Your Kiddo May Now Show A Strong Sense Of ‘Gender-Appropriate’ Behavior

By this age, your child is already on the path to become a young responsible adult. You will see her behaving more maturely in social contexts. Right about this time now, she will also understand the concept of gender and behavior based on gender identity. 

What you need to know:

Gender and sex are different things. While physical characteristics define a person’s sex, when the child is old enough to declare themselves as a boy or as a girl, it is termed as gender identity. At this age, your child will start behaving in socially accepted norms of gender appropriate behavior. For example, girls may start to show interest in playing with dolls because they are socially conditioned by now into thinking that girls play with dolls. It is also important to note that as a parent, you should encourage your child to be herself and not follow everything blindly. This is a very interesting time in your super star’s life. She is learning new things and is ready to take on the world. With a little guidance from you, she will love this stage.