Boys vs. girls

I am always amazed how differenet a boy and girl are. I have one of each and am endlessly amused by their so gender specific choices. My 4 year old, Lulu, is TOTALLY into princesses. She HAS to wear her sparkley pink “sleeping beauty” shoes every day. She spends the afternoons changing from her purple princess dress to her pink, to her blue all the while listening to the Nutcracker and dancing around. Who knew that one could actually get sick of listening to the Nutcracker? Meanwhile Oliver, 19 months, is COMPLETELY into trucks of any kind. Yesterday he saw a cement mixer while we were driving and, I swear, I thought he was going to have a heart attack he was so excited. I never bought him trucks, specifically, because I didn’t want to press the whole boy thing on him. I mean what if he ended up liking Lulu’s boas and listening to Liza Minelli? I wasn’t going to be responsible for giving him a skewed sense of self. Well, sure enough, he found Lulu’s stash of little cars and trucks and it has been love ever since. That isn’t to say he won’t still might like boas and Liza in the future….. That is all up to him.
I am always surprised that some boys aren't ALLOWED to play dress up. I mean how fun is it to put on sparkely pretend clothes? I think it mosI have seen even the most masculine of boys (As pictured....Lulu's pal and kiddysnap, Desi) indulge in a little dress up. Lets face it- black pirate outfits don't always cut it. And if a boy and a girl happen to be best freinds can't they take turns doing what the other likes? I think it promotes many things including being open minded, flexible and tolerant- which Lulu's friend, Desi, definitely is and I think it's awesome. It isn't about being masculine or feminine- it is about imaginative play.
There are many articles about the differences between the two sexes and why they act a certain way. Some think it is hard wiring, others think it is a result of how they are socialized and treated. For example, most girls will get a present of a doll or a pink something- whereas the boy will get the light blue something and a truck or train. We unconsciously reflect our views of the differences. I came across a pretty interesting article called “How Parents Raise Boys and Girls” by Adam Bryant and Erika Check, published in Newsweek in 2000. This passage I thought was a keeper.

…”Michael Lewis, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, believes that both nature and nurture play a role in a child's development. But he noted that one study has shown that when a barrier is placed between 1-year-olds and something they want, young boys are apt to try to knock down the barrier, while girls are more likely to seek help from their mothers. "I don't want to say boys are active and girls are passive," says Lewis. "It's more that girls are active in a social sense and boys are active in an autonomous sense. Although biological reasons may account for some of these sex differences, it's very difficult to disentangle the effects of nature from nurture. Both are likely involved. We know that [people] behave differently as a result of a child's gender." Differences in behavior also tend to become magnified when children of the same gender play together in unstructured settings. Boys, for instance, often engage in higher-energy activities and show less compliance than girls, says Jeanne Brooks-Gunn of Columbia University's Teachers College.
Experts suggest that parents should be careful not to push their children too strongly into gender-typical behavior. "By giving children opportunities to participate in all kinds of activities, you're going to wind up with children who have the freedom to choose what they're good at and like doing," says Claire Etaugh, codirector of the Bradley University Center for the Study of Early Childhood."