Young children and early adolescents are some of the most fragile human beings in the world. Whether mental, emotional, or physical, their bodies and minds are going through a whirlwind of extreme, life-altering changes. These changes, in the moment, can sometimes be put aside simply as growth and adjustment to life as they grow, but what parents don't realize is that this period of growth will dictate the rest of their lives. Like adults in their careers, children are constantly held to high standards. Usually, these standards depend on the gender of the child, meaning that boys are expected to do one thing, while girls are expected to do another. Some may believe that it's fine, that it's fine. But it isn't; Telling a child how they should or shouldn't behave could affect who they will be for the rest of their life: causing them not to be who they really wanted to be. Gender, according to the American Psychological Association (2011), is described as the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person's biological sex. By the time a child reaches the age of three, they are well aware of their gender. Lawrence Kohlberg (1966) believed in the theory of cognitive development. Through the process of self-characterization, as soon as a child discovers that he or she is a boy or a girl, information is sorted by behavior and gender and the child will behave accordingly (1966). In Kohlberg's studies, he determined three separate stages of cognitive development with regards to gender development. Phase one: Basic gender identity, which states that a child realizes that they are a boy or a girl, but has not grasped the concept that this is a constant… middle of paper… ..acy . Madison: Brown and landmark. April 14, 2014Lee, L. (2008). Understanding gender through Disney marriages: A study of young Korean immigrant girls. Early Childhood Education Journal. April 16, 2014McEwan, I. (1978). The concrete garden. New York: Simon and Schuster. April 11, 2014McNair, S., Kirova-Petrova, A., & Bhargava, A. (2001). Computers and young children in the classroom: Strategies for minimizing gender bias. Early Childhood Education Journal. April 14, 2014. Weinraub, M., Clemens, L. P., Sachloff, A., Ethridge, T., Gracely, E., & Myers, B. (1984). The development of sex role stereotypes in the third year: Relationships to gender labeling, gender identity, sex-based toy preferences, and family characteristics. April 16, 2014 Witt, S. (1997, January 1). Parents' influence on children's socialization with respect to gender roles. .Retrieved April 11, 2014