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teach your daughters to iron and air laundry

60 replies

louiseRyan2020 · 26/10/2020 14:56

I was shocked in Aldi this weekend to see toys - clearly marketed at girls - that involved an ironing set (complete with toy iron and ironing board) and a 'clothes airer' - clothes horse (complete with laundry basket).
Ironically both toys were labelled with the slogan 'imagination and creativity' and 'curiosity and discovery'.
The mind boggles . I fail to see how teaching little girls how to iron and air clothes will feed their curiosity or imagination. Both toys seem to show a total absence of imagination - unless perhaps 'how to imagine yourself fulfilling a 1950s stereotype of femininity'?
Perhaps the toys are meant to be ironic and this is actually a plan to teach little girls to rebel against such limited gender stereotypes and domestic drudgery. Apart from anything else, what a total waste of money. It would be cheaper to buy a real clothes horse/ airer than this toy one.
does anyone else find the so-called toys highly objectionable in the 21st century?
I recently went to the new exhibition on the women's rights movement 'Unfinished Business' at the British Library. Well absolutely, this is clearly 'unfinished business' when these kinds of toys are still be marketed at girls.

teach your daughters to iron and air laundry
teach your daughters to iron and air laundry
OP posts:
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Frequentcarpetflyer · 26/10/2020 19:28

Of course not! But advertisers shouldn't always have to show a child of,the "opposite "sex for people,to consider it an acceptable advert. Nothing wrong with a boy or girl playing with an iron or a toolset.

Catmaiden · 26/10/2020 19:28

My DD (now 22) had a toy hoover and a toy chainsaw . Both of which she saw me, and DH using equally. She took them both to bed a lot.

KiposWonderbeasts · 26/10/2020 17:59

@EvenSupposing

My proudest moment was when dd saw a toy iron at her friend's house and said, 'mum? What's this?' Grin

Loving the Lidl catalogue.

My son asked my mother what that thing was “Grandad’s shirt, sweetheart “ “No, Nana, the thing you are rubbing on Grandad’s shirt.”

My mother’s loaded look at me was priceless.

MoltenLasagne · 26/10/2020 17:49

My sister was obsessed with her toy iron when she was little. She wanted to iron shirts like Daddy.

feelingverylazytoday · 26/10/2020 17:45

@Frequentcarpetflyer

There's nothing wrong with a woman ironing and hanging up clothes.
There's nothing wrong with a man ironing and hanging up clothes either.
Fabuleuse · 26/10/2020 16:59

I've bought my 3 year old DS a toy brush and mop set for Christmas. He's obsessed with mine half the time he tries to use them as a weapon though.

NecessaryScene1 · 26/10/2020 16:56

Just had to mention that my skimming of thread titles initially interpreted this is some activity similar to "air guitar".

EvenSupposing · 26/10/2020 16:01

My proudest moment was when dd saw a toy iron at her friend's house and said, 'mum? What's this?' Grin

Loving the Lidl catalogue.

DinosaurOfFire · 26/10/2020 15:51

@louiseRyan2020 Have you seen the Let Toys Be Toys campaign online? It started from a mumsnet thread about similar images a few years ago. They publicise things like this and call for change, lots of toy shops now don't distinguish toys as being for girls or boys as a result of their campaigns.

Twizbe · 26/10/2020 15:45

My son has asked for this set. He saw it in the Lidl catalogue. He also wants the train set.

This morning both my kids (1 boy, 1 girl) were equally keen to help me hang the washing out. I'm sure if Father Christmas brings him this housekeeping set there will be arguments over who gets to play with it

magicstar1 · 26/10/2020 15:44

The Irish one has a little boy ironing, and seems to be a good mix.

teach your daughters to iron and air laundry
teach your daughters to iron and air laundry
SweetGrapes · 26/10/2020 15:41

Ds loved to play with the iron. He was modelling DH who is the iron ing man in this household.

Frequentcarpetflyer · 26/10/2020 15:40

There's nothing wrong with a woman ironing and hanging up clothes.

ArabellaScott · 26/10/2020 15:40

Both sexes playing together, dad in the floor with kids, just v refreshingly relaxed without stereotyping.

PaleBlueMoonlight · 26/10/2020 15:39

These are great toys for many children and the toy and packaging are marketed in a gender neutral way, though I agree that there should be both a girl and a boy on the box.

ArabellaScott · 26/10/2020 15:37

I liked Lidls catalogue. Also a girl on her bike, but I can't upload more than 4 pics.

teach your daughters to iron and air laundry
teach your daughters to iron and air laundry
teach your daughters to iron and air laundry
FairFridaythe13th · 26/10/2020 15:24

😂 it’s one of those big things with a handle on the top that sits on top of my washing machine.

ProfessionalWeirdo · 26/10/2020 15:22

Er - what's an iron?

fastandthecurious · 26/10/2020 15:18

Just bought DS a cleaning trolley for his birthday recently. He loves to copy me cleaning and I think it's nice that he gets involved. I was a bit annoyed though that the pink set had a girl on it and the red set had a girl too. As if cleaning is just for girls. I bought him the pink set anyway as he loves pink. I do think they need to include more inclusion in their branding. I'm sick of seeing race car sets with little boys playing and dolls with little girls playing on the front. I'm trying to bring DS up to know he can like whatever he wants and nothing is for 'boys' or 'girls'. But as he gets older he's going to be less likely to want a toy if it's just marketed towards girls and it's annoys me.

Scrouge · 26/10/2020 15:10

@ErrolTheDragon

I bought DD an iron for her 12th birthday.

A soldering iron.Grin

Love this. Well done her
merrymouse · 26/10/2020 15:08

However, I think it would get more use as part of a fort.

Marmite27 · 26/10/2020 15:08

I sounded off at my MlL after opening a gift from her side of the family which was a pink ‘beauty’ set. To open an iron and ironing board set from her the next day. I was Blush but stood by my original comments.

As it was plastic it was relegated to a garden toy and disposed of after an appropriate time had passed.

DH does all the laundry in our house, so my daughters may be in for a shock in the future. Mind you, so does my brother, but my dad is the typical ‘women’s work’ type Angry

merrymouse · 26/10/2020 15:07

Nothing wrong with the toy - children like to model what they see adults doing.

The problem is the way its presented.

LoeliaPonsonby · 26/10/2020 15:07

In the magazine available in store, the picture shows boys using the ironing board FWIW.

SaucyHorse · 26/10/2020 15:06

Oh I don't know, children like to roleplay things that they see adults doing. My children wouldn't know what to do with a toy ironing board specifically as we don't iron anything, but they both like pretending to do household activities like cooking, cleaning, DIY and hoovering as well as other adult things like childcare and going to work. I've got a boy and a girl, 3 and 5, and they both like pretending to be grown ups and doing small chores around the house.
I don't see an issue as long as you're not saying it's just for girls or just for boys, especially if they see adult role models of both sexes taking on a balanced range of responsibilities.

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