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Life

Boys will be boys when it comes to toys

By Linda Geddes

6 January 2010

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

It’s a boy thing

(Image: Steve Meddle/Rex Features)

PARENTS hoping to shield their children from sex stereotypes by giving them gender-neutral toys may be fighting a losing battle, especially if their offspring are boys. It seems that hormones released both before birth and well into the first few months of life may dictate the type of toys and play that boys are drawn to.

By the age of 3, boys and girls show differences in their play preferences. Boys are more strongly drawn to balls, vehicles and construction toys than girls and tend to prefer playing with larger groups,…

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