Tuesday 17 June 2008

Why Boys are Best

Now I know you're gonna think I am completely biased in this opinion because I dwell in a testosterone fuelled household (and you may well be a tiny bit right).

Don't get me wrong, I love girls, I actually wanted Thomas to be a girl (it somehow just didn't feel acceptable to be growing a little person with a penis inside me if you know what I mean) and both Rob and I wanted Eli to be a girl (he'd make such a pretty girl after all), in fact as we were going in for the ultrasound to find out the sex Rob pipes up with "If it's not a girl I am gonna be really disappointed!" (no pressure then, thanks buddy!) So we ended up with two boys and despite my initial reservations about me being a suitable candidate to be a 'boy mum' I love it more than words can ever say.

Boys are just brilliant!

Here is my evidence......

I have a friend who has two girls and we went shopping together for summer clothes for our kids. Boys I learned are far easier to dress, they have 4 pairs of shoes,
Sandals,
Trainers,
Wellington boots and
Smart shoes for Sundays.
The four pairs of shoes each have a very specific purpose. They each coordinate simply with the array of denim and shorts that make up a preschool boys wardrobe. I don't have the endless task of finding just the right shoes and accessories that colour coordinate perfectly with each outfit. If it's Sunny the boys wear sandals, if it's rainy they wear boots and so on, everything coordinates beautifully without any effort at all. (Which is ideal because I really love things that require no effort.)

On Sunday one of the teachers in Primary couldn't make it (again) so I filled in for her and taught the 7-8 year old class. Our lesson was on The Good shepherd parable and I prepared a word search in advance just in case we have time left at the end that I needed to fill up (plus it doubled as a handy reminder of what we'd just learned, repetition is the key to learning you know!) the kids divided themselves into two groups, boys versus girls. The boys were all about speed and will to win, the girls weren't concerned at all about finishing first they were more bothered about important matters like using a different colour for every single word they identified to make the word search as pretty as possible. (Much to the boys and my own dismay the girls finished first.)

Last week at the farm with friends all our kids were playing together in the playground. There was this slide with a room at the top and the kids were in there playing house and being silly. We overheard this conversation:

Neve (Aged 4, obsessed with Princesses and Princes) "Come sit with me Eli"
Eli (Aged 2, obsessed with food and Cars) "OK!"
Neve "Would you like some cake?"
Eli "YES!!"
Neve (Passing Eli some imaginary cake) "Here you go..."
Eli (Looking dumbfounded) "Stupid!" (Which is a word we're not even allowed to say in our house but in this case seemed completely apt.)

See if boys are gonna use their imagination to play they will fully commit to it they'll be a dinosaur or Spiderman, crash cars or blow stuff up they're just not concerned in the slightest about kissing Princesses and having pretend cakes. To boys those things are dull.

Recently I took the boys to the park and on arrival found a little girl there with her older brother. He had obviously been forced by a parent to watch her and was doing so really grudgingly. Emily as she informed me instantly was 'almost 5' (such a mature age) so felt the need to help babysit my kids. Now I'm never gonna argue with an offer like that so I sat down in the sun and observed her babysitting skills from afar.

This is what I learned....

Girls are really flaming bossy!

It was all 'You do this' and 'It's not your turn' and 'You stand there' I was totally amused and the boys didn't seem in the least bit bothered and were thrilled by her attention so I happily let her carry on.

Eventually Thomas picked up his football,
"You play football with me?"
"No football is for babies, I know a much better game!"

From my observations of the much better (and totally made up) game it involved constant changing of the rules to enable Emily to win every single time and lots of accidentally on purpose throwing the ball over the park fence resulting in only her being able to retrieve it because she was after all almost 5 years old.

And lastly, boys toys are supremely superior to girls toys. I had to go shopping for a gift for Rob's niece and was appalled by the endless array of items formed mostly of hideous pink plastic. It took me forever to find something suitable and I was even half tempted to get her some Lego or cars. I know that's what I would prefer to play with (and do so on a daily basis).

So there you have it boys are best, contradict me if you dare!

Of course now I am fully and joyfully converted to Mothering boys our next child will no doubt be a girl and I'll be forced to endure endless imaginary tea parties, pink plastic toys, carefully coordinated clothing and bossiness.

Good job I don't believe in Karma!

23 lovely comments:

AMY said...

I totally agree that boys are easier...when we are walking out of the house, I put my hands under the sink, slap some water on their head and slick down their hair and we are done - I love it! Connor also owns about 4 pairs of shoes, Addisyn has like 15. But girls are fun too...Addisyn is always willing to eat chocolate with me when I'm feeling down.

Simply Shannon said...

Hopefully I'll get to have a boy myself one day so I can test your theory!

Melissa said...

Well, I love my boy but I absolutely ADORE having a girl to dress up! I love doing fun hair-do's on her. Girl clothes are SO CUTE and all the shoes are just to die for! Boy clothes are sadly lacking, IMHO! I've had a hard time finding clothes for him that I just LOVE the way I do for her. I've also found that finding shoes for him has been difficult. I guess I'm just used to having shoes for each of her outfits, and now that I have a boy, I have to get used to not always having co-ordinating shoes to all his outfits!

I also guess that since I have one of each, I really can't say that I like one better over the other, cause that just wouldn't be fair.... ;)

Rach (Mommy Learns to Blog) said...

While I won't argue any of your reasons for thinking boys are best, I will say that there is NOTHING.LIKE. a little girl. No matter how mouthy Maddie gets, no matter how whiny she can be, no matter how many times she asks me why when I've just answered the same question, she will ALWAYS be my bestest friend in the whole world, and I will never tire of shopping for her (absolutely fabulous if I do saw so myself) wardrobe or finally being able to style her hair.

And finally, boys would look pretty silly in a two piece bathing suit, no?

Anonymous said...

I TOTALLY agree with you. I wanted a girl SOOOO bad when I found out I was pregnant but as soon as I saw the ultrasound I was perfectly fine with having a boy and now wouldnt have it any other way. I totally agree, boys imaginary play IS way better than girls! lol

master Gardner said...

Being Gardie's dad I thought I would throw a plug in for girls (I have 5 you know) I really think that Dads want boys but its when they have girls that they really become protective, loving and try to be more caring to you as well as THEIR girls. Girls have the ability to wrap their daddies around their fingers getting them to do all kinds of things. And when they start to grow up and boys start looking at them... Well they remember what they were like at that age. Great country song over here about a dad who's daughter is going on a date and the dad says that he'll just be here cleaning his gun. We are almost empty nesters but our youngest is Kellee at 15 every bit as beautyful as any of her sisters and I still worry nights when she turns 16 and starts "real" dating.
Thanks for letting me in on your wonderful blog. ours is kind of boring at times.
Hand cart trek is almost here and then I will shave and look presentable. Hmm wonder what I would bring thoughts of? some homeless guy? Terry G.

Heidi said...

Girls are flaming bossy.

That's what makes my marriage work, though, so I'm not about to teach Veevs any differently.

duchess said...

I have one of each & can honestly say....you are right.
Boys are much easier than girls.
My daughter has at least one dramatic melt-down per day over something life altering.
(I'm sure we were never like that.)

A Crafty Mom said...

Well, I do agree, for the most part, but I was thrilled to have my little girl to balance out the testosterone in this house. My two boys are crazy maniacs and often cause me to pull my hair out - so far the little babe is sweet, quiet and happy all the time :-)

The Mrs. said...

boys rock. and i know im biased I have two little ones. The best part besides the love and hugs, the easy hairdos. no fuss no muss just keep it in a short buzz and call it a day.

Anti-Supermom said...

SO true, in my childcare, I've only taken care of one girl, she was simply 'incredible' in all sense of the word.

I've only watched boys since she left :)

The Roaming Southerner said...

I def. would be happy with having only boys. I love boys and have loved always being around them...for that I am sure I will have only girls.

Laural Out Loud said...

I'm raising a girl, and love it. We're getting ready to try for number two, and I was hoping for a girl because it's what I know. But you changed my mind! Maybe a boy wouldn't be so bad after all, lol.

My lips get awfully sore from pretending to sip tea, so not having to do that anymore would be a total bonus.

Unknown said...

I have 2 boys too and grew up with 3 older brothers so I was pretty relieved to have boys! I would much rather play cars and trains than barbies. Really.

And I am totally with you on the clothes thing. Little girls clothing is out of control these days!!

Megan said...

Always pictured myself as a mom to girls, but my boys ROCK! I wouldn't have it any other way.

amanda said...

looking forward to having a boy someday...then i will come back and say that i agree :)

Wendi said...

I completely agree!
I have two boys and one girl.
The boys are much easier than the girl.
I have been trying to blame it on the fact that she is the middle child.
That is not it.
She is just DRAMA.
All. the. time.
Don't get me wrong... I love her.
I wouldn't trade her for anything.
But you are absolutely right:
Boys are easier!

McMommy said...

Woooooo-hooooooo!!! A mom of two boys here and naturally I COMPLETELY AGREE!!!

I love what you said about the boys' shoes. That is so true in my house!

I really love this post. I want to go wake my boys up and give them a huge hug...they are perfect.

That said, I'm hoping one day when McSister gets married and has a baby...I'm hoping it's a little girl! So I can spoil her rotten and shop for adorable little outfits that I will never have to actually iron myself!

Happy POW!

Karen @Snakes-Snails-Puppydogtails said...

I agree with you 100%... you forgot that while boys are loud they don't have the ear piercing make your head spin scream that girls have!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my 3 boys! (I can't say that I don't want a girl, but I do think it would be much harder raising a girl!)

Marla said...

i love boys... in our house we say boys rule! And even though I so wanted a little girl, I love my boys - let's just hope they marry women who like me :)

4funboys said...

absolutely!!!!!!

and...my own personal favorite for when they're little...

they're easier to potty train, cuz they can just whip "it" out anywhere (almost) and you don't have to worry about finding a clean place for them to sit! ha

3boys247 said...

I love this post. My aunt made a top ten list of why boys are great when i found out baby #3 was boy #3. My favorite from her list was back to school shopping takes 10 minutes; jeans, t shirts, socks, underwear, tennis shoes.

You are so right. Boys are much easier. They only scream when they are really hurt and only if no bigger boys are around, otherwise they tough it out.

Anonymous said...

Biased? Maybe...I'm the Mom to a boy too, so perhaps I am biased as well...But I couldn't agree more with you!! Loved this post.