Raising strong women and respectful men

[Baublebox]

I have been thinking a lot about this recently.
I am mum to a preschool DD and baby DS and have been considering small, child friendly habits that help to encourage my children to reject stereotypes and see inequality.
I know that a lot of this is down to how they are their parents act and this makes me all the more conscious as dh works away a lot and so much of the childcare and home admin naturally falls on my shoulders.

So far I try to
Choose books and films with strong female leads.
Have a range of toys for both.
I tell both of my children that they are beautiful but make the effort to also tell them that they are brave, funny, clever etc
Avoid impractical or slogany girls clothes.
Unless an animal is clearly male e.g a bull, I always refer to them as she.

But it has surprised me how easily children pick these stereotypes up. Last week DD referred to boys colours and girls colours for example..

I would really love to hear any other small habits or tips.

Sorry, I really struggled to word that and it all sounds a bit cringy and preachy but you know what I mean.

This is a really interesting topic and one I would like to gain advice for in raising my children.

I think my main one is discussing topics and worries in a way where they get a chance to talk about what could be done better / differently.

Talk to them about their feelings and name positive and negative emotions and how they can deal with those overwhelming feelings.

You sound like you have a clear point of view and are a supportive loving parent. The fact that you are reflective enough to ask the question means that you will.

Idk when it comes to gender- what you find when bringing up children they gravitate to what they like. So my ds has a dolls house that he plays with. At no point have we ever referred or inferred it is a girls toy. It is just his toy. Both my boys rejected the baby dolls and gravitated to Lego and cars. We just try to support their interests but I am unconvinced gender is completely an external construct.

The best models will be how you and your husband interact with each other and with them. How you resolve conflict well and nurture and respect yourselves, as well as them. It is these relational aspects of family life which are the foundations for bringing up strong and emphatic children imo.