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Below are questions to explore understanding of gender development across developmental stages and ways to support children in your care. Read the following story and then answer the question below.

After finding out the sex of their baby through an ultrasound, a couple in Detroit decided on the name Taylor, and then quickly started using the nickname Baby T. After being woken up several nights in a row to strong kicks inside her, Taylor’s mom joked that Baby T would probably be a punter for the Detroit Lions. The week Baby T was born, a slew of presents arrived, including an arrangement of balloons with a little stuffed football tied to the bottom and tiny booties in the Lions’ team colors, blue and grey. Taylor’s dad looked at his new bundled up infant and said, “Look at my strong little fighter! You aren’t going to play football are you? Mommy had it all wrong. You are going to be daddy’s little basketball star and play for Notre Dame just like me!”

1. What are some assumptions you made about Taylor’s gender while reading that? Do you think Taylor’s gender had an impact on how the parents spoke about and to their new baby?

    
2. What stories have you been told about yourself as an infant and toddler? Do these stories involve references to gender?

    
3. What has been your experience with toddlers or preschoolers acting in more gender expansive or gender non-conforming ways ? How did adults respond during these situtations?

    
4. Think of your own experiences in middle school. How many events during this period, such as dances, sleepovers, and playing on single-gender sports teams, might be uncomfortable for a gender-expansive child?

    
5. What have been your experiences with other staff members’ assumptions, statements or actions relative to gender expression?