Chapter 2: Enabling children, girls and women to live their lives to the fullest

Early childhood is an important stage of development. It's when our mental, social, and emotional skills are developed and these skills influence our lifelong educational achievements, our health and our wellbeing.

When children play, they learn. Learning through play reaps immense benefits and enables children to develop their resilience, social skills, and creativity. However, it can also be when children adopt ideas around gender which shape the path of their lives.
(UNICEF. (2022). How to remove gender stereotypes from playtime. Inclusive play for all children.)

It's essential we know and understand that girls can do well at activities that people usually associate with boys. It's important for boys to have the freedom to follow their interests too, which may include activities that society usually associates with girls.

To prevent children from developing gender stereotypes and create more gender equalities, we can:
(UNICEF. (2022). How to remove gender stereotypes from playtime. Inclusive play for all children.)

• Give girls and boys a wide range of toys to play with, such as trucks, dolls, action figures and blocks
• Praise both boys and girls for the same behaviour, such as if they are neat, courageous, kind or physically active
• Let children see adults doing a variety of tasks that may not be considered 'typical' of their gender, such as the male person in the household doing the laundry
• Allow children to choose the sports or activities that interest them, such as dance, rugby, maths, arts
• Encourage children to make friends with both boys and girls
• Use gender neutral terms such as 'firefighter' rather than 'fireman'

Enabling both girls and boys to expand their opportunities throughout childhood creates equal opportunities into adulthood. We all have a role to support children to have these equal chances and to create healthy environments for them to flourish. Here, we look at the impact of body weight and physical activity, as well as educational outcomes and emotional health and wellbeing throughout childhood and into adulthood.