Parenting Beyond Pink & Blue

How to Raise Your Kids Free of Gender Stereotypes

By: Christia Spears Brown PhD

Narrated by: Stina Nielsen

A guide that helps parents focus on their children's unique strengths and inclinations rather than on gendered stereotypes to more effectively bring out the best in their individual children, for parents of infants to middle schoolers.

Studies on gender and child development show that, on average, parents talk less to baby boys and are less likely to use numbers when speaking to little girls. Without meaning to, we constantly color-code children, segregating them by gender based on their presumed interests. Our social dependence on these norms has far-reaching effects, such as leading girls to dislike math or increasing aggression in boys.

In this practical guide, developmental psychologist (and mother of two) Christia Spears Brown uses science-based research to show how over-dependence on gender can limit kids, making it harder for them to develop into unique individuals. With a humorous, fresh, and accessible perspective, Parenting Beyond Pink & Blue addresses all the issues that contemporary parents should consider - from gender-segregated birthday parties and schools to sports, sexualization, and emotional intelligence. This guide empowers parents to help kids break out of pink and blue boxes to become their authentic selves.

©2014 Christia Spears Brown (P)2019 Tantor

Not a parenting guide but a description of norms.

A useful break down of gender stereotypes and their lasting affects on child development. I find it interesting the author doesn't make what is the obvious next step of recommending raising non-binary children. I suspect the reason for this is simply a bias/preference because she did not raise her daughters this way and likely at the time she began parenting the idea had much less traction.

This book seems to work within gender structures rather than suggest practical ways to avoid or deconstruct them. Spears Brown, rather than transcending the dichotomy, is explaining pink and blue to her children as she raises them.

Besides one brief paragraph, this book neglects the subject of gender disphoria. I wish the experiences of non-binary, intersex and transgender children were included. This could be due to a lack of studies available but it seems remiss of the author to not seek out and share the experiences of those who (unlike the author) are actually raising their children in a spectrum beyond pink and blue.

Great book

This book was really good, it gets repetitive at times, but Chapters 5-7 & 10 make it completely worth it

recommended reading

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting and enlightening, plus the author gave great advice to make mindful changes.