Childminding UK: Engaging Boys

Introduction

Over the years there has been lots of research looking at the difference between how girls and boys learn and develop. The statistics tell us that more girls than boys are meeting or exceeding early years goals. Boys are no less able than girls, so it is important that we consider how many boys are falling behind and the lasting effects that the early years have on children’s later life chances.

What we know:

• All children have their own characteristic, interests and ways of learning and developing and it is important to have high aspirations for both girls and boys.
• Early Years is predominantly female dominated and because of this it is important that we consider the impact this could have on the activities and experiences we offer and how they are approached and presented.
• Girls continue to outperform boys at all levels of education.

It is important to look at how we approach engaging and supporting boys to enable them to reach their full potential. To do this we need to plan experiences based on their interests and value their learning preferences as active learners and problem solvers.

To help boys achieve their potential we need to plan experiences for boys based on their interests and value their learning preferences as active learners and problem solvers.

As a general rule:
• Boys tend to be more physical and aggressive than girls.
• Boys are less communicative or verbal than girls.
• Girls are better at multi-tasking.
• Boys are more assertive and competitive.
• Boys are more mechanical.
• Boys are physically stronger.

So, how can we help?

• "Boy energy" can seem endless. However, it is important as boys learn best when active. As their learning is takes place in the right-hand side of the brain, they struggle to separate talking and moving.
• Think about activities that include moving, climbing, touching, building and taking things apart e.g. Building activities, treasure hunts, collecting things.
• If we insist that boys stick at adult led activities where they have no interest or expect them to sit for long lengths of time, they may respond with a physical stress reaction e.g. being restless, running, fighting or being aggressive.
• Think about how you might use boys' interests to help engage their learning e.g. superhero play to engage their interest in an activity, role play or by creating storyboards.
• Around the ages of 4 and 5, boys experience a rush of testosterone which can lead to them taking part in more physical and competitive play.
• By understanding where each child is developmentally and through working closely with parents you are better able to plan for the individual child and their needs.
• The part of the brain that supports memory is slower to develop in boys so they tend not to remember lists of instructions and may struggle to concentrate on more than one task at a time.
• Think about how you can allow boys who struggle with this to concentrate on one thing at a time so they can finish one activity properly before starting another. If for example, if it is almost lunch time, give them some warning that the task will need to be finished to avoid them becoming frustrated and angry.

As adults, we often differentiate (even if this is subconsciously) between girls and boys from an early age and stereotype them along their gender lines. Parents and others you may work with, may also hold different views on what is appropriate to offer girls and boys. It is important that everyone is made aware of the negative effects stereotyping can have on children’s attitudes and how they treat others.

We should consider:

• Valuing the contribution boys make as this will build their self-esteem and sense of achievement.
• Their strengths, interests and learning preferences by looking at each child as an individual, by listening and observing them to gauge their strengths, interests, and how they prefer to learn.
• Planning with the individual in mind and involve the child in planning new activities to try so their interests and concerns are met.
• How we ensure we are not stereotyping girls and boys into gender roles and identities.
• Supporting children excluded on the grounds of gender and encourage children to positively challenge stereotyping.
• How we promote equality, for example, inviting parents who could talk about their non stereotypical jobs e.g. male nurse or woman firefighter.
• Ensuring that we find enough time, space, and support for each child to explore and develop in their own way.

Literacy and boys

Motivating boys to read for pleasure can be difficult and could have a big impact on boys’ achievements in school and their future life chances. Evidence on the importance of reading is clear and consistent, showing a positive relationship between how often a child reads, their enjoyment of it and their attainment at school.

Although we all know boys who are avid readers, research consistently shows that by the time many boys get to school there is a clear difference between girls and boys.

When it comes to achievement:

• Boys take longer to read.
• Boys read less than girls.
• Girls tend to comprehend narrative and expository texts better than boys.
• Boys tend to be better at information retrieval and work-related literacy tasks.

Boys often have lower estimations of their reading abilities, tend to value reading as an activity less, have much less interest in leisure reading and often declare themselves to be non-readers.
We hold the key to help boys become successful readers and thereby improve their chances of success later in life.

What can we do?

• Have high expectations – if we believe boys won’t be good or interested in reading then we run the risk of making it a self-fulfilling prophesy.
• Be involved – read aloud to them and encourage a love of stories from an early age.
• Research shows that boys tend to like a variety of genres, formats and range of topics so keep this in mind.
• If we want to encourage boys to read and have a positive attitude towards reading for pleasure, then they need male role models. Encourage dad, or other male members of their family to read to them and see them reading for pleasure.
• Make reading fun by focusing on the pleasure of reading rather than see it as a developing skill e.g. link it to activities like dressing up as characters and re-enacting stories.
• Make it a habit by reading to them every day.
• Choose texts that have positive male role models and expose them to new book regularly to keep their interest.
• Work in partnership with parents so that boys are supported with literacy at home
• In order to show boys, the importance and pleasure of reading, encourage parents to have a range of books on offer at home.
• Encourage children to discuss the books you read together. Talk about characters, the message in the story, the relationships between characters etc.

By understanding boys better and the importance of knowing all children well we can can effectively plan for what we want that child to learn, both by using knowledge of what they are interested in and the ways they learn best.

About us

Childminding UK has been supporting practitioners for over 30 years. Formed in 1991 by and for local working practitioners in Northamptonshire, we now support practitioners across the country. A registered charity, we are the only national organisation that solely supports practitioners and the only early years organisation that has achieved the Princess Royal Training Award for ‘Ensuring high quality childcare through training and support’. All staff are experienced childcare professionals, and have been practitioners themselves and our trustees are working practitioners or have knowledge of childminding, so we have a good understanding of the sector.

To find out more about Childminding UK or to get in touch - childmindinguk.com

Please note, the information in this article is provided by Childminding UK and does not represent the views or opinions of Morton Michel.