Don’t call girls ‘cute’ or ‘sweet’ as this could stifle their creativity, woke researchers claim

Don’t call girls ‘cute’ or ‘sweet’ as this could stifle their creativity, woke researchers claim.

A new study sponsored by Lego suggests that the use of ‘gendered’ language prevents girls from expressing themselves freely.

Girls feel less inspired to be creative when they are praised with words like ‘sweet’ and ‘beautiful’ instead of ‘cool’ or ‘brave’, the study shows.

The researchers also say that girls are more likely to try new things when their mistakes are not criticized, but rather “praised more as learning opportunities.”

Commenting on these findings, author and parenting researcher Jennifer Wallace said: ‘Biased language reinforces traditional gender roles, which can play a role in limiting girls’ creativity and perpetuating systemic inequality.’

Woke researchers say calling girls ‘cute’ or ‘sweet’ instead of ‘brave’ or ‘genius’ could stifle their creativity (stock image)

The researchers interviewed 25,532 children between the ages of five and twelve and 36,000 parents from all over the world.

The results showed that society uses terms such as ‘sweet’, ‘beautiful’, ‘beautiful’ and ‘cute’ about seven percent more often for girls than for boys.

In contrast, terms such as ‘brave’, ‘genius’, ‘innovative’ and ‘cool’ are used twice as often only for boys.

While this seems relatively harmless, the researchers argue that it can have an impact on their willingness to express themselves and explore new things.

Nearly two-thirds of girls between the ages of five and 12 said the language they heard made them worry about making mistakes and made them less likely to experiment.

More than half of the children involved said they thought adults were more likely to listen to boys’ creative ideas than girls.

Ms Wallace said: ‘These implicit biases can hinder girls’ confidence and limit their opportunities in male-dominated fields.’

Nearly two-thirds of girls between the ages of five and 12 said the language they heard made them less willing to express themselves and try new things (stock image)

Nearly two-thirds of girls between the ages of five and 12 said the language they heard made them less willing to express themselves and try new things (stock image)

The researchers also suggest that girls in particular may be susceptible to the pressures of perfectionism as they get older.

This, they argue, leads to girls feeling like they can’t make creative decisions because of the risk of failing or doing something wrong.

British girls can feel this pressure particularly acutely, with 71 percent agreeing that they needed to be ‘more perfect’ than boys – six percent above the global average.

At the age of five, 76 percent of girls surveyed said they were confident in their creativity, but by the age of 12 this had decreased by seven percent.

Dr. Anika Petrella, researcher and psychotherapist, says: ‘A perfection mentality encourages us to stay on our path, fear failure and give up at the first sign of struggle.

“Teaching girls that experimentation triumphs over perfection is crucial to strengthening their authentic, creative selves.”

This isn’t the first time researchers have suggested that gendered language can have a long-term effect on children.

Some research has suggested that children learn stereotypes about gender by the age of seven, which can influence the types of jobs they think are suitable for them.

One study found that girls who were given Barbies to play with believed they had fewer career options compared to boys.

Scientists have even argued that children’s books featuring “feminine worlds” could perpetuate gender stereotypes.

The research shows that books with female protagonists are more about affection than about professions.

Woman-related words focused on affection, school-related words and communication verbs, such as ‘explained’ and ‘listened’.

Meanwhile, masculine words focused more on occupations, transportation and tools, and less on emotional needs.

HOW TODDLER DEVELOP COMMUNICATION SKILLS

According to Dr. Amos Grunebaum, an American obstetrician and gynecologist, language development explodes between the ages of two and four.

A child’s vocabulary, comprehension and communication skills flourish around these ages, he says.

These skills provide an essential foundation for the way a child interacts with others and have a significant impact on their cognitive, social and emotional development and their future life at school and beyond.

By the time a child reaches his second birthday, he should have mastered pointing to common objects; three body parts; labeling familiar objects such as cup, dog and shoe.

Most two-year-olds can: follow a two-step instruction; use more than 50 words – although half will be unintelligible; make sentences of two or more words; use simple plurals and personal pronouns; know the names of close friends and family.

Most three-year-olds can follow two- or three-step commands and speak in three- to four-word sentences.

They should now be much easier to understand and have a vocabulary of around 200 words.

They should be curious, ask a lot of questions – why, what, who, where, when – and be able to say their name, age and gender.

They may understand place words like ‘in’, ‘on’ and ‘under’ and can name a best friend.

Their conversation will become more interactive and two-way.

As a child enters kindergarten, his understanding becomes much more refined.

They will begin to understand time words and organize words – today, tomorrow, first, next.

They will become better at following more complex instructions and they should be able to hear and understand speech in different environments.

Their pronunciation will improve, but she may still have difficulty with difficult consonants such as sh, th, and l.

They can start naming letters and numbers. They may be able to retell events and keep a simple conversation going.

Their personality will shine through as she chooses conversation topics that interest her.