My 4 year old son, like all kids he LOVES playing, jumping, getting messy baking or digging in mud, sand and paint.  

His favourite toys are trains. This kid is train mad!! One day a tv ad appeared advertising a newborn doll and my son said to me; 

"Mummy, Why are there no BOYS in adverts on TV with dolls?"    

This caught me off guard so I said;

"Well son, some people think boys dont want to play with dolls and babies" (he calls his stuffed toys his babies)  

Without hesitation he replied; 

" But mummy sometimes I want to be a daddy and play with babies too"  

Then it struck me, in light of the new UK Paternity leave for fathers to attend antenatal classes with their partners and the leaps we have made with gendered roles and expectations in TV shows, films and news reporting now seeing women making waves in previously male dominated industries with more males stepping in as single parents and home makers.

And shock horror .....HETROSEXUAL males leading the way in the world of womens fashion and hairdressing, why are we still doing this to our children and perpetuating narrow minded gender expectations through TV adverts featuring Toys?  

A simple web search revealed an increasing number of studies conducted by experts in their field who are reporting that gender specific toys and games are doing more harm than good to our children and young people in areas of psychological and social development.  

These studies prove that from a very young age toddlers do not see gender when they look at toys, they just see an activity(ies) that they want to explore and get involved in.  

It is not until around age 3+ that they start to see patterns fed to them from various influences, such as home life, school and most notably through the much loved TV that they start to adopt gender narrowing expectations and behaviours. What does that say about us as adults?  

Our children are brighter and more intelligent with every generation that passes so why are they still coerced, forced and sometimes bullied into conforming to expectations of gender roles other than just being allowed to BE children and treated equally?  

TV advertising needs to address this issue because it is often the first thing children are exposed to before they even see the Toy section in Supermarkets etc..  

It is time that we stop telling our children "Boys are aggressive and volatile" and "Girls are passive and dainty" lets start challenging some of these out dated notions that are not categorically true for all but still being portrayed in TV advertising targeted to our children.  

If you want to see an example of this clearly and in a humorous way try the 'Gender Remixer'  which illustrates exactly what I mean    

This petition is to send a message to the large and small Toy companies around the world through the International Council of Toy Industries and the International Advertising Association of whom they are members, that we want and need TV advertising of Toys to change. We want to see BOTH genders playing with the SAME toys in ALL ad campaigns. Not just through specific retailers thanks to the fantastic 'Let Toys Be Toys' but as a rule across the Toy industry including on TV.  

Help get this message across by signing this petition and sending this to everyone you know who believes children should be allowed to think outside the box and contribute to a society with more gender equality and simply just enjoy PLAY while they can, with whatever toy they choose!  

While youre at it why not sign the 'Let Toys Be Toys' campaign specific to UK and Ireland retailers.

Thank you