A Field Guide to Boys and Girls by Susan Gilbert - Book Report/Review Example

PSYCHOLOGY Topic: A Field Guide to Boys and Girls Book Review Introduction It is only by guidance and approval based on loveof the parents or carers that a child is able to grow without the influence of gender challenges. In her book A Field guide to boys and girls, Susan Gilbert tries to bring together all possible research done on gender development in order to make up a resource for parents to use in their children’s development. There is a lot that transpires during the transition period of a child right from birth up to the adolescence stage. The role of the parent concerning the child’s education is to ensure that they bring the best out of the child (Gilbert, 2001). It is true that there are natural differences between boys and girls but it is the responsibility of the parents to nurture them in order to prevent the possibility of having gender issues in the future. Gilbert addresses many issues that mainly affect a child during the development process especially with more emphasis on the concept of gender. Many people have different perceptions when it comes to establishing which gender is superior or stronger right from birth. A number of questions are usually raised in accordance to such views. For instance, are boys more aggressive and more active? Do boys experience a harder time while separating from their mothers? Are girls able to talk earlier? Do girls experience the urge to read and write much earlier? Why do boys and girls play with different toys? All these questions are well answered by Gilbert in A field guide to boys and girls. The aim of Gilbert is to help parents to learn how to combat the problems of their children that are related to gender. Child development issues Increased aggressiveness and activeness are normally characteristics that tend to occur at certain periods of a healthy child’s development. These happen during a child’s early adolescence period. During fantasy plays, boys usually turn sticks into guns and balloons into bombs. They kill and even die and in no time, they are reborn, then they continue right on with their play. Most parents worry of such acts and wonder whether their sons are normal or simply active boys. Mothers are the most concerned when they see their boys playing with guns and they end up thinking that they are going to grow up to be violent. However, this is not the case. A research study in the US shows that the average boy based on a school scenario is more active than girls (Sethi, 2013). It is also well noted that even the most active girls in the classroom do not seem to be able to express their energy the same way as most boys based on their characteristics. With regards to brain development, boys tend to use more of their cortical areas for mechanical and spatial functioning. Based on the findings it is true that boys are considered to be most active and aggressive than girls. Gilbert tries to explain to the parents that not all boys are the same. Therefore, parents should not try to compare their boys with the other boys. This is simply because there are different types of boys. There are those who are highly competitive and highly physical at one end, and at the other end there are those who are peaceful and quiet and they mostly prefer to read. Not every boy wants to engage in sports, wrestle, or even play with guns. It is important for parents to know that there are boys who are quiet and studious and there those who are bookish and this is all right and perfectly normal. The reason as to why boys tend to be more aggressive is that their prefrontal cortex is less active compared to girls thus they tend to make more impulsive decisions (Gilbert, 2001). Girls tend to talk much earlier than boys do. Girls experience the use of gestures as well as sporting activities like those that play games earlier than in the boys. Girls start using simple gestures such as waving good-bye or even pointing earlier. According to a research, study conducted between children aged eight to around 30 months, girls tend to understand what they are being told much earlier and thus they are able to talk first at around 12 months. They continue to talk more throughout their toddler years. At around 16 months, girls are able to produce almost 100 words while an average boy utters close to 30 words. Investigations on brain development have indicated that girls tend to use more of their cortical areas for emotive and verbal functioning (Sethi, 2013). Even though girls tend to be ahead based on their talking and listening skills research studies indicate that the gap becomes narrower at around the age of 2 to 3 years as the boys are able to catch up with their utterance pace. Parents should try to nurture the boys so that they are able to talk at the same pace, as girl is right from birth (Gilbert, 2001). Gilbert states that based on her research girls tend to have more urge in reading and writing as they develop. Her assumptions with regards to this is that girls are better listeners and thus their ability to read and write becomes much better based on that aspect. With emphasis on matters concerning brain development, the girl’s brain tends to develop much faster than that of a boy. There are a number of characteristic that makes the girls brain to be able to carry out specific functions better than the boys. For instance, girls in general possess a stronger neural connector based in the temporal lobes, which is better than the ones boys have. The strong connectors are able to enable girls to have a memory storage that is well detailed and has better discrimination of various voice tones. This enables girls to be able to write their assignments in detail. Another part in the brain development is the hippocampus. This is regarded as another memory storage area, which is considered larger in girls than in boys. As a result of this, girls have a higher learning advantage than the boys especially in language arts (Gilbert, 2001). With regards, Gilbert urges parents to nurture their children in their slow areas. For instance, parents should help boys develop their language skills and they should help the girls in developing their maths skills in order for them to be able to deal with gender issues as they grow. The qualities that are seen based on the girls brain help the parents and teachers to understand why girls tend to perform better than boys in reading and writing from the stages in early childhood and throughout their lives(Sethi, 2013). With more of the cortical areas focussing on listening, sensual memory, verbal functioning and tonality, the challenges that are involved in reading and writing tend to become much easier. Therefore, girls tend to be much better in engaging in numerous activities than the boys. Psychologists who mainly specialize in early child education reveal that there are many aspects of a child development that are associated with sex differences. A research study conducted about this showed that when 18-month year old girls and boys were showed pictures of a Barbie and a gun, for example most of the boys opted for the gun while most of the girls chose the Barbie. Even though at 18 months it can be argued that a child is old enough to be influenced by stereotyped gifts, present research indicate that most of the gender differences that are seen are evident right from birth and they may also be hardwired ( Gilbert, 2001). This finding can just be regarded as the tip of the iceberg when it comes to issues of gender research. The issue as to why boys and girls like different toys have become less likely that it is affected by gender socialization but more likely caused by some issues based on hormonal, genetic and biological reasons (Wolchover, 2012). With regards still on the issue of toy preference, on-going research studies indicate that the child’s exposure to certain hormones while still in the womb may cause their toy preference to emerge right after birth. Questions remain as to why evolution brought this assumption but nevertheless; the toy preference may actually aid the boys and the girls in the development skills that they may require to carry out their gender roles. Therefore, the aspect of toy preference plays a major role in the child’s development especially about their gender. Parents should not try to make their children adapt to a specific toy but they should be contented with the fact that it is simply a biological process (Wolchover, 2012). Another issue that Gilbert examines is that of the emotional aspect especially when it comes to the separation of a child from the mother. Research studies provide evidence that indicate boys are more easily agitated compared to girls and thus have a hard time self-soothing. Boys tend to be more emotional that one can think (Gilbert, 2001). A past study conducted at around six months indicated that when it came to facing frustrations, the boys appeared to be as calm as the girls were. However, the measure of the breathing and the heart rate indicated that they were actually facing a stressing situation. Therefore, boys tend to experience a harder time when they are being separated from their mothers. Parents should try to help the boys overcome their level of agitation and need for more self-soothing by trying to educate them on how to face stressful situations right from their childhood until adolescence stage (Sethi, 2013). Conclusion After conducting various talks with psychologist, paediatrician and educators, Gilbert concludes by stating that there are various natural differences that exist between boys and girls. She urges parents to take a more drastic approach when it comes to addressing issues that deal with their children development. According to her research if parents are able to nurture the areas in which their children are slow in developing then they will definitely be able to bring out the best in their children. Gilbert successfully explains to parents issues regarding Barbie’s, guns, and early brain development and personality traits like aggressiveness. If the parents can be able to help there children to overcome their weakest points in development then they will definitely help them in dealing with the gender challenges as they grow up. References Gilbert, S. (2001). A field guide to boys and girls: Differences, similarities: cutting-edge Information every parents needs to know. New York: Quill. Sethi, A. (2013). The real difference between boys and girls. New York University Wolchover, N. (2012). Why do Girls like dolls and Boys like toy trucks? Read More