The Limitations We Set for Our Daughters

From the Barbie dolls to the toy brooms and vacuum cleaners and small delicate kitchens that our little girls enjoy playing with, it is a wonder why our African-American, White, Latino, Asian, and Native American daugthers our of society never seem to become big time scientists or archaeologists. As mothers, fathers, or guardians, are we guilty of limiting our young girls from achieving great success in challenging careers or are we setting them up to just be housewives or secretaries. While there is no harm in becoming a secretary, or a housewife, what is wrong with a young lady earning a microscope or a chemistry set for her birthday instead of a Barbie doll. I would like to ask the world of women who may be reading this article; How many microscopes, chemistry sets, astronomy sets did you get for your birthday or Christmas? I have played with Barbie dolls all of my life and I still don't know what Barbie does for a living. I guess we can say that she earns multiple streams of income. I just hope that the multiple streams of income were always legal. Does Barbie have a job? When I was in graduate school I took a class in Public Management. As a class, we were allowed to choose a topic to discuss in our research papers. I decided to compose a research paper about the women in high powered positions in the United States. When I conducted my extensive research study about the percentage of women, regardless of race, color, creed, or religion, who were CEO's of top fortune 500 companies, my results of my study were pretty predictable and quite evident. I found that only an alarming 20% of women held prestigious positions as CEO's or Presidents of big companies nationwide. As a woman, I truly believe that this is an insult to our sense of womanhood and abilities. However, the way a young girl is raised in her household has a lot do to with this low percentage. There is a definite correlation and connection between the types of toys that boys are given and the types of toys that girls are given in their home environments and their outcomes in life.After I gave birth to my daughter, I knew in my mind that I would never deprive her knowledge with playing with toys that don't stimulate the mind. Even though my daughter has played with Barbie dolls, it did not stop me from buying other toys which will stimulate her mind. Along with her Barbie dolls, my daughter also has a microscope, a set of the 9 planets to which she put together and painted, as well as a chemistry set. Toy stores around the country do not have a designated aisle which says "Boys Toys" and "Girls Toys." The aisles just say "Toys." However, it is our mind set that has been triggered by our society which allows parents to set the standard on what a boy should play with and what is suitable for a girl. There are plenty of mind stimulating toys for our young girls to play with. For instance, my 8 1/2 year old daughter earned her way to get a CD-ROM from Target. With her own money, my daughter purchased a game called Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Gold. For those of you who have never heard of the game, this is a brillantly designed game which stimulates the mind of the person who is playing. This game allows my daughter to use her creativity and intelligence at its best. Her creativity and intelligence allows her to create her own theme park rides. It allows my daughter to be the architect, the engineer, the scientist, the physicist, and the quality assurance specialist due to the safety requirements involved with all of the rides. Therefore, just a little note to all of the parents and guardians of young girls. Your little girls are going to grow up to be beautiful women. Just remember, don't set them up for failure, set them up for great success to know that they can do and accomplish anything in this world. As the Whispers said in their song, "Lost and Turned Out," "Stop using your body use your brain." So parents, start buying toys which stimulate the brains of your daughters, not their bodies.