What are little girls made of?

If toy companies have anything to say about it, it's designer malls, makeup, sewing kits and "My Own Home!" playsets - all basking in the pink glow of girls' toy aisles.

And for boys? Play-dough, toy drills and saws, rescue squads and mutant karate-fighting action figures.

Sounds innocent enough, but such strict gender divisions worry some child development experts, who say they prevent both boys and girls from learning critical skills during playtime.

They also fear these divisions might mislead children in their consideration of future goals and careers.

"There are a lot of really critical thinking skills that get developed during play," said Jeanne Holland, an associate professor of English and women's studies at the University of Wyoming. "It's when certain kinds of those skills are cordoned off under a sign that says "Boys Only" that I get troubled by it, because girls need to know how to think this way as well."

Holland said some board games demonstrate obvious gender divisions - "Fib Finder," for example, where players can ask questions like, "Have you ever kissed a boy that was real cute?"

No so, however, with games like Battleship, where children use logical deduction to figure out where an opponent's ship is located, Holland said.

"Battleship and card games like poker develop important mental skills," Holland said. "Too often, though, that kind of thinking is associated with male-only activities: Battleship has been marketed as a boy's toy."

Block and building sets develop spatial relations and other skills needed for achievement in math, engineering and science, according to Stephanie Oppenheim, a founder of the New York-based Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio, an independent consumer review of children's toys.

She said that about a decade ago parents became concerned because such toys were marketed only at boys.

"There was a push for blocks for girls, but the problem was the ones they created were theme-oriented," Oppenheim said. "They could build a mall, a nursery, a stable for the pony. They were very structured, and didn't offer the girls enough freedom to design."

"Before preschool there isn't much of a division between the toys," said Chris Lockhart, an employee at Toy Town in downtown Casper. "After that, you start to see the difference."

Even athletic toys are not immune from gendered names and designs. While most girl bikes are pink and have glittery runners and names like "Princess Bike," most boy bikes are thicker and sturdier, with names like "Fire Power," "Invader" and "Conqueror," she said.

"The message that's being sent, even with bicycles, is somehow boys are licensed to go adventuring in the world and girls aren't, " Holland said. "The girls' bike looks like something that maybe she could ride close to home, but you can't imagine a girl out on a trail with this frilly, frivolous-looking thing."

The problem, according to Oppenheim and Holland, is not only the skills and lessons that could be missing from play experience, but also the content of the messages children are bombarded with every day through advertisements and toy packaging.

Holland said that video games like Mary Kate and Ashley's Magical Mystery Mall, and toys like make-up and hairstyle kits, socialize girls to be shoppers, and tell them they are "something to be prettied-up and marketed."

However, this is not just a problem for parents with girls. "If the stereotypes are extreme, they warp boys in certain ways, too," Holland said.

For example, Oppenheim said that if parents want their boys to grow up to be nurturing, affectionate fathers, they need to give them toys and props that encourage these instincts. Yet many parents are hesitant to give their sons dolls and strollers, she said.

Lockhart said he is fairly certain parents do come in to Toy Town to buy dolls for their boys, although he said no one had specifically said they were doing so.

Oppenheim says boys do like playing "daddy" with dolls, and that they love cooking and playing with kitchen accessories. Sometimes, though, this can lead to ostracism by family members and peers.

"I knew a little boy growing up who played with Barbie dolls, but he told me not to ever tell anyone," said Emily Holmquist, an eighth-grader at Dean Morgan Junior High School. She supports such activity, she said.

So does Jacie Bollingbroke, 15, a fellow student at Dean Morgan, who said her little stepbrother plays with dolls.

"I think it's cool if boys play with things like Easy-Bake Ovens," Bollingbroke said. "If they're single forever and don't learn how to cook, what will they eat, fast food?"

Holmquist, who said she enjoyed playing with G.I. Joe dolls, Legos and boys' bicycles when she was younger, agreed it is good to mix up boys' and girls' toys because they are meant to teach different things.

However, Oppenheim said that while boys typically will enjoy playing house, it is very hard to find neutral-colored kitchens and playhouses.

"Boys might not be keen on playing with a massive piece of pink," she said.

The good news, she said, is that there are plenty of gender-free toys.

"You just have to think about it a little bit more, because if you go to the toy store, it really is sorted out for you by gender," she said.

She said toys like the Discovery Kids SL-70 Telescope, the Green Machine from Huffy, many board games, and art supplies are examples of gender-free toys.

Parents who want to buy their boys a doll can find baby boy dolls, along with blue baby accessories, from the Bitty Baby Collections from Mattel's American Girl Doll Company.

For parents who want to encourage their girls to construct and engineer, there are several options available.

For younger children, Lockhart suggests the Brio train kits, which are wooden train sets designed for either gender.

One of Oppenheim's suggestions is an Ello block kit. These were specifically designed to attract girls to construction sets with their Underwater Acquaria and Fiary-Topia sets.

"They look Matisse-inspired, they aren't all pink, and have this modern-art look that appeals to girls to get them building," Oppenheim said.

Also, she suggested the K'nex Musical Ferris Wheel. "Our tester for it was an 11-year old girl, and she loved it." she said. "Parents need to think outside the box, to give girls that experience of building."

This doesn't mean it's detrimental to give girls traditional, gendered toys, Holland stressed. She does not suggest banning the toys, but she does have a suggestion.

"If she wants Barbies, dresses, princess tiaras - fine," Holland said. "But try to counterbalance it with something like Simon or the memory game or Battleship - and play it with her, because it will send a really strong and powerful message that it's a worthwhile activity."

Oppenheim also said it's a good idea to include at least some nontraditional toys during holiday gift-giving.

"Toys send signals to your kids about what's acceptable, so bringing home neutral choices is more than just about what they're playing with at that particular moment," she said. "It sends a message about what the range of possibility is for them going both ways. We want boys to cook, and we also want girls to build."