Parenting Children

Having boy/girl twins is not only such a treat, but fascinating to say the least. We get to see our children age at the same pace, but not develop at the same pace. They each have their weaknesses and strengths physically as well as cognitively. They each have their own challenges to parent as well. My son was a harder baby to parent, but now that they are five my daughter has been harder. But just who is harder to raise boys or girls?

There are differences, boys’ hearing is not as good as girls’ right from birth, and their verbal centers in their brains develop more quickly than boys. If you know any toddler or preschool boys than you know they’re also less verbal and more impulsive. They seem to be much more active, getting into things, jumping, crawling putting their physical safe in danger from the minute they are mobile. Boys are more lableled with disorders like ADD, ADHD, sensory integration disorder etc. I worry about his self esteem, because he seems to depend on his sister in social situations. He is much more shy and laid back.

My daughter was an easier baby, but now? She is challenging. Although she is only five she is worried about how she looks, cries if her hair is “too puffy” and will break down if her brother does something before she does. She is also a natural mother, she loves and tends to her baby brother like I never expected. She worries about his safety, plays with him and protects him.
I do think in my case L was harder for the first few years but R will be harder as a teenager.

Girls tend to grow up less confident and more insecure than boys, researchers say and I think that instilling confidence in my daughter will be something that will be hard. She is a very confident five year old but she is also a “people pleaser” and that can backfire. I worry about her and her body image because like all girls it is hard to remain confident in your body especially during puberty.

So I am torn, I think both sexes have their own challenges at every stage. Who do you think is harder to parent, boys or girls?

boys vs. girls, parenting, parenting children, parenting twins, twins, raising kids, children