Today’s children shouldn’t be limited by gender. Unfortunately, messages from society and the media don’t always match up to this simple idea. So children do still pick up on gender stereotypes and come to believe in these limitations. That’s why it’s important for them to see a balanced view of the world with their own eyes, gaining their own understanding of the equal contributions that men and women can make to the world. 

Making Settings More Representative 

In order to shake off any preconceptions about gender and develop a balanced view of society, children need both male and female role models in their early years. So we are firmly committed to making Healthy Toddlers Care more representative of the population by recruiting more male childcare professionals into our environment. 

Social Stigma 

Educating parents (and the wider society) about the dynamics and benefits that male childcare professionals can offer, and about the importance of different gender role models, can help change preconceptions and allay any fears or concerns.  We understand it’s important for male childcare professionals to be visible. Men need to see for themselves that childcare is a viable career path to follow. We try to encourage this through our internship program.  

But without more men in child care environment, how are stereotypes about them going to be broken?  How can we teach our children not to regard early childhood education as the exclusive domain of women, when they see mostly women caring for them?  What message are we sending today’s youth when we glorify involved fathers and stay-at-home dads but vilify male child-care workers?  Healthy Toddlers Cares is tackling these questions head-on, by allowing and  encouraging more men to enter the field.