Letting children figure out who they are

In the article "Parental influence on children's socialization to gender roles" by Susan Witt a lot is talked about how parents influence their children from an early age on. They try to mold boys into being boys by putting them in a room painted all blue and only let them play with trucks, trains and toy soldiers. Girls on the other hand grow up in a pink colored room, where they are allowed to play with toy ovens and engage in frequent tea parties with their dolls. I think while it is clear that parents make all the decorating and toy decisions for their newborns, they should be more open to letting children pick out what they would like to play with once they get older and are able to voice their opinions and preferences. It is not the end of the world when a little girl elects to wear blue jeans over a pink dress and wants to play with a race car instead of her Barbie. I think it is vital for a child's development to be exposed to all kinds of environments and so boys should be able to help bake or cook without being made fun of and girls should be able to play ball with their dads or help outside. It is the parents' job to raise their kids with this mentality, but I think society as a whole needs to change and make it acceptable for people of a certain sex to participate in roles usually reserved for the other sex. Just because a two-year-old is not your typical boy or girl, it doesn't mean he or she will turn out gay or lesbian. Everyone is different and people and children especially change tastes all the time. I think it is only beneficial for their development if they are allowed to experiment and figure out who they are early on. It is better they do this early with the parents' supervision and guidance, than later when the relationship with their parents is ruined and they might feel alone and helpless.