There’s been a lot of talk recently about the need for gender-neutrality in schools. Unisex toilets have been introduced in at least one primary school in New Zealand and the US media have been awash in controversy once President Obama stated gender-neutral bathrooms were, in fact, federal law.
 
More locally, the outcry has been directed at school uniforms as many in the school community would like for girls to have the choice of wearing pants, should they want to, just as their male peers do. The cries are for equality and the role heavy tunics or potentially exposing skirts and school-dresses play in the decrease in girls’ physical activity at school, particularly once they hit puberty - all fair points. It’s brilliant to see more and more schools opening up their uniform policies, some so open as to allow the boys to wear dresses, should they wish. Within much of the education section, thanks in part to the Safe Schools campaign and assertive parents, the definition of gender and associated expectations are, in fact, being redefined.
 
However, I want to take it back. All the way back to the early years.

 “But mummy, I’ll never be able do it! I’m not good enough! The other kids will laugh at me!”
 
Sound familiar? Unfortunately, too many parents would say yes. And it seems younger and younger our children are becoming negative, anxious and even strung out. Perceived pressures, particularly by girls, to perform academically, fit in with the crowd and look ‘the part’ can overwhelm their young brains.
 
Worrying is a natural part of life. In evolutionary terms, it was a survival mechanism to help our early human ancestors prepare for what could be of danger and, you know, kill them. It is hard wired into our brains to be alert to what could go wrong. But that doesn’t mean we have to let anxieties rule the internal roost.