translate in hindi

[@goldendiamondapple9176]

Great Idea

[@kingdollop-head743]

This should be shown to all parents before their children start school

[@taraterrorturner5280]

More like before they become parents

[@areneej1]

9600GTMAN why not

[@BMFL420]

The parents seemed so intrigued, but also VERY hesitant. That's very interesting to me. I've been a Nanny for 15 years, and I've never been one for boy this girl that. It's actually a rule in my home that if I hear the words "that's for girls or that's for boys" you'll lose the opportunity altogether. I've never been okay with it, before ever even really thinking about it like this, so deeply. I never got the remote controlled monster truck I wanted for Christmas as a kid, and that stuck with me and I think that's why I've chosen to avoid that way of thinking. Both gender stereotypes and racial stereotypes are taught and learned.

[@goldendiamondapple9176]

Brenna Landron I hope you could buy your remote controled monster truck yet.

[@jayeisenhardt1337]

Learned through observation. Yup yup. See people do a thing enough and it sticks.

[@andij22]

I am studying to become a teacher and I will definitely use those techniques with my students in the future!

[@umamaheswari5077]

Thank you Andi J

[@909maiken]

I'm a scout chief and I am definitely gonna be more proactive in using these techniques

[@shelpow]

Awesome!!!

[@goldendiamondapple9176]

Be careful with new methods in your trial periods. It may go super well but it also could get you in trouble. I agree with your plan, so be careful. I heard of a story where a 'learning teacher' wanted to make a better lesson and he got in trouble for it, because his 'teachers' had old beliefs (though that wasn't anything with gender, it was more like talking with the students on the same level. Hierarchy things, you know)

[@andij22]

+GoldenDiamond Apple Thank you very much for your answer. I know this is something I will have to be careful with and stick to the basics at the beginning (even though I am not planning on doing any social experiments on the kids). It will be mainly about the little things and then later, when I feel more comfortable in the field, I will address certain topics in this concern.

[@elli1080]

I wish this guy was around in my childhood. Because i am a girl i wasn't allowed to play "boys sports" i really wanted to do karate football or archery. I wasnt allowed and i feel like i couldnt accomplish the most. I hated dolls and i always wanted to wear "boys clothes" because they were more comfortable and laid back, while girls had tight dresses, and frills. I wish more schools did this 😢

[@TeaAndCroissants]

+

[@rainbowgirlism]

Wow, archery was the first thing in the Olympics women were allowed to do.

[@gleechik101]

This was a brilliant documentary, it should be on Netflix! Going to share this with friends because I really believe it deserves more exposure.

[@rosey4exclaim]

"What. Do. You do. With. Four. Gloves?" LMAO! Good question! 😂😂😂😂

[@najamomo5226]

I wish I had a gender neutral upbringing. But I will definitely raise my child in such a manner for sure. I remember how I used to always want to play with 'boy' toys such as legos but that I was too afraid to ask. Everyone, raise your kids equally. Don't leave the nerf guns to the boys and the barbies to the girls. They will thank you in the future

[@BookloverFantasy92]

I have a girl and a boy. Both share a room, and have a toy room. Both kids love playing with the cars, and with the baby dolls. Toys are toys.

[@annikalapudas9742]

Me too :)

[@Angelwitch99]

NajaMomo I was never told I couldn't play with guns or cars or anything like that when I was younger and in fact I did often when I would play with the kids in the neighborhood or visit my godbrother/cousin, Andrew, who we was around my age but at home I was more often bought thing like barbie dolls and coloring books and honestly I didn't really think about it at the time but looking back I kind if felt like "boy" toys weren't even an option when deciding what I wanted for Christmas or my birthday even though I was never told that by anyone. I was lucky though that on top of never telling me I couldn't play with "boy" toys my mom was a single mother who herself had always been a bit of a tomboy when she was younger so she tought me how to fish, throw a ball, and change a tire and told me stories of her riding go carts and playing soccer, and fixing up cars and drag racing whe bbn she was younger and I know the stories are true cause not only have family members confirmed them but to this day she has a lead foot on the gas and can drop a transmission in a car like it's nothing. The later came in handy with a couple of the less reliable cars she had when I was little. I am grateful for the upbringing 8 had cause it tought me that girls can do anything boys can do and in some cases they can even do it better.

[@lookingaround3969]

I recall when I was younger boy and used to play with dolls all the time. Many of these were either sewn by my mother or a toy I grew up with from a very very young age. And it was infuriating when I wanted to talk about the adventures I had with all of them in my imagination with my friends at school. I wasn't exactly sporty, since both my physique and attitude begged to differ. But I tended to hang out with my friends and played cricket albeit being very terrible. 8 years later, and now I've made other friends, and I was surprised to hear they also played with dolls and other stuffed animals. It's comforting to say the least

[@bearded-cat]

I always wanted those boy robot toys where you got to assemble yourself but I was afraid to ask as well. I still got my little set of legos and so on but it still was a bit biased.

[@coffee.and.stitches]

What a beautiful inspiring documentary. I'm glad that my parents didn't care if I would play with cars, lego or barbies. I even played football with the boys at school. I ended up studying structural engineering and enjoyed it a lot.

[@AC_RDR2_Q]

good on you! :)

[@DanniSegs]

I very much support this philosophy but the bit where they bagged up all the girlie toys made me slightly uneasy for some reason. I figured it was more about 'let them live in a world where they can have access to both' not 'tell the girls that princess and pink is no longer appropriate' Don't get me wrong, this series is important and if I do have children one day, I aspire to raise them with all of this in mind, but that bit just seemed slightly off. Anyway, I'm glad the kids seemed so responsive despite their earlier thoughts.

[@BhappyD]

PirateBlood13 I would agree if they implemented it as a permanent change, but it was only in place for the duration of the experiment, and then after the experiment was over they were allowed to have their toys back. The doctor/host just wanted to control as many variables as possible, and wanted things to be consistent at home to match the changes that were being made at school, to make the experiment have the biggest possible impact. It wasn’t that they were saying those toys were bad, but rather it helped the children and the parents realize just how prominent gender stereotypes were in the child’s life, even though it wasn’t intentional. Having those toys out of sight for the remainder of the experiment forced the children to develop a much different relationship with toys than they had previously, and I don’t think it would have had the same level of effect if they had still been surrounded by their normal toys, which reminded them of their gender stereotypes everywhere they looked. For the purpose of the experiment it was necessary, but it wasn’t permanent, and the takeaway lesson was to show parents how important it is to not limit children and to provide them with options, including the toys that aren’t marketed towards their specific gender. As long as the child has all of the options available to them, it doesn’t matter what their preference ends up being, regardless of whether or not it’s stereotypical. I’m thankful that my mother raised me with no limits when it came to toys and playing. I was an only child, so unlike a lot of my friends, I didn’t have a brother that had stereotypical boy toys to share, so it was WAY more of an intentional and conscious effort on my mother’s part to ensure that I wasn’t limited in my options. I had dolls and art supplies that I loved, but I also had legos, cars, and tools that I loved and played with just as much. I actually hated pink growing up, and while I did still have some stereotypical girl interests, I was much more of a tomboy and loved problem solving (both indoors through puzzle activities and outdoors through things like climbing high trees). For Christmas and birthdays I would always ask for both “girl” and “boy” toys without hesitation. I think my encouraged limitless childhood had a lot to do with how advanced I was academically and developmentally, because I never felt forced into one category. It was much easier for me compared to most of my peers to excel at a wide range of skill sets, whereas most of them were much more limited and more representative of the children in this video in terms of the division in gender characteristics. I had always been appreciative of the way I was raised, and I always knew that it was so much deeper than toys just being toys and most parents not realizing their significance, but this brilliant documentary beautifully demonstrated just how flawed and damaging childhood gender stereotypes really are, even the seemingly harmless ones.

[@pancon9947]

when that boy says now i think boys and girls can both be strong i just felt hope and a warm fuzzy happy feeling

[@drewharris7785]

I wonder what would happen if a similar experiment was conducted with adults.

[@pancon9947]

yeah that would be very interesting

[@cosmosisrose]

I somehow feel we'd have a lot more Rileys

[@mild3891]

I remember being in PE class when I was younger and, more often than not, we would be divided into boys vs girls teams. I would see all the boys’ faces light up and all the girls’ faces fall. The girls then wouldn’t try because they knew they wouldn’t have a chance. This is only one example of the toxicity of gender with children. There truly does need to be a change.

[@jackriver8385]

When I was a little girl, I often got barbie dolls as a birthday present, when I really wanted to play with Lego bionicles, Lego technic and instruments and stuff. I did like some of the girly presents I got, but I really wanted more legos and would play with my brother's. And he often played with my barbie dolls. The idea that boys and girls like certain different things is bs.

[@amandayee906]

what’s wrong with u ir weird

[@SaraOanimeOcookie]

I worked in a daycare during the summer and there was one boy who loved pink and wanted to play ”girly” game, I used to let him braid my hair when he asked if he could. He was very happy when he found a princes dress in our dress-up box. And he was jealous of another boy who had pink shoes. But his parents only let him wear black, blue and green. No other colours. It makes me so sad to think about how he is not allowed to try things out at home. They were limiting his development and moulding him.

[@gyorgyandrasmolnar2849]

Printed T-shirts can be REALLY HARMFUL. And that's obvioulsy true.

[@catcraft5527]

I hate having to wear girls clothes, they are completely disgusting. All the pink and slogans just make me feel gross and sexualized.

[@SocialistFinn1]

@@catcraft5527 HAVING to wear? If you're here commenting on youtube then aren't you old enough to wear what you want?

[@RexoryByzaboo]

@@SocialistFinn1 I think she is going through peer pressure or something.

[@liftlash98]

Can I be the only one who will say something nobody will disagree with and say that the sound mixing in this documentary is awful?

[@magicbloo]

It was pretty bad. The voice of the doctor/host was too low. The music was too loud.

[@timecrayon]

Yes you're right. I wondered if something was wrong with my speakers.

[@ivymoon3117]

Definitely. Like sometimes Javid and Mr Andre would be talking and then you hear voice-over Javid very quietly saying statistics over them.

[@GBoz94]

I agree the music was soooo loud!! at one point I paused the video to see if another tab was open!

[@delaney1041]

liftlash98 i kinda go used to it but i agree

[@tompage7313]

So powerful, honestly lost for words. Brought me to tears many times and the ending did it for me. The anger I had as a child and never knowing how to express myself allows me to understand that my children need these lessons. I also wish I could have had the confidence boost like this as I always left anything ‘masculine’ to the more boystrous boys which I now regret. Honestly so proud of this experiment and so inspiring

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

Thank you for sharing such honesty :)

[@sharonplant4102]

My son Bradley used to push his sisters Minnie Mouse buggy down the road when he was 2 people used to ask why I let him I said why not blokes push buggies he loved fluffy pink slippers plastic princess shoes. He’s 25 now at university and a normal man so no it don’t harm them n yes he liked boys toys to.

[@KatherineRogers]

If boys may very well be fathers some day, just as girls may be mothers some day, why not...let either gender play at child care when young. Why is pink a girl color and blue a boy color? Why cant children wear any color they want....other than adult bias.

[@tararaboom]

I find it hilarious. I hated girls toys growing up. To me the boys toys were always so much more interesting to me. Maybe that's why I ended up a woman in mostly male profession today. I've always been pretty good at those shape puzzles. Any visual puzzles I was good at. I guess my love of Lego was the reason. Even with Lego I hated the girls Lego sets and much preferred playing with my pirate Lego sets and building robots and space ships. My parents didn't encourage this either I just naturally ended up this way. I'm about to have my first child a daughter. I hope that having me as a good female role model for breaking the gender stereotype she can see she can achieve anything she wants.

[@sparkletinkercat3458]

Tararaboom Yep everyone tried to force me to be girly but I still don't listen to them

[@HejMette]

When I was little I always asked for stuffed animals, art supplies, and science kits. I only got the animals and art stuff, but my best friend always got the chemistry/science sets and more boy-ish toys in general. She's now studying chemistry and I'm going to be a teacher. Not that our toys decided that, but still I think it's interesting.

[@janrees4887]

I know that for me and my sisters, having a mom who is a doctor was always proof for us that girls could do anything they wanted and be just as good at scientific subjects. My sisters are both doctors now. (I am a writer and editor but I also studied professional cookery and economics)

[@boomarang3018]

I’m still a kid but I HATE pink and girl stuff!

[@shantaeforsmash8287]

All the best with the birth!

[@guneetkaur676]

I was worried for sewing kit kid, but im glad he was cool at the end , and girls really enjoyed building toys. I gifted my niece a car and a stuff animal every body was like why a car?...it was hilarious...my niece though, she enjoyed the car cause, the toy was different than what she was used to....LOL.

[@coco_mitten987]

Epic glad she liked it 😊

[@helleswahn]

I lowkey think that there isn't really anything wrong with girls liking "girly" things (the "pink party" and maisy's mom having to throw out all the princess dresses), but they should just be made aware that they have more options and there's nothing wrong with liking stereotypically masculine things either

[@laurawood4835]

helleswahn I agree that normally it would be unreasonable to ask a child to have no toys usually associated with their gender even if they like them but this was an experiment. One where the children where only given traditional toys and taking away their usual option allowed them to look at toys they typically would not consider

[@frognr2]

and also its okay for boys to play with dolls and ask for barbies for christmas! it should be encouraged even, so they can practice beeing a daddy :)

[@pratika9049]

I agree with you. girls can like girly things and boys can like manly things. but saying that they should only like things that are associated with their gender is wrong. in fact, calling things "girly" or "manly" should be avoided. every kid should be allowed and given the choice to like whatever he/she wants, irrespective of his/her gender.

[@helleswahn]

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for kids can play with whatever toys they like, but I don't think it's wrong for girls to like "girly" things and boys to like "manly" things just because it's sterotypical. But I get that in this experiment they probably took away the toys to put into perspective how gendered it actually is and the kids seemed mostly cool with it, so no harm done I guess

[@fightingfaerie]

Yeah, I hope they didn't just get rid of it all. At least let the kid decide what they want to keep. Maybe they have a favorite toy that ended up in the bag. Or that beautiful "period" dress, it looked like it had hoops in it, that was really cool and neat to keep if she wanted to keep it. It is good to go through toys at an early age anyway, I know, I'm 25 and have only finally decided to part with about half of my massive amount of stuffed animals and most of my barbies. And from now on they can be more conscious about what they buy and add to her room.

[@finn1079]

Now I'm here sobbing because of how beautiful this is

[@2Ten1Ryu]

The poem... "boys can be sensitive" - and then the two boys hugging. I don't know what came over me but suddenly I burst into laughter, with tears in my eyes at the same time. I don't have children yet, but if i am ever to have some, I want them to be like that. And the end of the video I was genuinely crying because I was so happy and proud of the kids.

[@essiac4286]

I find this incredibly interesting. But something I think would be a variable is it even possible to raise a gender neutral child in this day and age? As in give them both boy and girl toys and activities and encourage them to to what they enjoy etc regardless of what society thinks. I feel like relatives, and other children in your child's life are likely to buy them gender specific gifts etc. And I also feel like once they go to school, social pressure and the actions of other children would control this as well. It's all well and good a little girl saying she wants to be a mechanic but if her entire class is booing at her telling her she can't be a mechanic because she's a girl she'll start to believe it.

[@eleanortaylor4768]

I agree it's such a struggle but education is the first step. We've come so far, just think of how gender roles have progressed since 10, 50, 100 years ago. This hurdle may be the hardest, given that this time we're mistaken in thinking we've already reached equality. But together men and women have changed culture before, and we can do again. There should be a day when no little girl gets laughed at for wanting to be a mechanic.

[@TheMarjolein96]

From personal experience, I can say that in current society it is probably impossible to raise a child 100% gender neutral. My parent certainly tried and they succeeded in many ways; both my brother and I loved playing with cars and lego and also playing out stories together using Playmobil dolls and the sims. But is it impossible to shield off all gendered influence form the rest of society, so I did play with Barbies with my friends while my brother spent a lot more time playing fighting based computer games with his friends. Overall my parents definitely succeeded in some regards as I am one of 8% of women in my engineering masters.

[@LostJedi26]

Just means we have to push that much harder. Have conversations with friends and family about gender roles. Have conversations with the kids about how it's okay to play with whatever you want to play with. It's entirely possible. Sure, there are marketing pressures, but that's everywhere and not likely to change. You have to go against the flow. Just let them pick what they like, don't make a big deal out of it either way.

[@ethanlooi725]

These two videos was definitely eye opening. I definitely never thought about some of these things you mentioned in the videos, I guess I put them into stereotypes, like the clothing part, that was quite mind blowing 💥

[@Zannyyyy]

After watching both episodes, I think this is a great idea and by the end you can see the great impact it's had on the children involved. Amazing results. The only thing I had a problem with in this was taking away their 'gendered' toys. I completely understand that toys most often are marketed to a specific gender and that's whats wrong. The focus should be on the marketing rather than the consumer. By taking the toys away it felt as though it had almost gone too far the other way and it came across as if the message was 'Princesses and Pink are for girls. Therefore you girls aren't allowed to like that because it's too stereotypical.' Rather than take toys away, let children make their own decisions about they want to play with. Advertisers should market toys for children. Not for a gender. Any child that wants to play with dolls or princess toys should be allowed to.

[@troebeliewoep]

I doubt the marketeers will change what works for them now, so until they don’t the parents need to make thought-out decisions. My mom made us gals do all different kinds of activities so we could try it before we decided if it was for us or not. Kids have bias about what they think they would like too, many of these ideas are actively marketed to them. Sometimes parents maybe should challenge those believes.

[@Zannyyyy]

troebeliewoep I totally agree with you actually. I think kids should have a range of toys. Growing up with a brother, we shared most things, no matter what it was gendered as. He was happy to play with dolls and I was happy to play with Lego and building toys. So that’s why I think you’re right. Children will most likely enjoy any kind of toy, given the chance to play with it.

[@SevCaswell]

The idea with bagging up the toys was more to highlight to parents just how gendered their children's toys are. I don't think that they were got rid of, and they did give the children other toys to play with as part of the experiment.

[@BookloverFantasy92]

@@Zannyyyy yes, I have a 2.5 year old boy and a 17 month old girl. Both share a room, so their toys are joint. Both kids love playing with all their toys. In the end toys are toys. But I grew up that way as well. I loved barbies and babies. Where as another sister loved teddies and drawing, and my other sister loved matchbox cars and lion king. But we all loved lego. I don't even remember there ever being "girl" lego and "boy" lego. It was all just lego.

[@5nuthinnproductions115]

Personally I didn't like the gender aspect, if the children already liked what they liked there's nothing wrong with that. It's okay if you expose them to opposite gender toys and they are not interested, it's okay if they are interested both or the opposite only. I felt like it was a bit too much to have taken away toys and such as well. They could have rather asked if they wanted to give up toys to get others or something that was more fair to them(and especially to the adults for having paid for their items) In all though I loved this study, a publication on the issue of how influenced children are from birth. Their opinions, self confidence, way of thinking, their sense of identity, how much everything really is influenced by the way YOU decide FOR them instead of giving options once they have the capability to make decisions.

[@Raychillicious]

It starts at birth by how girl babies and boy babies of the same size and weight are described by parents and grandparents. Girl babies are delicate and fragile and boy babies are strong and sturdy. It carries on from there into the toys and expectations for each gender.

[@KatherineRogers]

The FIRST thing parents want to KNOW is boy or girl...even before the child is examined re their health. If there was a problem with moms hormones and the genitalia are ambiguous, and the docs need to wait for the genetics screen to determine gender....the families are ALWAYS furious. If there will be a marked delay in assigning gender to the baby, young parents have even had to go so far as to say it was twins, a boy and a girl, then once the tests come back, state the twin of the opposite gender did not make it. Some families could NEVER accept a child who was not always fully (fill in gender) clearly from birth.

[@mariemurray3638]

There is a film somewhere of adults being given a baby boy dressed in pink and a girl dressed in blue. They were amazed to see that they used completely different language with each baby, after saying they treated all babies the same!

[@mallikapatri8477]

And this is medically inaccurate. Female newborns have higher rates of survival, lower rates of birth defects, genetic defects & neurocognitive disorders

[@johnnydtractive]

Girls AND boys benefit from being freed from gender stereotypes. This is a great series & needs to be mandatory viewing for all teachers & parents.

[@hl.alexis]

Look at them wearing the netball bibs upside down 😂😂

[@twinkharrylwt226]

I am 19 now and a teaching assistant, I am happy my parents raised me sort of gender neutral, I used to play with dolls and barbies with my best friend and I also played with legos, knexx and I don’t even know with my brother and other friends.. i climbed trees and got to know that i can indeed become anything i want

[@doronvergun5488]

This has so much good info but I do think Niles mom has a point. We were pretty neutral for our older son in terms of toys, clothes, books and Tv. His first Hanukkah he got cars and a baby doll. He wanted pink shorts I bought them. I always push back his or others biased assumptiond about gender. But still at 4 his favorite things are all cliche boys (legos, cars, superheroes). However he played with my old Barbies at my parents and loves watching Sofia the First right along with Power Rangers. Kids might just sometimes be cliche with their preferences and thats ok as long as the options are open.

[@teacup2301]

Doron Vergun i agree that to an extent children have some inate personality traits that manifest in their preferences, but bare in mind that children are influenced by a lot of external factors that as a parent you can't control. what a child's friends, teachers etc do and say will influence their ideas about gender outside of the home. and in turn, their preferences are swayed. in the video, the children were being introduced to gender neutral ideas amongst each other, alongside their parents. that collective network is what was effective in truly broadening the children's horizons

[@bearded-cat]

As a kid I wanted some of boy toys but I was just too afraid to ask :(

[@HejMette]

But they're also affected by what they are encouraged to play with at school or daycare by the other kids as well as the adults. If the majority of the other kids are being taught differently, it'll rub off on the kids being taught that certain toys don't belong to certain genders. Not to say that boys can't naturally like legos, and girls dolls, but they are definitely also affected by society constructs.

[@vin2164]

I think in general the cliche boys toys are more enjoyable. I know that as a girl child I thought the boys had more fun.

[@expression3639]

@@vin2164 Exactly my thinking.

[@Charlie_Dax]

Louis is a pretty smart kid

[@BhappyD]

Leia Laonome I was so impressed by him in both episodes. He seems like a really sweet and kind hearted kid. His parents should be proud.

[@orinconnor4153]

I know this sounds silly but I keep tearing up watching this. I really don’t like the conformities of gender and I don’t like what it does to the different sexes. I speak from personal experience I hate having the expectation of having to act feminine when it’s not me at all. And I’m not masculine either. I just am and I wish all these pretences of gender would just go away. All in all it’s interesting to find the science in why the different sexes are so obviously defined by that gender conforming imprinted on by their parents and influences in children’s early life. I just wish it wasn’t.

[@shantaeforsmash8287]

I'm in the same boat, all those expectations and stereotypes of what you can and can't do, it's frustrating, like I'm wanting to go into midwifery, but I'm so nervous cause it's so far from the norm, and like what's stereotypical for a guy, in Australia, like less than 0.3% of all midwives in Australia are male, things like Nursing are improving and there are slowly more male nurses, but we still have a very very long way to go.

[@anonanonymous7048]

That was moving to see that mum see the difference in her child. Well done nurture.

[@MilouPaint]

This makes me very happy. When I was young(seen as a girl) people were saying I was quite and shy and I started to beliveve it. I would have loved to be encouraged to speak more ect, maybe I wouldn't have end up shy for years. I think I've been really better since the two past years. (I'm 16)

[@goldendiamondapple9176]

Sam Is On The Moon Yeah your environment can really influence how you see yourself.

[@lucythomas3320]

I've been begging my AS Sociology teacher for us to watch this for about a week now 😂 I couldn't be more passionate about the Nurture debate if I tried

[@Zero-4793]

Is there going to be more to this series? I see it has the season/series format with episodes, but it seems like you wrapped it up on the 2nd ep. I sure hope not as this was great. I would love to see this continued with more children in other classes with more and different activities/experiments as well as revisiting those students later on.

[@emmag8620]

I agree

[@chrissnyder8108]

I got tinker toys, Lincoln logs, Legos, and my favorite dolls were the ones with articulated legs so they could ride horses, stand on their own two feet, climb trees, etc. And I hated my Barbie that could only lay on her back or sit with legs splayed out at right angles, though I was interested when mom made clothes for her, but it was the making that had my attention, not the dress-up part with the doll. And in high school I was the only girl in my industrial arts classes, and as an adult I became an architect.

[@daria_ria0]

The best documentary so far! I have no words to describe how important this is for our society. Keep going and let's share this video, so every girl and boy could realise that they are equal and free❤️

[@bramblelive]

Everything about this is so heartwarming, especially when Riley said it wouldnt be fair because the boys had had more practice and when Lexi was the example of 'girls can be strong'

[@muffinmastor9128]

That is so sad what the children are saying in the beginning this proves what is wrong with our society

[@amandayee906]

there is nothing wrong i think our society is wonderful

[@Lena-yw9ou]

They are all so intelligent! They talk really mature.

[@shelpow]

Oh my gosh. I wish I could give this ten thousand thumbs up. As a 42-year-old mom, the way in which you broadened these children's horizons, showed me how to possibly do something similar with my daughter, and have begun to spread the word brings me great joy! @DrAbdelmoneim, how did you come to this point in your career? Had you been developing and applying this for some time before Nurture? What got you so passionate about it?

[@rcusick2465]

I want to thank you for this series. It's so inspirational, and it was amazing to see the children's behaviors toward each other change. Not to mention their attitudes about themselves!

[@bluon259]

Thank god I had a brother born two years after me. I had all the Lego I ever wanted, and he had my stuffed cats lol

[@kipperthedog789]

Those end results made me cry. This should be done in all schools. That was amazing.

[@kenziesmith7094]

I'm pretty happy with my upbringing seeing this. I'm a girl who was encouraged to play legos, but also had acess to a huge dress up trunk. Dolls were also given but I never liked playing with them.

[@lorenaarnaiz7964]

It's so inspiring!! Thanks for sharing

[@nishkaraman2402]

so thankful for this, Dr. Javid Abdelmoneim

[@Sofia-ug9qj]

I wish more people have seen these experiment ! It's astonishing. Sincerely thank all the people involved in this work !!

[@mayokidsendeavor3578]

This was a great project! I enjoyed watching it and seeing results. This was Fantastic.

[@qcarv]

Awesome! I teared up at the end!

[@DigitalDassie]

Ok, I cried when at the end it said Maisy wants to be an astronaut. Go for it!

[@lizardhats8637]

watching all those little girls say that can do anything and be confident in speaking and math warms my heart so much, especially maisy, she really reminds me of myself when i was little

[@catheriner7786]

Louis is so adorable!

[@veramele]

Niall doesnt like guns because boys like guns, niall likes guns because his friends in school like guns

[@orishahar]

you are probably correct

[@24get24give]

I think this is an admirable effort, I wish you much success, and hope it spreads everywhere!!

[@tarasanders9044]

This series highlights such an important issue. How bad the issue is makes me scared for our future, and quite literally makes me feel ill. I feel like everyone should watch this, and I'm going to make my parents watch it and pass it around my local GSA as it pertains to the group to such an extent.

[@elliem5796]

I didn’t have a completely gender neutral upbringing but I have gone to an all girls school all my life and never realized how beneficial it has been for me until I spent 3 months in a co-Ed school which completely opened my eyes. There is so much sexism in the world and I was a bit shocked on how the boys treated the girls and each other and vice versa

[@caroln6895]

Ellie M - same here, the difference is insane. When I went to co-ed from all girls, the stereotype treatment was more pronounced.

[@TheMarjolein96]

Interesting - I live in a country where all schools are co-ed and I have always assumed that having separated schools would only enlarge the divide later in life as there would be less of a change for boys and girls to find their similarities as children.

[@vin2164]

Marjolein in all girls schools girls tend to be more assertive and confident because boys and therefore gendered stereotypes are taken out of the equation. Girls play sports, lead rallies, are on student council etc

[@justme4579]

I was trying to figure out why I didn’t relate to most of this tension from when I was a kid until I saw this comment and realized that going to an all-girls school must have been what made all the difference!! Without the competition and gender-related stereotypes, we all had the opportunity to be exactly who we wanted to be amongst each other. I also grew up playing legos with my brothers as well as puzzle games etc and hated playing with barbies and dolls, even though I had those, too. However, I do believe boys and girls naturally play with each of those things in a different manner. I work in a boys-only preschool now, and there’s absolutely a difference in the way they play with the kitchen set, dolls, and dress up in comparison with girls of the same age that I’ve worked with previously. And the same with the way girls play with cars and trucks etc as well.

[@Sarahr98998]

Aww that poem at the end was awesome!!!

[@everhart12]

One of my favorite videos by far!

[@izzywoods794]

I love all of them omg im in tears. This series can’t end here💜😭😭🙆🏽‍♀️

[@JS-tc5vc]

Have to admit, I'm going to miss these kids after sticking with them through these documentaries.

[@seyja-]

EVERY SCHOOL NEEDS THIS!!!

[@m1_k3y3]

I am so impressed. I loved this series, this will really make a change in the kids life.

[@beebeeva6393]

I'm really happy that this experiment was made and i can't expres enough how proud i am of the advancement of the childrens and how hopeful i would feel for a future where what was made on the experiment whould be implemented in as a normativ thing to see at schools, i personally grew up having girly toys an all that jazz because of my parents and all, and i felt troubled for so many years because i didn't felt like it was right that i would only get to have dresses and that my brother would have legos, also a big expectancy and preassure of my whole family with things like "you have to be careful and calm" "oh! You have so pretty long hair" and all that, now i've been some years going by myself with things that i enjoy and how i look and that kind of stuff, and as much as i'm insecure and everything, i feel happyer by just not following what people would expect, 10 years of my life being told "be pretty", "you have to use the skirt", "look at that, pretty makeup for a pretty birthday girl", the next two years in a void of noone bothering because i fought to not be forced into the pink and girly things, and just these 3 years where i have been able to be free and open about the things that i like, like... Idk, woodwork, metal things, experiments, arts, whatever that comes to mind, as a result of all those years i am indeed more intimidated to try things that my family would call "for boys", as i am scared of failure more than my brother is, i am insecure even of the things that i am good at (drawing) and i am not confident of things that i am acepttable at (maths), i really hope for a future where children can feel free and confident to do whatever they wanna do, that would be the amazingest

[@amberorr3420]

I love ❤️ this! This is amazing 😻

[@jaquii77]

I love this soooo much and this is so encouraging to see that it did have an impact on those kids

[@jessvision8817]

This is so important. Great documentary! Hope more schools and parents adopt these techniques

[@mali5136]

Watched all 2 hours of this, really moving.

[@kricekr1]

Awesome video

[@Dovndyr13]

Great series. Strong parents who are investing a lot in theire children. Im more worried about the more poorer areas where parents maybe have more problems with them selfs than dealing with theire child.

[@timepickle8443]

This deserves a million views.

[@agustinarossi5735]

Great videos. It would be amazing to see when the day comes in which every school has experienced something like this.

[@snufhuffboy5101]

My family gave me a gender neutral upbringing. I loved loges and inhabitant -anything you can think of- from my brother. But then all of the girls in my school bullied me for not liking the kind of stuff they liked. So i started liking pink, princesses, girly-stuff. But I wasn't very happy. Now I am a girl at 18 studying to become a video game developer. (even pointing out that feels like I'm a feminist being like "looks at me I'm going against the grain!) This is honestly and truly my passion. I never wear make-up (its just bothersome), but i do like dressing up in feminin clothes and doing typically "girly stuff". I'm just so sad that I had to get bullied for liking the things that should be for everyone. If I had got a penny for every time a boy said "you cant play with us", I would be able to pay off my student loan TuT

[@KatherineRogers]

I was more of a tom boy as well. I hated girly things if forced but if left to explore dress up tea parties with teddies....that was ok. Mostly though I wanted clothing that was ok to get dirty and actively play.

[@IshaanMenon]

This is honestly so beautiful

[@AneesaHa]

This is very important and it should be done in every school

[@jgescreve]

This documentary rosonates within me. I'm a 30 year-old woman and all my childhood I liked "boys toys", I liked martial arts and video-games. I did have dolls and would play with them, but I was also really interested in toy cars, in Dragon Ball and Pokémon. Luckily, my parents always allowed me to play with I wanted, to do judo instead of ballet (they tried to make me dance ballet but I said I didn't like it), to play video-games, and my dad actually let me see him working on electronic devices he would take home to fix. At the age of 9 or 10 and could disassemble and reassemble most of my electronic toys using his tools, just to see what they looked like on the inside lol Maybe as a result of that, I've never let anyone look down on me because I'm a woman. I've always felt capable of doind anything I wanted and now I feel so happy for those girls, finally understanding that YES, they can do whatever they want. I teared down at the end, seeing how far all of them have come. Truly, a beautiful documentary.

[@mariamurina4971]

I grew up in Russia, just after the USSR broke. My family didn't have too much money to spend on toys, but they did try to get the best thing available on the market. Me and my sister and our cousins (two boys) shared all the toys. We had two Barbie dolls, a big box of Lego and a parking lot for 6 little cars. My cousin was the one to play with the Barbie, he would have a blast when my sister joined him in the game. I was all into Lego (I'm still into it playing with my nephews haha). And even though I loved Lego and cars I had a dream - a baby doll. When I was 7 I got a toy electric guitar for Christmas. For my 8th birthday we went Go-Karting. Oh, I had a blast. For my tenth birthday my dad gave me a Harry Potter Lego set (here for gender free education). I cried. I loved Harry Potter, by the time I have read all the books. I loved Lego. But I wanted MY BABY DOLL. My father didn't specifically try and educate me gender free. He just liked to buy the toys he would be interested to paly with together with me. :) My say… don't push your kids to one side or the other. Just let them chose whatever they want. I had that choice and I'm happy. And yes, I got my baby doll after all (sorry Hagrid, dad went back to the store when I wouldn't stop crying). And yes, my cousin grew up to be a really boyish boy. Haha.

[@amymartindale4387]

This is such an important message

[@Ash-up9gl]

I have so enjoyed these two videos! So so well done, and it would be incredible if schools started to do this on a bigger scale! The difference something so easy to do made was absolutely remarkable.

[@secretninja247]

I feel like they all made so much progress but I’m especially proud of Riley, Maisy, and Louis. I feel like Louis was the most open minded and so sweet. I feel like Riley made the most progress, he became so much calmer and more empathetic. And I feel Maisy gained the most self esteem, which I think was really good for her. This documentary made me really happy for them 😊

[@cimareco3617]

Great video!

[@faithirismacilvaine2499]

Javid had amazing insights and is just very smart. This is such an important video.

[@ivymoon3117]

This was fantastic.

[@mac4192]

I have played football (American soccer) my entire life, and being a girl, no boy has come up to me and said “Girls cannot play football” or “I’m better because I’m a boy.” (Going to be on t.v for state title so that’s fun) I also remember beating my male friend in a race. Him being the fastest at the time. I’m also the arm wrestling champion lol. It may seem like I’m bragging, but I’m not. I’m simply telling everyone if you want to do something you can. No matter who you are and no matter what race, gender, etc. you are. Thanks for reading 👍

[@laurinelucas4068]

What about the kids' uniforms ?

[@magpiemailer3069]

This is so great amd inspiring!! Makes me want to become a teacher so that i may also inspire this kind of postive change