A baby is a gift unwrapped, which should only be opened with love.  But when we buy baby gifts out of love, especially in the form of clothing, why do we buy baby grows in blue for a boy and pink for a girl?

Even the paper we choose to wrap our baby gifts is selected by gender.  Are we driven by evolutionary instinct?  Theorists believe that females prefer reds and pinks as they are associated with their hunter gatherer days.  Whilst men hunted, women gathered fruits and vegetables; therefore, females became attuned to the blush of ripe fruits.  They were also aware of their children’s ruddy faces which were associated with illness. Men prefer blues as they signified good weather and a good water source.  This provided information on feeding and watering grounds where animals could be hunted.

So, the next time you look for newborn baby gifts, will you be influenced by your evolutionary instincts?  Or will you opt out of the great colour divide and buy clothes in greens or yellows?

Whenever we choose to buy childrens toys or clothing, it is easy to spot the gender difference.  Are we boxing our children into set standards?  Research shows that colours are important for youngsters as it helps them to establish their sex. As they become older, freedom of choice releases the constraints of the pink/blue barrier and does not cause any long term gender issues in later life.