A: That depends, according to this Parenting report on CNN.com.
Now, what it depends on is (1) the particular child-rearing area you're considering and (2) the age of the child. The upshot is, boys are harder in the beginning. Girls are harder in the end. I don't know, gender-behavior crap still kind of gets on my nerves. Like, there's no mention of the child as an individual -- I know difficult boys AND girls -- and there is also only passing mention of the whole "nurture" rather than "nature" side of a child's development.
Here's a summary. You can go here for details.
Discipline -- boys are harder
Physical safety -- boys are harder
Communication -- first boys are harder, then girls
Self-esteem -- girls
School -- boys
You know, I can accept that there are gender differences in the pace or sequence of brain development. But what I hate this the idea "girls are better communicators." Maybe at an earlier age, but until the end of time? Not even. Same with boys have an easier time with spatial relations (or better hearing, earlier in life, as the article says). That doesn't mean girls don't come fully around later and go head-to-head with the boys in pre-engineering classes.
The other thing is calling one gender "harder" or "easier," even broken down into categories. A mom reported this stuff. Some men (or women) might think dealing with kids jumping off a coffee table is a much easier prospect than sharing feelings or dealing with body image.
Of course, I say this as a girl who was raised with girls and is raising girls. What do you think? Are boys harder?
Photo: CNN.com
