Is Gender Neutral Parenting A Good Idea?

Blue and Pink have now become two different genders all together. If someone has a boy, without a doubt people go for the color blue and pink of course for a girl. Is that okay to do to children even before they start building their own view point?

We unknowingly tell our boys and girls different things and some of them are very gender specific in nature. We have all heard such things that are nor gender neutral in nature while we were growing up. These ideologies are so deeply engraved in our minds that we pass them on to our children very easily.

But the question here is, is it okay to not be gender neutral or should we all pay attention to being gender neutral while raising our children? What do you think? According to me, gender neutral parenting is a pretty good idea but before we make any judgments, let’s first learn more about gender neutral parenting.

Shall we begin?

What Is Gender Neutral Parenting?

Gender neutral parenting can be defined as a type of parenting where the preconceived gender norms are not being used at all. Which means children are free to choose out of will and not by the gender they belong to. A boy does not necessarily need to play football wearing a blue jersey and a girl doesn’t necessarily need a pink kitchen set.

Gender neutral parenting excludes gender stereotypes like pink and blue, dolls and trains, etc. In gender neutral parenting the child is free to do whatever they resonate with. It can be anything from the kind of clothes they want to wear, the kind of recreational activities they want to engage in, the type of toy they want, etc.

Gender neutral parents often try to keep everything neutral in their home. Their children’s room will have a neutral color (no pink or blue), they call their child just ‘baby’ and not ‘baby boy/girl’. They choose gender neutral clothes for them, they basically promote neutrality while raising gender neutral children.

Also read: The Different Gender Identity Terms You Need To Know About

Impact Of Gender Neutral Parenting

Talking about gender neutral parenting, the first question that pops up is ‘how will gender neutral parenting impact us?’ if you are wondering the same, worry no more because here’s a list of the impact of gender neutral parenting on our children;

• The impact of gender neutral parenting on their social life: gender neutral children might have a different way of functioning than from the non-gender neutral children. This might give way to bullying & teasing, they might lack friends, etc.
• The impact of gender neutral parenting on their pay time: well, playtime of gender neutral children is fully loaded with a lot of fun and motor learning because they are free to play with a wide variety of toys.
• The impact of gender neutral parenting on their sexuality: being raised by gender neutral parents has nothing to do with their sexuality. Their sexual orientation depends of genetic and brain development in the womb and not on the environment they are raised in.

Also read: Does Gender Stereotype Language Impact Our Mental Health?

Is Gender Neutral Parenting A Good Idea (Gender Neutral Parenting Pros And Cons)?

Is gender neutral parenting a good idea? What are your thoughts so far? Still confused? If so, I have a simple way of clearing your confusion. We will be discussing gender neutral parenting pros and cons so that you can finally tell if gender neutral parenting is a good idea or bad…

Pros of gender neutral parenting

• Increased creativity caused by freedom of choice
• Increased ability to enhance their interests, instincts, etc.
• The children are true to themselves (irrespective of what gender they belong to)
• Increased self-awareness and self esteem
• Increased confidence and develop leadership qualities
• They advocate gender equality
• They are not influenced by gender bias and stereotypes

Cons of Gender neutral Parenting

• The concept on gender is not very clear, hence they might feel confused while socializing
• It is a very difficult task to completely avoid using gender pronouns
• It makes it difficult for the child to choose which gender they identify with
• Increased chances of forcing gender neutrality on children, it’s okay if your boy likes blue

Also read: Gender Dysphoria | Symptoms And Treatment | How-To Support

How To Raise Gender Neutral Children?

If you feel like gender neutral parenting is a good idea you can go this type of parenting while raising your children. Here are a few tips for you on how to raise gender neutral children;

1.Be neutral: if you are trying to raise gender neutral children, you need to learn to be neutral with them. Do not assume what they will like based on their gender. Keep your behavior and language gender neutral.

2.Let them choose: raising gender neutral children is not a very difficult task. All you have to do is let them make their own choices. If your son likes blue, let him choose blue, if he likes pink, let me choose pink. At the end of the day, choice should be theirs.

3.All should be on the same page: it is not only the mother’s or parent’s responsibility to raise a child. All the members of the family are equally responsible for at least creating a growth promoting climate for children of the house. You have to make sure that all members are on the same page, everyone is practicing gender neutrality.

4.Let your child lead: when it comes to decision making like what type of games they want to play, what type of class they want to take, what they want to become when they grow up, leave all that for your child to decide.

5.Be flexible: it’s okay if one day your child likes blue and the other day they want pink. Let them explore because that’s how they’ll get to experience everything and choose what kind of life they want to live, be it sporty, maternal, chill, serious, etc.

6.Apologize for your mistakes: it’s okay to make mistakes while raising gender neutral children because we have lived in a world which is not gender neutral for a long time. When you make a mistake, accept it and move on.

7.Assign gender neutral activities: this plays a very important role in raising gender neutral children. Make sure that you do not discriminate based on gender when you assign daily tasks to your children. 

That’s All Folks!

I hope you found this blog about gender neutral parenting interesting and informative. Do let me know your thoughts on gender neutral parenting once you give a good read to the impact of gender neutral parenting and gender neutral parenting pros and cons. Is gender neutral parenting a good idea? Comment below!

Thanks for reading.

Take care and stay safe.