6-Year-Old's Answer To Homework Assigning Toys Based On Gender: 'Lahat Ay Pwede'

While this generation’s parents are trying their best to raise children in gender-neutral environments, gender stereotyping can still happen because it has been ingrained in our society and culture. But trust our kids to destroy gender stereotypes — in their innocent minds, children can be anything and do anything.

READ THESE STORIES ON TEACHING KIDS ABOUT GENDER STEREOTYPES

• How to Raise a Child Who Knows Boys Are Not Always Better Than Girls and Vice Versa
• Can We Raise Boys and Girls the Same Way? One Dad's Honest Answer

On Facebook, a user named Dianne Agura proudly shared how her 6-year-old sister answered the worksheet assigned to her, which instructs the student to put a box around toys meant for boys and encircle those for girls.

Dianne’s sister, Ayesha, who is a Grade 1 student, decided to box and encircle all the choices. She also wrote, “Lahat po ay pwede ng pang lalake [sic] at pang babae.” (All toys can be played by both boys and girls.)

In her post, the 22-year-old explains that she is the one currently tutoring her youngest sibling with her learning modules. “Every time na may gagawin siyang ‘different’ I guess, natutuwa ako kasi ganito pala mag-isip ang batang ‘to,” she writes.

For that particular worksheet, Dianne says that they had just finished answering Ayesha’s Araling Panlipunan module where they were learning about the concept of basic needs, etc. She gave the worksheet for Ayesha to answer while she went downstairs to get some snacks. By the time she came back, Ayesha had finished and asked Dianne to check her answers.

“While I was browsing the pages, I saw her answers here and her explanation. The instruction on the paper said ‘Bilugan ang mga laruang pambabae at ikahon ang laruang panlalaki.’ I told her to only encircle those that are for girls and box if it’s for the boys and that her answers here are all wrong, she might get zero marks,” Dianne shares.

To her surprise, Ayesha answered (non-verbatim), “Ate, ang laruan, laruan kase. Pwede naman lahat yan sa babae at sa lalake eh. Ako nga ‘di ba naglalaro naman ng kotse kotse han at dinosaur, lalaki ba ako? ‘Di ba hindi naman? E di pwede ‘to sa babae.”

She adds, “Parang damit Ate, ‘di ba? ‘Pag ang lalaki nagdamit ng dress, hindi naman bakla agad? Eto talaga si Ate hindi marunong.”

After hearing her answer, Dianne says that she felt ashamed for telling her sister that her answers in the worksheet were wrong. “Akalain mo ‘yun, in that young mind she had broken one gender stereotype na we often [take] for granted and treat it like it’s a non-significant issue kasi it’s just the way it is,” she wrote in her post.

In a quick interview with SmartParenting.com.ph on Facebook Messenger, Dianne explains that it’s not really new for their family to hear unconventional answers or words from their youngest. “Natawa lang sila (their parents) kasi she has a point,” Dianne shares. “They let her explain din po kung bakit ‘yun ‘yung sagot niya and she explained herself well naman.”

Dianne adds that her parents are very open-minded, tolerant, and respects their children’s opinions. “They let us think for ourselves, which I guess kaya ganun din siya (Ayesha) tumingin sa mga bagay-bagay,” she says.

For now, they are still waiting for the teacher’s feedback on Ayesha’s answers since they had just submitted her notebook for evaluation. But on her Facebook post, Dianne says she (and her family) will still be proud even if her teacher marks her answers wrong.

“I’ll still be very proud of how she justified her answers. Besides, it’s the lesson she learned that [matters], not the numerical grade which she [can] easily get naman,” Dianne writes.

READ THESE STORIES ON TEACHING KIDS ABOUT GENDER STEREOTYPES

• How to Raise a Child Who Knows Boys Are Not Always Better Than Girls and Vice Versa
• Can We Raise Boys and Girls the Same Way? One Dad's Honest Answer

A study shows that young girls are made to think men are smarter than women. And it can affect the choices they make in the future. Click here to read more.

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