Gender Roles In Childcare

Involvement of Men in the Childcare Sector

Role Model refers to a person whom one admires and tries to follow. That person is an ideal and his/her behaviors and acts are observed and practiced. It does not depend on that a role model has to be of a specific gender, both males and females can serve the image of being a role model. Generally, children view their parents as their role models and tend to imitate the way they talk, walk and behave. The general perception is that the girls/daughters tend to imitate the mothers by dressing up like them and trying to do household chores, as carried out by their mothers. Boys/ Sons, on the other hand, imitate the way their fathers speak or behave, generally showing an authoritative personality.

Childcare sector comprises of the day care institutes that have gained an increasing importance almost all over the world. The young children, usually before they begin their kindergarten schooling, are kept at the day care centers while their parents remain busy with their professional lives. The children at these centers are kept under the supervision of caretakers, mostly women. The ratio of men is either very low or is not at all present at these childcare centers. This is primary because of the stereotypical image of males in the global world.

The gender roles have been stereotyped, women performing the household chores, looking after and caring for the children, because of their soft, kind and caring nature. They are responsible for