Why Boys Like Sticks:
…there hasn’t been much empirical work relevant to this question, so we can’t say for sure whether boys are more inclined than girls to play with sticks, or whether boys prefer sticks to other objects. Advertisement Here’s what developmental psychologists do know: Boys can be very discriminating when it comes to choosing a plaything. Studies of children’s recreational habits find that when given the choice, boys tend to avoid dolls and other unmanly items, while girls are more flexible—they’ll play with Little Mommy or a toy truck. This “snips-and-snails” effect takes hold from a very early age: One experiment concluded that 3-month-old boy babies spend more time staring at trucks than dolls (and vice-versa for girls); others suggest that sex-based preferences for certain objects take hold between the ages of 1 and 2. Either way, the inclination seems to be in place before children have any understanding of their own gender. To some extent, babies and toddlers have these preferences for cultural reasons: Parents give their kids gender-appropriate toys, and otherwise show approval for certain kinds of play but not others. It’s altogether possible—almost certain, in fact—that a boy will have internalized these unspoken rules about which objects should be used for fun, and which ones he should avoid… (via Why boys like sticks: the Explainer’s 2010 Question of the Year. – By Daniel Engber – Slate Magazine)