Before I had kids, I thought that each
child was an individual, and didn't believe much in gender
stereotypes in children. Little boys ran and jumped a lot because
that's the kind of games they were taught. Little girls played with
dolls because that was the kind of toys they were given. I thought
that if all kids, regardless of gender, were exposed to the same
things, they would have the same tendencies. Then I spent some time in
the real world of kids and figured out that I was wrong. Possibly
there were some differences between boys and girls. From time to time, I'm going to share
some of my experiences that led me to this conclusion. However, so as
to not bias you, I'm going to let you guess, who are the boys in the
stories and who are the girls.
Today's Story
When he was 11, Wally and I were
discussing Boy Scout and Girl Scout camps. He was telling me what he
had done at the camp that he had just returned from, and I was
reliving my days at Girl Scout camp when I was about the same age.
Among other things, we were comparing tents, cooking, and swimming.
One of us swam in a lake and one of us swam in a pool. When one
commented that there was a long hill that they walked down to go
swimming, the other one said, “Did you race down the hill to see
who could get there first?” To which the reply was, “No, we
stayed in a group and sang songs.”
You chose: Which was the boy and which
was the girl?
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Answer: I was the one going down the hill singing songs with the other girls. It never occurred to us to race. However, that was the first thing Wally thought of when I said that had a long hill to go down.
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But Wait, There's More:
I didn't provide answers to the other Boy vs. Girls stories and some have been asking. So here they are if you want to play catch up.
Answer: Lily was the one cuddling her animal and talking to it. Wally was the one dragging his animal on ground and generally not paying much attention to it unless he hit something with it. It was very clear that Lily had a baby, and Wally had a toy.
Answer: The girls were the ones carefully opening each valentine and reading the messages. The boys ripped any candy off the valentines they got, then started playing with one of the party treats--Red Hots cinnamon candies. Each boy would put increasing numbers of candies in his mouth until it got too hot for them. They were definitely trying to out do each other during this game.
(Of course, we all know that each person is a unique individual with their own set of special characteristics. No one is all boy just as no one is all girl.)
How funny :) My friend who has boy and girl twins says that the little girl has already started carrying things around like a handbag at the age of 18 months - and my friend doesn't even carry a handbag so had no idea where she learnt it!
ReplyDeleteI've determined that many things just come naturally and we really don't have much control over them. As a parent, I have often wondered where some of my kid's behavior comes from just as your friend wonders why her toddler has started to carry a purse.
DeleteHi live and learn,
ReplyDeleteI thought of you the other day when I was reading a magazine article about a woman who grew up one of 3 sisters, no brothers. And now, she and her husband have 2 boys, no daughters. She said at first, she felt like she'd been dropped into enemy territory, everything felt so foreign to her. Now, of course, it doesn't phase her, but she says that life with all men in the house is very different from life with mostly women.
That article sounds all too familiar. Are you sure that I didn't write it? :)
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