Boys or Girls?

09 Feb 2017 Comments

Battle of the Sexes - which is easier to raise?

Every parent will tell you raising kids is hard work. They don’t come with an instruction manual and raising them requires a lot of on the job training.

We all know this and it comes as no surprise. One question that is constantly being asked though is ‘Is one sex easier than the other?’ Every parent will answer this question differently because their personal experience varies from child to child. So while I cannot answer this for everyone, I can give an opinion from my point of view as a mother.

Is there really a difference?

I am a parent of 4 children under the age of 10 – I have two boys aged 9 and 7 and two girls aged 3 and 10 months, which means I have plenty of experience raising children primary aged and younger. This doesn’t make answering the question any easier as each child is different; each have their own highpoints and difficulties.

Babies, toddlers and preschool

Toddlers are fun. Toddlers are painful. Toddlers test parents’ patience each and every day. But there are distinct differences between boys and girls during these years.

· Routine – We were not very strict on the whole routine thing with any of our kids and took a more relaxed approach but friends have stated that their boys preferred a routine rather than going with the flow. According to them having set nap times, meal times, etc. resulted in less frustration.

· Personality – I have found that while my boys were rougher at this age, they were also more prone to whinging than my girls. This isn’t to say that my three year old daughter isn’t rough, because she is but she is definitely not as whiney as my boys were. She is head strong and knows what she wants.

· Learning - Neither sex is smarter than the other but I have found their interests are undeniably different. My boys had a love for reading and writing and excelled in this area, whereas my daughter is more interested in playing mums and dads and craft than literature based learning.

In saying this, when it comes to toilet training, my experience has shown that girls are easier. They are more receptive to change and just ‘got it’ faster. Not to mention boys pee on everything! – For more on this, read my hilarious account of what to expect from your toilet when you live with males.

Primary years

Fast forward to the primary years when they begin to learn more about themselves and start to discover who they are.

Girls are typically better behaved during the schooling years and have a higher level of independence but that doesn’t make them better or easier. It is these years that bullying tends to happen and while boys are more physical, girls are simply mean. Female bullying is a lot more emotional; it typically has long lasting effects due to gossiping, backstabbing and confidence crushing remarks.

If your child is being bullied, read this article, it will help.

Teens

Now the fun really begins. My kids are not yet at this age but I remember all too well what my house was like growing up and mum confirms it every time I speak to her. Karma is going to kick my arse!

Thanks to puberty, teenagers’ emotions are heightened. Welcome to the years of hormone imbalances, overly emotional girls and withdrawn boys. Yes this may seem very stereotypical but in my experience this hits the nail on the head.

So are boys or girls easier to raise? There is no clear winner in my opinion. There are so many variants that determine how a child will learn, cope and grow as a person. For me, I would say boys are harder in the early years whereas girls are more demanding in the teen years.

Stereotypes aside – raising kids is challenging!

Kell Kelly

Tags: Parenting

Kell Kelly

Kell Kelly is a mum, a wife to her childhood sweetheart and a writer. She shares her home in the picturesque Hunter Valley wine region with her husband and 4 children. When she isn’t working at home, folding laundry or chasing the kids to put on their shoes; she enjoys discovering her surroundings, taking in the great outdoors and spending some much needed time with her husband. Prior to...

Boys or Girls?