I’m a primary school teacher and I am explicit with the children in my class when gender issues come up. I tell them, in exactly these words, that there are no differences between girls and boys – except for some clothes and the toilets we use (hey, it needs to be in language and context they can understand!), that there is no such thing as toys/colours/activities for either boys or girls and that they can all do whatever they want. Children do absorb subtle messages and leading by example, but there are many times, particularly with the age group I teach (7-8 years) when they need to receive messages loud and clear. In any case, it arms them with a ‘because my teacher/parent says so’ whenever anyone challenges their non-conventional behaviour.